Chapter One

1. Chapter One A Call to Catholic Living

2. Morality, Ethics and Conscience • Morality and the Moral Law • “Morality refers to human acts and to whether the human acts you choose are good or evil.” • How does a person choose good or evil? • Moral lawhelps determine what is good or evil for a person. • The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the moral law as the “fatherly instruction of God, setting forth the ways which lead to happiness and proscribing those which lead to evil.” • There is a difference between morality,ethics and conscience.

3. Moral Distinctions • Non-Moral Actions (Non-Ethical) • Neutral actions that neither harm nor hurt. An example would be walking down the street. • Immoral and Unethical Actions • Negative actions that are harmful and destructive. People know the action is wrong but do it anyway, and may have no remorse. An example would be walking down the street while throwing stones at others. • Amoral Actions • Actions with no sense of right or wrong or with an unplanned response. The person does not know what the effects might be and/or does not care. An example would be walking down the street, falling, breaking your watch and showingno sadness or remorse. • Moral and Ethical Actions • Positive actions that can promote human welfare. An example would be walking for cancerawareness or fundraising.

4. Conscience and Decision-Making • Conscience, as described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is the “interior voice of a human being, within whose heart the inner law of God is inscribed.” • Conscience plays an important part in the traditional means to determine if an act is moral or immoral. • Moral decision-making is based on three elements: • 1. The object chosen, • 2. The intentionof the action taken, and • 3. The circumstancessurrounding the act.

5. What is Catholic Morality? • Catholic morality is the way that we lead our lives in response to God’s law of love in our souls. • There are three important elements to Catholic morality: • A. Human Dignity: recognizing each person as made in the image and likeness of God. • B. Grace: Our participation in the life of God. There are four types of grace present in Catholic morality. • Sanctifying: God’s freely given gift of his love and constant presence in the soul; • Actual: Help God gives us for a particular need; • Cheap: Not appreciating God’s love; • Costly: Sacrificing out of love. • C. Vocation: The call to love God and serve others because of their inherent human dignity.

6. Freedom and Christian Freedom • Freedom is the power to act or not to act. • Freedom is rooted in reason (thought)and will (action.) • Freedom is to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. • What is the natural right of every human? • To be recognized (consciousness/aware) as a free and responsible being. (relationships) (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1738) • Freedom can be limited, threatened or reduced, however, by certain circumstances, including: • Ignorance • Fear • Psychological or Social Factors

7. Christian Freedom vs. License • Christian Freedom means we can see the big picture: We grow and express ourselves within the context of others’ needs as well as our own. • “Freedom” with unlimited choice but without regard to others’ needs is called License. • Christian Freedom: • Is it my choice? • Am I acting reasonably and responsibly? • If so, my action is the exercise of freedom. • License: • Is it my choice? • Am I acting without concern for reason or responsibility? • If so, my action is the exercise of license.