Imitating the Person of Jesus as the Norm of the Christian/Moral Life

Introduction.

Module 3 (for the Week 4) is a discussion on absolute moral norms that focuses on Law, Freedom and
Conscience. The thematic discussion is arranged in a pragmatic sense that it will commence from the
various moral theories and beliefs. Hence, Lesson 1 opens the moral discussion for the learners to
navigate the landscape of morality. And the next movement for the learners is to take up the lessons on
Law, Conscience and Freedom. The moral discussion will be concluded by the topic on Freedom of
Conscience. The last 3 lessons will be considered as a supplementary learning materials.

ENGAGE.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

The La Sallian learners are expected to:

1. Delve the Freedom of Conscience with the accountability to educate conscience;

2. Review critically the various types of moral theories (the plurality of voices); and

3. Discuss the absolute norms of Christian Morality;

Paraliturgy: Theme is on Man’s need for guidance in discerning and choosing the right path. Wisdom to
know God’s Will, the Prudence to Do God’s Will at the right time and the right way, and the Fortitude to
sustain the commitment to live according to God’s will.

Discussion on the need for a Moral GPS in Navigating through the jungle of Urban Morality. “How Do I
know it is good? What are the criteria or rubric by which we can say that such an action is truly good? Is
it pleasure, utility, practicality, universality, popularity and virality, or comfortability?”

Things to do: Play the song entiled She's Gone by Steelheart. After the song, the La Sallian learners are
expected to come up a song analysis.

Our paraliturgical services have 3 parts. It begins with a context of a contemporary human
experience/relationship. It includes a reflection activity. Guide question is provided for the learners to
focus their reflection on the said question. Second, the learners are expected to listen to the lyrics of the
song. The vocalist sung it with a high pitch that made the persona so passionate. Third, the most
important part in paraliturgical services is the reading of God's word.
I. Preliminary: The paraliturgy is a preparation for worship and prayer. Every believer is encouraged to
dispose oneself before celebrating the Eucharist as the highest form of prayer in the Church. The best
way of preparing oneself for celebrating the presence of God in the Church (Christian community) is to
hear the Word and to keep it into ones heart. The Word of God is like a two edged sword that can
penetrate the deepest part of the bone marrow. In fact, the Bible reading daily can turn every disciple to
see and feel God's presence even in the most challenging situation. Oftentimes, the problems of our life
can make or unmake us. Some of us abandoned the faith, consequently the moral values and
preferences started to collapse.

In our song analysis below, the persona encountered a moral decay. Simply put, the moral choices went
wrong because the persona acted contrary to the human nature. By the dictate of the Natural Law, we
are all truth-seeker. The persona admitted that the great mistake ever made for himself was to be
untruthful in loving relationship. So, the persona was abandoned by the girl he wanted to reveal the
truth of his being but he can't live anymore without the love. Indeed, at the end of every single day, we
are judged whether or not we become a loving person. The persona failed to do the essence of love
which is to be selfless. Now, his loving relationship with the girl, the love of his life was gone.
Consequently, dreams were shut down. His life was full of emptiness. He realized that he was wrong. His
moral values had turned upside down.

Guide question for reflection: What went wrong to the persona? Why did the persona encounter a
collapse of value system?

II. Song Analysis

Title: She's Gone

Song by Steelheart

She's gone

Out of my life

I was wrong

I'm to blame

I was so untrue

I can't live without her love

In my life

There's just an empty space

All my dreams are lost

I'm wasting away

III. Bible Reading

At this point, the La Sallian learners are expected to read and reflect God's message from the selected
Bible text (Micha 6:8). The text will provided below.

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Please do the sign of the cross and say Amen.

The reading is taken from the Book of Prophet Micha, chapter 6 and verse 8.

Contemporary English Version

"The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be
your first concern, and humbly obey your God."

After the reading, say... Word of God. At this point, the learner will spend a moment of silence.

