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Introduction to Catholic Morals

• All human beings are called to be saints.
• God made people to follow the path of holiness, which leads to happiness.
• Catholic Morals focuses on living life in Jesus Christ according to God's will.
• The course aims to illuminate the calling to become saints and how to achieve it.
• A life of grace and moral uprightness leads to happiness, while sin leads to death and despair.
• Catholic Morality examines how to surrender to God and how faith and worship lead to a life lived in Jesus Christ.
• Catholic morality provides more than just a list of restrictions.
• Morality is about making positive choices.
• Sin is slavery and leads to a loss of dignity and freedom.
• Catholic Morality involves living a life of virtue, with virtues as spiritual habits that strengthen one's ability to live a good and morally upright life.
• Morality is about living even beyond virtue by living in beatitude.
• The first part of the course focuses on the Moral Principles in Modules 1 and 2 and provides a foundation for understanding the particulars of a life lived in Christ, including moral decision-making, the moral law of God, grace, the conscience, sin, mercy, and human connection.
• The second part analyzes each of the Ten Commandments from a positive perspective, in Modules 3-8.
• Each Commandment will be examined to find the ways people are called both happiness and fulfillment through the moral law of God.

Christian Identity: I Am an Image of God (Imago Dei)

• Identity is often formed from diverse and ultimately senseless things.
• From the Catholic viewpoint what matters is what God thinks.
• God sees sins, defects, and shortcomings.
• God also sees who we are at our core and who He wants each of us to be, a reflection of His own beauty and splendor.
• God allows others to see themselves so that they may see an image of God within their soul.
• Jesus Christ dwells within people.
• Discovery of Jesus Christ leads to the discovery of true dignity and to live as people ought.
• Moral life is about discovering who people are, and discovering Jesus Christ living within.
• Allowing Jesus Christ to live within leads to living the life He wants us to, to a moral, upright and holy life.
• In living morally, people become who they already are; Jesus Christ reveals who we are.

The Beatitudes

• Understanding the Beatitudes helps discover who we are and who we are called to become.
• The Beatitudes represent the pinnacle of Christian moral life, the ever-rising ceiling to live the Beatitudes is to live as and in Jesus Christ
• "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
• "Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted."
• "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land."
• "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied."
• "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
• "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God."
• "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."
• "Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
• "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me."
• "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."
• The Beatitudes are a challenge of love followed with a glorious reward for our faithful living of that challenge.
• To be poor in spirit, mourn (over sin), to be meek, to long for righteousness, is a high calling.
• Accepting persecution joyfully is not an easy thing to do.
• The end result is that we become heaven, fully children of God, and see and live with Him in His presence forever.
• The Beatitudes imply struggle, but such struggle is worth the reward.
• The Beatitudes are also a blessing to live in God's grace rather than by our own ideas and to seek a higher calling.
• A generous surrender to God and trust in His wisdom is required.
• Living in accord with the Beatitudes brings an outpouring of grace and joy.
• The Beatitudes are the ultimate fulfillment of the desire for happiness.
• Living the Beatitudes helps discover that only God satisfies.
• Communion with Him is well worth any hardship in life.
• Believing this demands abundant grace, the gift of faith and knowledge, and a special action of God in our lives.
• The Beatitudes are the pinnacle of the Christian moral life.

The Effects of Freedom

• A life lived in true freedom is required to live a life immersed in the Beatitudes, while a continuous effort to live the Beatitudes is what makes us truly free.
• Freedom is commonly associated with "free will," the ability to do whatever we want, whenever we want, because we want to.
• True freedom is the ability to do what we ought to do, which is to do the will of God.
• True freedom is found in the conscious choice to do the will of God.
• Embracing that will means living in accord with our dignity.
• The mind and will set us apart from all of creation.
• It's necessary to use one's intellect and free will properly to attain authentic human freedom.
• When we embrace sin by our free will, we become slaves to sin and compromise our dignity.
• 5 key factors from The Catechism (CCC) that can increase or decrease the culpability for what we do are; ignorance, duress, fear, psychological factors and social factors.
• These factors can potentially confuse us and hinder our ability to act properly.
• Because of the factors outside individual control, acting contrary to the will of God, may not be fully culpable.
• Freedom requires striving to be free of influences of ignorance, fear, duress, psychological factors and any other social influences clouding the decision making.
• It's important to understand we are sometimes not fully responsible for poor decisions we make; the poor decision still retains its moral character but has partial moral culpability.
• Be fully conscious of the choices and choose the good.
• Know that true freedom is possible, and is achieved, along with dignity, through good choice.

The Moral Law

• The concept of law is analogous (partly the same, partly different).
• Moral laws include The Eternal Law, the Natural law, the New Law or Law of Christ (Revelation), Ecclesiastical or Church laws and Civil Laws.
• Eternal law leads all creation to its end or aim and is the plan of divine Wisdom.
• The "Moral Law" is the "Divine/Eternal Law."
• The divine law, the moral order God established to guide us into a life of fulfillment, is everything from the mind and heart of God.
• By analogy natural laws (i.e. Gravity) cannot be ignored.
• The moral law of God is SPIRITUAL, REAL, UNCHANGING, and UNIVERSAL.
• The moral law should be RATIONAL, LOGICAL, and COMMON-SENSICAL.
• God provides an innate ability to comprehend right from wrong.
• The moral law is WRITTEN UPON OUR CONSCIENCE.
• Even the laws of the highest order (such as “love enemies”) better make sense when God reveals them in the ways He chooses.
• The 4 manifestations of the moral law are, (1) Natural Law, (2) Revealed (Divine-Positive) or New Law, (3) Ecclesiastical or Church Laws and (4) Civil (Human) Laws.
• Natural law is a law of morality written upon the conscience of every person.
• It's law known by nature as it is the rational creature's participation in the Eternal Law
• Human nature can be distorted and disordered due to Original Sin and “concupiscence.
• People should still seek the truth within human reason.
• Ignoring the natural moral law does not make it go away.

