The morality of human acts

1. OSCH, Hieronymus Triptych of Haywain (central panel) 1500-02 Oil on panel, 140 x 100 cm Monasterio de San Lorenzo, El Escorial The morality of human acts 38

2. Compendium of the Catechism • 368. When is an act morally good? • 1755-17561759-1760 • An act is morally good when it assumes simultaneously the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances. A chosen object can by itself vitiate an act in its entirety, even if the intention is good. It is not licit to do evil so that good may result from it. An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself. On the other hand, a good end does not make an act good if the object of that act is evil, since the end does not justify the means. Circumstances can increase or diminish the responsibility of the one who is acting but they cannot change the moral quality of the acts themselves. They never make good an act which is in itself evil.

3. Introduction • Man’s unique naturecomes from his intellect and will - created in the image and likeness of God-; he is free to make decisions. But being a creature, his freedom has to be exercised in harmony with the will of God and with the will of other persons. This is what the commandments are for, they show the path to freedom by ordering its use so that it is harmonized with other people’s freedom. • Morality is a quality of freely exercised human acts. An act will be morally good if it concords with the norm that governs man as a rational being, and morally bad if man acts irrationally against that norm. DI PAOLO, Giovanni (1420-1482) The Creation and the Expulsion from the Paradise Tempera and gold on wood, 1445 Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan

4. Main ideas

5. 1. Sources of morality • Simple experience tells us that man knows if his acts are good or bad. How? The inner voice of his conscience tells him that good has to be done and evil avoided. • In order to determine in a simple way the morality of our acts, experts teach that it depends on the object, the end, and the circumstances: • The object chosen is what the will is attracted to. For example, to take the life of an innocent man is always a crime. • The end or the intention of the act. The end does not justify the means. • The circumstances also affect the morality by increasing or diminishing the good or bad quality of an act. BROUWER, Adriaen Peasants Fighting 1631-35 Oil on wood, 33 x 49 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich

6. 2. The morality of passions • The human being has all sorts of impulses, tendencies, affections and feelings known as “passions”, which God has put in nature so as to move it to act. Because of sin, these impulses are disordered and cause tension, but if controlled they are very useful. • The passions insofar as they are movements of the sensible appetite are neither good nor bad in themselves. They are good when they contribute to a good action and they are evil in the opposite case. BOSCH, Hieronymus Allegory of Gluttony and Lust Oil on panel, 36 x 32 cm Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven

7. 3. To live always facing God • It is not easy to dominate our passions; but it is necessary to do so if we wish to live with the dignity of a human person, and furthermore, with the dignity of a Christian who knows he is a son of God. • "God does not command anything impossible. When he commands, he expects you to do what you can, to ask for what you cannot, and he helps you so that you can do it“. (St. Augustin) PRUD'HON, Pierre-Paul Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime 1808 Oil on canvas, 244 x 294 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris

8. Resolutions for Christian life

9. Resolutions to move forward • If you are unsure that you are acting well, ask yourself if theobject,end and circumstances are good. • At times we have to be heroic, without letting ourselves be dominated by the circumstances and the environment, which never justify immoral conduct