IV. Commentary

Verse 8. - The prophet answers in his own person the questions in verses 6 and 7, by showing the
worthlessness of outward observances when the moral precepts and not observed. He hath showed
thee; literally, one has told thee, or, it has been told thee, i.e. by Moses and in the Law (Deuteronomy
10:12, etc.). Septuagint, Αἰ ἀνηγγέλη σοι,"Hath it not been told thee?" What doth the Lord require of
thee? The prophets often enforce the truth that the principles of righteous conduct are required from
men, and not mere formal worship. This might well be a comfort to the Israelites when they heard that
they were doomed to be cast out of their country, and that the temple was to be destroyed, and that
the ritual on which they laid such stress would for a time become impracticable. So the inculcation of
moral virtues is often connected with the prediction of woe or captivity. (For the prophetic view of the
paramount importance of righteousness, see 1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 40:6, etc.: 1. 8, etc.; Isaiah 1:11-17;
Jeremiah 6:20; Hosea 6:6, etc.; see on Zechariah 7:7.) To do justly. To act equitably, to hurt nobody by
word or deed, which was the exact contrary of the conduct previously mentioned (Micah 2:1, 2, 8;
Micah 3:2, etc.). To love mercy. To be guided in conduct to others by loving kindness. These two rules
contain the whole duty to the neighbour. Compare Christ's description of genuine religion (Matthew
23:23). To walk humbly with thy God. This precept comprises man's duty to God, humility and
obedience. "To walk" is an expression implying "to live and act" as the patriarchs are said to have
"walked with God," denoting that they lived as consciously under his eye and referred all their actions to
him. Humility is greatly enforced in the Scriptures (see e.g. Isaiah 2:11, etc.). Septuagint, ἕτοιμον εϊναι
τοῦ πορεύεσθαι μετὰ Κυρίου, "to be ready to walk with the Lord;" Vulgate, Solicitum ambulare cum
Deo; Syriac, "Be prepared to follow thy God." But our version is doubtless correct.
Guide question for reflection: "I am free, so I can do what I want. Worship alone can't save us. What's
important after all is that I do things right and without hurting people or step on the rights of others."
Agree or disagree with this moral precepts? Explain.

EXPLAIN.

The following asynchronous class activities below deal with three important themes on Christian
morality. Lesson 1 presents the moral theories. Lesson 2 discusses the Absolute Objective Moral Norms.
Lesson 3 takes up the Absolute Subjective Moral Norm.

Lesson 1: The Plurality of voices (The various moral standards)

1. Hedonism: A philosophical belief on the primacy of pleasure as the norm of what is good. What offers
pleasure is good, on the contrary, what gives pain or suffering is deemed evil.

*How do you asses the pleasure of Christian Grey?

*What difference is the pleasure of Christian Grey from Kardo Dalisay?

2. Materialism: A philosophy centered on material things as the source of good life. Material possessions
give life happiness; the more we acquire things, the more our life becomes happy.

*Why Loki wanted to invade planet earth? What’s the effect?

*Does Loki’s desire makes him good and happy?

3. Pragmatism: A school of philosophy which values the workability of a person as the reason of his
being good. Whatever works for the progress of a certain cause is considered good, the opposite of it is
evil.

*Why do you think Thanos kept on destroying different planets, including his own – planet Titan, and
Earth?

*Do you think Thanos’ intention justifies his actions? Why?

4. Utilitarianism: A philosophy that stresses on the effect of an action as useful and, therefore, it is good.
As an ethical belief,

5. Pragmatism taught that goodness is joined and dependent on the usefulness of an act.

*How do you call people using other people in order to achieve their wants in life? Do you find this
morally sound? Why?
Lesson 2: The Authentic Moral GPS (or Global Positioning System) or Moral Compass in the urban jungle,
as well as in rural forest, plenty and contrasting voices continuously broadcast their moral platform as to
how we become good, and ultimately, how we live a happy life. What is the authentic, not just the
fashionable, voice that we should follow which will lead us to genuine happiness?

In the live show competition of The Voice, which gained a global status, judges are at their back from the
contestants, while the contestants perform their musical piece. After the contestant’s voice captivates
their attention, judges have to push the button of their rotating chair and their chair will turn. Only at
that instance, they can see the contestant in his/her performance. After the contestant’s performance,
s/he has the privilege to choose whose judge s/he is wants to be her/his coach. This kind of musical
competition tests our hearing power as to what voice sounds harmonious, melodious, and credible as
understood in the moral plane. Various voices resonate into the alley of our society today which in effect
create confusion in us if whose voice carries the weight of moral rectitude.

What, then, is the criteria of an authentic, moral voice? Is it volume – the louder it is, the more credible
it is? Is it timber quality in relation to the listeners’ choice? Is it harmony that blends and conform to the
majority of voices? Is it the message displaying moral principles according to sound – objective norm?
Having a good life ought to follow a good – moral quality voice. Good moral quality voice, moreover,
should be consistent in its deportment, otherwise, it cannot survive the competitive forces of other
voices influencing society. For those whose vocal range are unstable, this battle is not meant for you.
Now is the time to look into the real voice of good moral life. Change, among other realities, is one of
the inevitable facts of life. Everything in this world are subject to the law of change, simply because this
is a finite – temporal plane in which nothing is permanent, except, of course, the invincibility of change.
Given this scenario, no voice could stand permanently good. There are things, however, despite the lob
and toss of the waves, remain as they are in essence, though their external features changed. With
different colors and sizes, rocks remain a solid object; from toddler up to the present with all the
physical ramifications, my person remain the same. Down through the centuries, murder is evil, rape is
condemned, and love is a value. There is a voice which does not change its call as to what is good and
what is evil in essence, regardless of the sociolinguistic modifications taking place. This is the voice of
Eternal Law, which is the very law of God since time immemorial, declaring what is good and evil act
apart from circumstances surrounding such action.