Divine-Positive/The New Law

• The New Law looks at Revelation regarding morality.
• The Natural Law is confused because of Original Sin and personal sins.
• Ability to comprehend the law has been affected.
• God began revealing the full moral law from the beginning of time to clarify struggles.
• From the Old Testament and the coming of Adam and Eve, God continued to reveal the moral law as it applied to Noah, Abraham and especially through Moses, by the Ten Commandments.
• (God) the Father ultimately revealed the fullness of the moral law to us in His Son, Jesus Christ.
• Jesus, in His teaching and in His very person and actions, revealed the fullness of what it means to be human and to embrace the perfect law of love.
• Through God's revelation, the ability to see all God has established as good, holy, and morally upright.
• It is seen most clearly when reading Sacred Scriptures and especially the Gospels.
• Deep revelation penetrates our consciences.
• The revelations Jesus gives are purifying and freeing, the Gospel law reveals the Law of Charity is found in the Beatitudes & Sermon on the Mount.
• the ultimate sacrificial act of love in charity that Jesus Christ offered on the Cross
• Reading His words while we see His free embrace reveals our calling of sacrificial love, our own choice is hopefully to embrace it wholeheartedly.

Ecclesiastical Law (Laws of the Church)

• When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He would be with us always via the the Church: His Catholic Church that entrusted the Apostles/successors with the keys to his kingdom.
• Jesus Christ promises to lead people to truth through the Church.

Magisterium

• the teaching authority of the Magisterium also applies to all matters of the moral life.
• the Magisterium’s responsibility to apply Christ teaching to modern moral questions.

Church Authority and Laws

• Divine law and the teachings of the Church offer clarity and authority to guide life of worship and faith
• Divine law that is taught through the Church, The Third Commandment shows the importance of honoring/keeping holy the sabbath.
• Church Laws govern the celebration of the Sacraments, and they guide the operations of the organization.

Canon Law/Ecclesiastical laws

• are used to help the church to meet the “minimum requirements” one should live by within the catholic faith (i.e. "Precepts of the Church"), they help believers grow with the “minimum requirments" through holiness and a divine understanding.

Those precepts include…

• Attending mass on Sundays and the holy days of obligation (55xs)
• Confess at least onces a year
• Recieve holy communion worthely
• Fasting and abstaining on the holy and prescribed days
• Fidelity requires the Church be provided for

Civil Laws

• should be followed when they exist with the mind and will of God.
• help the common good, particpate in the good, but one cannot obey when clearly in contrast with God (mind and reason).

Making Moral Choices

• Catechism teaches that are three basic act sources involved with human morality
  • Objects
  • Ends in sight
  • Human Cirmstance
• Identify elements of a moral action to understand an approach for actions and/or how morality is involved with those actions
• Helpful when seeking answers to ethical question/situations/encounters

OBJECT CHOSEN

• action refers to a specific "thing" one does. If objects have wrong choices or lead towards wrong choices, that is known as intrinsic
• some objects are considered to be morally positive, i.e. mercy. Actions will be “merciful”
• However just identifying the "objects" actions is not what qualifies moral actions If the goal is there is to have a neutral object: all three are all used
• a) objects may be evil. But should never be done (b) good- these may also be holy or involve belief (c)actions on "most part are mutual"

Intentions: (intention is the most effective role model)

One should be very conscious of one’s actions because “bad actions will lead to evil”, so to be conscious of that action will help alter the perspective the person, helping lead them to moral examination. One must also go to to the perspective of others because “accomplishing evil is not an option" therefore if one cannot follow the proper object then one can never proceed.

• for ones actions to be considered good all intentions must be clear!
• If things are not clear then actions cannot pursue because intention is only there to help actions remain or maintain good.

Moral Circumstance

• help surround a positive aspect within each "moral" action.

• by themselves they don't help one's moral “good or bad”, but with a more “morality responsibility ( act better or act worse!!!

• ex"

• For example if an act is wrong then action is wrong.. BUT if one has good then maybe, things might change.

• Circumstance can give good actions to one who performs them. Ex, one can tell the truth, which Is positive! But if some is afraid

• but some may try to tell the truth still.. 1= morality can affect if actions for better or worse.

• Moral is a reflection upon three sources which is all about the moral decision and helping us to see how things help benefit our decision .

"Good versus Good"

The 2 sources of thought must distinguish with the same name” GOOD”

• helps indicate and distinguish action on "good and actions on good: good (good in god vision, will and mind) "good ( small version of our own actions) to help recognize our “ will to recognize desire.”

Passion, Feelings, and Emotions

• Passions exist within us/ soul . the purpose is to help indicate where to belong. ( evil or pure) the body must know how decide to act or decide in actions