MORALITY
Catechism #1949-2051
CPP
Outline
1. Three Aspects: Creed, Cult, Code
2. Morality
3. Purpose of Our Existence
4. Laws of God Concerning Morality
5. The Two Great Commandments of Love
6. Graces and Aids to Virtue
7. Conscience and Concupiscence
8. Primacy of Conscience
9. Offending God
10. Mortal and Venial Sin
11. Consequences of Sin
12. Habitual Sin
13. Seven Deadly Sins
14. Grace
15. Sacramental Graces
16. Redemption
17. Jesus Gave Us an Example
1.
Three aspects: Creed, Cult, Code
Creed
- what we believe
Catechism: Part 1 revelation
and apostles' creed
Cult -
how we worship
Catechism Part 2 sacraments
and Part 4
prayer
Code -
how we should act
Catechism: Part 3 virtue, sin,
10 commandments (Decalogue)
Today
we discuss the code part - morality
2.
Morality
General
- conform actions to right conduct
as prescribed by
Jesus
Negative
aspect - avoid committing sin
Positive aspect - try really hard to be good
Very
positive - work toward becoming a saint
Our
response to God's love
we must love and
say yes to God
God draws us toward what is good
3. Purpose of Our Existence
God
made us to know him, to love him,
to serve him in
this world
and be happy
with him forever in the next
(This is quoted from the Baltimore Catechism)
We
are called to be virtuous
Unfortunately we have the option
of disobeying
We
all have free will
and the
obligation to use it properly
Concupiscence
and temptations
draw us toward
doing wrong
Our
conscience informs us
and aids us to
choose the good
4.
Laws of God Concerning Morality
Ten
commandments brought back by Moses from
First
3 commandments prescribe
love God, respect God, and worship God
Last
7 commandments: love neighbor as oneself
by not sinning
through disobedience, murder, anger,
sexual offenses,
stealing, lying, coveting another's
spouse or goods
5.
The Two Great Commandments of Love
These
were given by Jesus himself: Mt 22:37-39
Love
the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your
soul, with all your mind
Love
your neighbor as yourself
"On
these two depend all the law and the prophets"
6. Graces and Aids to Virtue
12 Beatitudes from Sermon on the Mount:
blessed are poor
in spirit, the meek, those who mourn,
who seek
justice, are merciful, pure of heart,
peacemakers, and
the persecuted
3 Theological virtues relate to God:
faith, hope
and love
4 Cardinal virtues - other virtues hinge on them
prudence,
justice, fortitude, temperance
7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11: 1-2) - foster a life of
virtue
wisdom -
understanding - knowledge - counsel - piety
- fortitude and
- wonder and awe (fear of the Lord)
12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal
love , joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity,
gentleness, faithfulness,
modesty, self control, chastity
7 Spiritual and 7 Corporal works of mercy
We
are called to help others in their spiritual and bodily needs
7.
Conscience and Concupiscence
Original sin gave us a fallen nature concupiscence
designates
strong internal
tendencies and desires toward evil
We
also have a conscience which keeps us straight about
how we should
act, and helps us to act properly
Life
is a constant
battle between
conscience and
concupiscence
8. Primacy of Conscience
Our
obligations are to follow our conscience, and also
to properly
form our conscience
The
Church provides ample helps for this
a primary
example is the scriptures
a recent example
is the catechism
Many
justify their bad habits and sins
by an improperly formed conscience
9. Offending God
Sin
is an offense against God, against the
law of God
Sin
offends against reason, truth and right conscience
Various
classifications of sin
social and
personal
against God,
neighbor, and oneself
thought - word -
deed - omission
mortal and
venial
original and
actual
10. Mortal and Venial sin
Mortal sin is a grievous offense
against the law
of God
Three
conditions for a sin to be mortal are
1) grievous or
grave matter,
2) sufficient
reflection
3) full consent
of the will
Venial
sin is an offense lacking one or more
of these three
conditions
11. Consequences of sin
Mortal
sin removes the state of grace from our soul
Every
mortal sin must be confessed
Dying
in the state of mortal sin means
that we end up
in hell
Dying
in the state of venial sin means
that we end up
in purgatory
12. Habitual Sin
Each
of us has one or more particular tendencies
toward evil called predominant passions
that lead to
commit habitual sins
These
weaken the free will that makes us human
The
seven deadly sins are tendencies toward evil
We
must especially avoid frequenting regular
occasions of sin
13. Seven Deadly Sins
These
are sins associated with habits
They
may be divided into three groups
a) pride (self centeredness) seeking our own glory,
envy of the glory
others, and anger,
b). Sensuality leading
to gluttony, excess food & drink,
lust through
fornication and adultery, and sloth
c). Avarice, love of worldly goods,
luxuries, and
status symbols.
14. Grace
Grace
is help from God to lead a good life
and it is also
God's life in us
Grace strengthens our free will
so we will use it
responsibly
Actual grace - special helps
to do good
and avoid evil,
also initial
prompting to be good
Sanctifying grace - abiding presence
of God in our
soul
15. Sacramental Graces
Graces
from particular sacraments
Baptism
and confirmation give graces
to lead a
virtuous Christian life
Eucharist, regular reception
gives abundant graces
Confession
or reconciliation removes sins and
returns us a to
state of (sanctifying) grace
Anointing
(healing) gives graces and
sometimes
healing to the sick
Holy
orders and matrimony give graces
for these states
of life
16. Redemption
Jesus,
for love for us, took on human nature
He
suffered and died for our sins
to redeem us and
open the gates of heaven
We
are called to return these acts of love
by following
Jesus and leading virtuous lives
17. Jesus Spent His Life
Giving Us
an Example of How to Live
He
taught us how to love and live the life of grace
He
devoted much of his time training the apostles
for their
mission to spread the gospel
He
founded his Church to preach the gospel and
lead people in
the path of virtue
Saints
are people who overcame their passions
and devoted
their lives to Jesus
We
are all called to do likewise
CPP