Lesson 3: The Voice from Above: The Objective Norm (Eternal Law) Law or norms has a NEGATIVE
connotation to us. It is burdensome and it limits our expression of freedom. In the Philippine society,
laws are oftentimes complied with only to safeguard our amor proprio in order to avoid shame or
embarrassment. Questions like, “What will people say?”, or “Is this acceptable to others?” many times
serve as moral guidelines in our decision making and acting. Consequently, many of us are bothered less
by the moral evil that is involved in the evil act we perform, and more by the feeling of shame, or of
“losing face before others.” A wrong act is dismissed as long as it is concealed from the knowledge of
the family or society. Thus, cheating in examinations, business transactions or social interactions, which
is regarded as an act or a skill of outwitting the other, is condoned as long as you are not caught and
corruption is justified as long as you donate for charity. Apparently, the Philippine society is governed
more by the “rule of persons” rather than by the objective and impartial “rule of law” because “obeying
the law seems quite secondary in the hierarchy of Filipino cultural values” (Catechism for Filipino
Catholics, no.793). However, law or norms are indispensable aids for us to have a meaningful order in
our life as individuals existing and living within a human society. Laws result from our obligation to
orient all our activities towards our ultimate end. Without laws, no one will be able to realize their
person and the purpose of their life. Hence, a norm is defined as “standards or rules to which human
action must conform to be considered good in the moral order” (Moral Theology, 1999). This order is
shown to us through the moral Law.

Norms of Morality

a) Law – Objective norm of morality

b) Conscience – Subjective norm of morality.

Some voices cannot be fully understood perhaps due to inaudibility, blurredness, proximity to the
listeners, or by the nature of its source who is beyond human nature. God is not a man, though Jesus
Christ, His son, became man – true man; model of all men, yet the nature of God is not the same with
man’s nature. And since, Eternal Law is God’s law or, as St. Thomas would call it, God Himself in His One
Divine Nature (Summa of the Summa, 2015), logically it follows that Eternal Law is not comprehendible
by our human nature, although man can apprehend it. Hence, there is a gap between God’s Voice – the
Eternal Law and our human nature. In order for this Eternal voice to be heard and understood by men,
God, in his infinite goodness and love for us, condensed His ultimate voice into something we can come
to terms with i.e. Natural Moral Law – the harmony of Divine and human language (Peter Kreeft, 2016).
Among the highlighted expressions of this law is “do good and avoid evil”, “the law of self-preservation”,
and “the golden/silver rule”. Good and evil is not that simple to determine as other might use to think
of. Like any other theological construct, good and evil is keenly adjoined in its socio-cultural context
(Virtue Ethics, 2002). For the Japanese fighter-plane pilots, during World War II, kamikaze is a heroic act,
not a suicidal one, and therefore a good moral action. The Jews, in biblical times, observed the levirate
law which they regarded as a moral obligation. These illustrate how social and cultural context
influenced the understanding of what is good and bad. Any analysis and critique, for that matter, of a
particular act outside of its social situation and cultural context is devoid of the richness of its
significance. Hence, what really is evil that we have to avoid and good which we have to practice? In
order to clarify the seeming fuzziness, the Natural Moral Law has to be reduced into something more
palatable to human reason. As a guidepost voice of moral goodness juxtaposed in the socio-cultural
context of man’s existence, the Human Positive Law is the translation of Natural Moral Law. And since
man is a unity of body and soul; matter and spirit, such law has two related, but distinct, aspect which is
Canon Law and Civil Law to be the guiding voice of man in his journey to a good life. With this schematic
flow of the true voice, no government, therefore, can legislate law which would run contrary to the
voice of natural moral law because, ultimately, it will contradict the ultimate voice of God’s eternal law.

Kinds of LAW

1. Eternal Law – according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is the “plan flowing from God’s wisdom directing all
acts and movements.” Though it includes both the physical and the moral orders of the universe, it is
chiefly concerned with the moral order. It is the fount of all laws which ceases to be laws once they
contradict the Eternal Law (Prummers, Moral Theology, 1988).

2. Natural Law – is the Eternal Law known to us by our reason. It is our participation of the Eternal Law.
We do not only possess an unconditioned knowledge of what is right and wrong but also a knowledge of
good that is to be done and the wrong to be avoided. This is because our reason shows us the natural
order that needs to be conserved and not disturbed. The fundamental expression of the Natural Law is
Do good and avoid evil. The Natural Law is called natural because:

a) We are subject to it from the moment of our birth,

b) It contains only those precepts which are derived from our very nature as human beings

c) It can be grasped by the natural light of our human reason without divine aid or human authority.

The subject of the Natural Law are all human beings, including children or insane. The object of the
Natural Law is the moral order as known by human reason and which we have to observe. The Natural
Law is not a written decree. Figuratively speaking, it is written in our hearts, impressed in our human
nature by the Author of Nature.

The Properties of the Natural Law are:

a) Universality – it binds all human beings without exception because it is impressed in our reason. Even
children and the insane are subjects to the Natural Law, that is why it is wrong to tempt or persuade
them to do wrong e.g. to tell lies, even though the wrong they do is not a formal sin because they lack
the use of reason.

b) Immutability– it cannot be changed from within. Human nature remains essentially the same and God
wills that we live according to this nature.

c) Indispensability – it does not allow either dispensation in the strict sense of the word or epikeia.
Epikeia (equity) is defined as a favourable interpretation of the mind of the legislator where the law is in
some way deficient. Thus, it is obligatory because it imposes upon us the moral obligation to follow it as
a necessary condition to attain our ultimate end. The Natural Law has its proper sanction. Sanction is
defined as a property of the law that rewards the acts that are in consonance with it, and punishes with
penalties those that are not.

a) Rewards: peace and happiness as a consequence of observing the Natural Law, and

b) Penalties: remorse and unhappiness follows its violation.

Penalties are given as a matter of justice, by restoring the disorder caused by sin, and as a deterrent for
us to abstain from evil. Natural Law directs creatures to their end in accordance with their nature.
According to its promulgation, the Natural Law is classified into:

a) Physical laws – laws that govern irrational creatures in their being and activities.
b) Moral Law or Natural Moral Law – law that is understood by sound and matured human reason. This
is the main concern of this textbook.

Functions of the Moral Law:

Moral laws provide criteria for judging who we are and how we should act. Moral laws help our moral
development, especially in the formation of conscience, by expressing typical patterns of moral behavior
and human values. Moral laws provide stability and consistence in our lives by acting as a constant and a
reliable point of reference. Moral laws challenge us by stretching us in view of an ideal, or correcting us
by illuminating our faith.

Law as the Moral Norm of Human Activity is classified into:

1. The Natural Moral Law. This law is a directive that orders our activity towards our ultimate end. It is
also called Divine Natural Law because its origin is ultimately traced back to God who created nature
and who therewith also willed the laws resulting from it. We all naturally tell the truth, defend, and
respect the life and property of others, protect the environment.

2. The Revealed Law of the Old and the New Testament. The norms contained in the Word of the Holy
Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament are considered revealed Divine Law.

3. Human Law – or Human Positive Law - is defined as an ordinance of reason, derived from the Natural
Law, or making a concrete and determinate application of the Natural Law, promulgated for the
common good by a human agency in charge of a society (Glenn, Ethics, 1968).

This means that human law, whose immediate source of origin is the human authority, may also reaffirm
obligations of the Natural law, e.g. prohibitions of murder or stealing. In many other cases, it contains
regulations which are not direct requirements of the Natural Law but which to a certain extent depend
on the free and reasonable will of the lawgiver, e.g. exemption of minors from criminal charges.

3.1. The object of the Human Law is the common wealth or the common good and the public order thus,
human law only deals with external acts.

3.2. The Human Law is subdivided into:

a) Civil Law – laws enacted by the State.

b) Ecclesiastical Law – laws enacted by the Church. The Catholic Church calls this the Canon Law.

The Revealed Law of the Old and the New Testament.

1. Laws in the Old Testament particularly refer to the collection of laws which is called the Torah. It is
contained in the first five books of the Old Testament or the Pentateuch and is authored according to
ancient biblical tradition by Moses. It contained precepts and prohibitions which are religious, social,
and moral in nature. Moral action is inseparably bound up with the worship of God thus, obedience to
the law is equally important as the worship of God. Also called the Mosaic Law, this law is an external,
written code.

2. Law in the New Testament is centered on the concern of Christ which emphasizes obedience to God’s
unconditional claim on our human life and total availability to the innermost stirrings of the Spirit. Christ
fulfilled the Old Law by:

a) Inaugurating the New Law of the Kingdom,

b) Proclaiming his New Commandment of Love which transcends all human wisdom and all morality
thus, removing the imperfections allowed because of the “stubbornness of hearts” (cf Mt. 19:8). The
Holy Spirit is present in the hearts of the baptized as the New Law or the Law of Love giving new
meaning to moral life.

c) Perfecting the dietary laws of the Israelites on eating and the purity of food, and the Sabbath Law by
recalling that the Sabbath rest is not broken by the service of God or of one’s neighbor.

d) Setting the precepts of the law in a hierarchical order placing everything in subordination to love of
God and neighbor.

Activity 1 (10 points) : Compose a critical reflection based on the questions below:

1. What can you say on the proposed law in our country, although other countries already practiced it,
regarding same-sex marriage in relation to the guiding voice of moral action?

2. Do you think this idea of natural moral law as the normative voice in political governance is about
religious intervention, especially in the field of legislation, or about the very nature of man whose life
ought to stand for the true-real good and shun away from sinister evil?

3. What law you want to suggest to be legislated and enacted in our country which you think is of great
help to man in grabbing a ride to a good life? Why?

Lesson 4: The Voice with in: The Subjective Norm (Conscience)

Our conscience applies the law in our own particular life through the actions that we personally know
and freely do. This is because the dependence of authentic human freedom on the truth of our being
rational and relational beings created in the image and likeness of God, and the relation of human
freedom to the moral law that takes place within our ‘heart’, is better understood in relation to moral
conscience. Many of us believe that conscience is a kind of inner voice (tinig ng budhi). It summons us to
love the good and avoid evil. It is our divine center where we are addressed by God thus it makes us
aware of God and of soul. This understanding is advanced by the Augustinian and the Franciscan school.

Thomas Aquinas widens our understanding of consciences which he defines as a practical judgment of
reason upon an individual act as good and to be performed, or as evil and to be avoided. Judgment is a
conclusion drawn from an act of reasoning that is based on moral principles. We judge every individual
act to be good and this commands, forbids, allows, or advises us to do the act that is obligatory or
prudent.

Conscience – from Latin ‘con’ (with) and ‘scire’ (to know), literally translated as “with knowledge”.

For the mystics (St. John of the Cross, St. Benedict), it is the small voice (parvus vox) of God within man.
Peter Kreeft understands it as “an intellectual power that gives awareness to the moral dimension
(goodness or badness) of the human act” (Catholic Christianity, 2001). Essentially, it is the power of
knowing and not of feeling. Conscience is powerfully aided by right feeling, nevertheless. “It is a
personal pedagogue that leads us to God” (Origen, Fathers of the Church, 1998). “The interior place
where dialogue between God and man took place” (St. Bernard, Fathers of the Church, 1998).
Judgments of conscience are not merely natural insights but judgments enlightened by Faith. As
Christians, we are not divided within ourselves. With a natural and a supernatural economy, we can only
have one judgment of conscience and it is determined by our belief.

Conscience is a moral faculty, which is distinct from reason, will and feeling. It is situated in the very
depth and center of our being, which accords us the understanding of our meaning and destiny, an
awareness of the divine purpose behind the world, a perception of our personal calling within God’s
plan, and our experience of its imperative character. Conscience possesses a religious dimension. It is
the place where we are called to responsibility before God. It is called the voice of God. It is the faculty
that makes known to us our moral obligations and urges us to fulfill them. This is the reason why
disobedience to its voice entails the guilt of sin. Conscience is not a tribunal which creates the good, but
must draw the criteria and form its judgments from the eternal, objective and universal Natural Law.
“Deep within his conscience, man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must
obey” (GS, no. 16). The existence of a law in the depths of conscience is not imposed by us upon
ourselves albeit this law holds us to obedience. The law, which is not opposed to the uniqueness of each
one of us, is ordered towards a single goal, the building up of the true communion of persons.

Conscience is called antecedent conscience when it judges an act as good and to be performed or as evil
and to be avoided before action is done. Conscience commands, exhorts, forbids or permits. After the
action is done, conscience is called consequent conscience as it evaluates the action already done or
omitted. Conscience judges either with approval or disapproval.

The Division of Conscience:

1. Certain or Doubtful Conscience

It is certain when it passes judgment without fear of error. This conscience must always be obeyed
because conscience is a faculty that tells us what our moral duties are. Wide moral certainty or
prudential certainty is needed rather than strict moral certainty because this certainty is obtained in the
general conditions of life. It is doubtful when it is uncertain concerning the goodness or the badness of
an action. Judgment is either suspended or passed with reasonable fear that the contrary might equally
be true. The basic principle when conscience in doubt is: in a practical doubt about the lawfulness of an
action, do not act because by acting otherwise, we expose ourselves to the danger of injustice and sin.

Rules for Actions in Doubtful Conscience

a. The action must be postponed until certainty is reached.

b. If there is no time or possibility to solve the doubt, choose the safer alternative that excludes the
danger of sin and injustice.

2. Right or Erroneous Conscience

It is right when the practical moral judgment agrees with the objective norms of morality. It is erroneous
when the practical moral judgment disagrees with the objective norms of morality. Erroneous
Conscience can either be:

a) Invincibly Erroneous Conscience- when we are not aware of the possibility of error thus, we are not
culpable or inculpable. This conscience must be followed or obeyed. For instance, I am convinced that
my act of telling a lie is an act of charity because I help my friend out of trouble.

b) Vincibly Erroneous Conscience – when we are aware but do not correct the error which makes us
culpable. This conscience cannot be followed as a legitimate rule of conduct. There is a need to search
for the truth, if this is not possible to do so at the moment, action must be postponed, or the safer line
of action must be followed. For instance, If I know that I tend to cheat during quizzes whenever I do not
know the answer, the safer line of action is to study before the quiz.

c) Akin to the vincibly erroneous conscience is the Dulled or Lax Conscience. It is inclined to judge a thing
to be lawful that which is sinful or a grave sin to be a light one. For instance, a student may regard
cheating in quizzes or examinations or backbiting a classmate as something normal in the student every
day life because she thinks almost everybody is doing it.

d) Perplexed Conscience is an Erroneous conscience, which, in conflict of duties, fears sin in whatever
choice is made. This readily occurs in individuals who are less acquainted with the moral norms. For
instance, a student eventually discovers the perverted activities of his teacher to other students. Since
the teacher spends for his education he is torn in the conflict between the obligation of gratitude and
the obligation to expose such perversity to the school administration. In cases of Perplexed Conscience,
decision must be delayed or action must be postponed until information or deliberation is obtained. If
this is not possible at the moment, what appears to be the lesser evil must be chosen.

3. Scrupulous Conscience – is less than an erroneous conscience. The person is in constant dread of sin
even if there is none, or of grave sin even if it is only venial. The cause of this behavior is not primarily of
rational character but of disturbed emotions.

The Development of Conscience

Childhood Conscience is predominantly authoritarian conscience or a “must” conscience which evolves
out of parental commands, restrictions, and prohibitions. Punishment usually accompanies the failure
for compliance. The early stage is formed which is due to the internalization of parental and social rules
and ideals. This is sometimes called the superego. It is a necessary stage in our development towards
genuine conscience but if these rules ignore the true nature of the child, it may lead to violence that
suppresses the true personality. As the child grows, the “must” conscience evolves into a mature
“ought” conscience.

Adulthood Conscience is a personal “ought” conscience. This conscience is no longer primarily ruled by
fear of punishment and external imitation. Rather, the desire to do what is good originates from the
conviction of the inner value of moral obligation, from the inner law of nature, and from divine calling
that is inscribed in center of the true self. Conscience has evolved from imitation and parental and social
control to personal responsibility. “Must” Conscience in adulthood springs:

a) from our sense of duty in order to build our personality, and

b) from a sense of repsonsibility for the common good and for the Kingdom of God. “It is our right to
follow our conscience and it entails respect and tolerance from others” (DH, #3).

Moral Conscience and Psychology Conscience.

Human or behavioral sciences contend that, for human persons to attain moral maturity, moral
conscience should act as an autonomous judge of their own action in determining what is good or bad
for them. In fact, without some criterion to recognize the ontological and graced consistency of the
human person in action, Behavioral sciences tend to create their own criterion of truth about the human
person and the morality of the human action. Supported by some educational theories, we are even
encouraged to “create” our own values. We are made to believe that “feeling-good-aboutourselves” is
the primary guiding principle in doing what is right.

Human sciences alone are inadequate to provide the whole truth about us as human persons inasmuch
as the concern and methodology of these sciences, which are limited to the “phenomenon of morality
as a historical and social fact,” simply rely on the results of “formal empirical observation or
phenomenological understanding.” (John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, no. 112). Without law as the point
of reference, conscience is blind, and the only thing left is feeling or emotion.

The Education and Formation of a Mature Conscience

It is possible for conscience to err and this is due to the following causes:

a) A mistake along the process of practical reasoning especially with regard to remote conclusions of the
moral principles.

b) Ignorance of the law

c) Ignorance of the fact and other circumstances modifying human actions,

d) Ignorance involving future consequences, especially those dependent on the free will of others.
(Panizo, Ethics or Moral Philosophy, 1964). Without law as the point of reference, conscience is blind,
and the only thing left is feeling or emotion. Thus, the following are needed for the education or
formation of a mature conscience:

1. We need to possess good information in order to make good mature moral judgments. We need to
study what is truth and conform with it because we do not create truth but rather, we are subject to the
authority of the truth. The sources of information are: the Word of God, our personal communion with
Christ, the living faith of our Christian community, the moral norms handed down to us in society, and
the findings of ethical sciences, or openness to correction, readiness to dialogue, and others.

2. Our conscience is in need of illumination and guidance and we are responsible for the formation of
our conscience. Formation of conscience is not limited to the acquisition of moral norms and factual
knowledge on the application of concrete judgment of conscience. Rather, this acquisition must be
internalized to form our beliefs to live by in order to be transformed into a new person. The need to
form our conscience and to untiringly search for the truth is imperative for each of us lest we risk to find
in [our] conscience a force which is destructive to [our] true humanity, rather than that a holy place
where God reveals to us our true good.

Fruits of Conscience:

Awareness of good and evil. Desire for the good and aversion from evil.

In good: joy and peace.

In evil: uneasiness and guilt.

The Freedom of Conscience

"Further light is shed on the subject if one considers that the highest norm of human life is the divine
law-eternal, objective and universal-whereby God orders, directs and governs the entire universe and all
the ways of the human community by a plan conceived in wisdom and love. Man has been made by God
to participate in this law, with the result that, under the gentle disposition of divine Providence, he can
come to perceive ever more fully the truth that is unchanging. Wherefore every man has the duty, and
therefore the right, to seek the truth in matters religious in order that he may with prudence form for
himself right and true judgments of conscience, under use of all suitable means.

Truth, however, is to be sought after in a manner proper to the dignity of the human person and his
social nature. The inquiry is to be free, carried on with the aid of teaching or instruction, communication
and dialogue, in the course of which men explain to one another the truth they have discovered, or
think they have discovered, in order thus to assist one another in the quest for truth.

Moreover, as the truth is discovered, it is by a personal assent that men are to adhere to it.
On his part, man perceives and acknowledges the imperatives of the divine law through the mediation
of conscience. In all his activity a man is bound to follow his conscience in order that he may come to
God, the end and purpose of life. It follows that he is not to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his
conscience. Nor, on the other hand, is he to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience,
especially in matters religious. The reason is that the exercise of religion, of its very nature, consists
before all else in those internal, voluntary and free acts whereby man sets the course of his life directly
toward God. No merely human power can either command or prohibit acts of this kind.(3) The social
nature of man, however, itself requires that he should give external expression to his internal acts of
religion: that he should share with others in matters religious; that he should profess his religion in
community. Injury therefore is done to the human person and to the very order established by God for
human life, if the free exercise of religion is denied in society, provided just public order is observed."

Source: Dignatatis Humanae/retrieved from

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html/date 1/10/2021

Insert Supplementary Lessons (#1,#6,#7) 5,6,7

Lesson (1) 5: The Moral Jungle: the state of moral confusion “The good life is one inspired by love and
guided by knowledge” – Bertrand Russell

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called
according to His purpose - Rom.8:28 Right living is not as simple like the medieval natives understood
before. Contrasting to the past wherein the authority of the church rings beyond questionable doubt, in
the wake of postmodern era, people have a tendency to probe the teachings of the church, especially in
the field of morality. Gone are the days of the church’s grand narrative where people do nothing, but to
bow in bended knee obedience.Today, we live in the so called jungle of urban morality (Jordan Peterson,
2017) in which the social fad is one of creative doubt i.e. doubting any grand narrative in order to listen
to different perspectives and choose what viewpoint you think is pleasing and convenient. Convenience,
according to Peterson, defines, most likely, the moral aptitude of the present generation (2017). This is
the scheme that we are treading right now and our mission, as Christian – La Sallian pilgrims, is to
navigate which morality authentically leads to the good life – a life geared towards eternal life. What
are, however, the varying moralities roving around while holding us in amazement with their unique –
hip-hop ideas which, powerfully, have enticed many of minds away from the traditional – time tested
doctrines of Christian morality?

Lesson 6: How to Grab the Ride of the Good Life? These are the basic categories of general and
professional morality, respectively. They can be considered expression of values and “foundations for
specific norms and rules” (Gomez, OP., 2003). The moral principles are not arbitrary or mere positivistic
moral guidelines but “fundamental rational orientations flowing from human nature, dignity and rights”
(Durand, 2001). These are not abstract or speculative moral ideals but relevant and basic moral
knowledge in dialogue with biomedical and professional practices.
Characteristics of Principles:

a) Certain Comprehensible and an assent with moral certitude. G. K. Chesterton explained, “Morality is
always terribly complicated to a man who lost all his principles”

b) Universal For all people of all times and places; they are like scientific formulae of ‘F = MA’ or ‘E =
MC2’.

c) Objective Based on realistic factual data. The method of discovering and proving them, of course, is
not the scientific positive - method because “good and evil appeal to the senses and cannot be
measured” (Catholic Christianity, 2001).

1. PRINCIPLE OF LIFE Life is a seamless garment and, therefore, must be respected and protected from
the moment of conception to its natural death. It is the ability to hold human life as sacred and to treat
it as a gift from God. E.x. abortion (direct) is always immoral.

2. RESPECT FOR PERSON Respect comes from the Latin word ‘respicere’ (to look again’). It evokes
reverence, esteem and recognition. We respect the person, as Seneca stated as “homo sacra res
homine” (Epistuale, 1985). The psalmist exclaimed, “You have made me little Less than a God”. Person
must be respected by who s/he is and not what s/he has. The is takes priority of the have; being over
having. The ability to treat each person as worthy and as loved by God. Ex. Homosexuals need to be
respected and not to be discriminated in the society.

3. PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE Giving what is due to others. It is a moral virtue that inclines the will to give
everybody his/her due. It is the constant and firm will to give what is due to God and neighbor. Ex. The
employer should always give the just benefits and salaries to the employees who rendered just services.

4. PRINCIPLE OF AUTONOMY Every person has the right to self privacy; “an asylum of the soul” (St. John
of the Cross, 1994). Ex. The right to marry

5. PRINCIPLE OF STEWARDSHIP God is the author of life; man is the custodian. Dominion over creations
and not domination. Ex. Care for oneself and mother earth

6. PRINCIPLE OF SOLIDARITY Love all person – members of the human family, principally the most needy
AND poor sectors of our society. Ex. “preferential option for the poor”

7. PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY Larger bodies (state) should not interfere with what smaller bodiescan
do, unless needed. Ex. Establishment of NGOs

8. PRINCIPLE OF TOTALITY The part is subordinated to the whole, therefore, the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts. This principle advocates maintaining the wholeness ofthe body but is extended to
allow for removal of a part of the body, if it is done in the interest of or for the benefit of the whole
person. This would permit, for example, the amputation of an extremity in order to save the rest of the
body. In addition to the assumed need for totality in the resurrection of the body, the principle of
totality includes charitable donation and mutilation of the body.
9. PRINCIPLE OF COOPERATION (from evil acts) Formal Cooperation The mastermind of the act (morally
bad). Immediate material Cooperation With knowledge, contributed to the performance of the act
(morally bad). Mediate Material Cooperation an accomplice but indeliberately i.e., indifferent as to the
knowledge of the crime (can be non-immoral or less culpable).

10. PRINCIPLE OF INFORMED CONSENT Inform the patient about their state of health, illness, prognosis
and alternative treatment with its corresponding consequences including expenses so that they may
give free assent to a particular medical treatment or procedure.

11. PRINCIPLE OF BENEFICENCE Do good always, at all times and places.

12. PRINCIPLE OF NON-MALEFICENCE If you cannot do good, then, do not do

13. PRINCIPLE OF CONFIDENTIALITY Always keep professional secrecy. The principle of confidentiality is
designed to advance certain values. These include reducing the stigma and discrimination associated
with seeking and receiving mental health treatment, fostering trust in the treatment relationship,
ensuring individuals privacy in their health care decisions, and furthering individual autonomy in health
care decision-making. It is also important to note at the outset that the right to confidentiality belongs
to the person receiving services (Campbell, 2000). The ethical codes of the various professions, and most
confidentiality laws, obligate professionals to take steps to protect confidentiality. However, in general,
the right to confidentiality belongs to the client; the right to waive confidentiality also is the client’s,
although there are situations in which the provider of treatment has no choice under the law but to
disclose.

14. PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT An action in which two inevitable evil effects will come out. The object
(act itself) must be morally good or at least indifferent. The evil effect must be secondary or
simultaneous with the good effect. The intention of the agent should be directed towards the goof
effect, never to the evil effect. There is a grave reason for acting.

Lesson 7: The Rubric for Grabbing the Good Life: The Moral GPS (Good Power Source)

Discussion on the Determinants of the Morality of the Human Act: Action, Intention & Circumstances.
The road to a good moral life is not that simple, easy, and beautifully looking just what Seneca
proclaimed thousands of years ago, “it is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness”. Much is
the call for us toward goodness, many conflicting road signs can lead us to nowhere, instead. Unlike
before where tourists used compass, in today’s tech – net era GPS is the new global chaperone. What
exactly is our GPS in terms of responding to the voice of natural moral law and of knowing that, truly, we
are in the right path? Good Power Source is what we’re looking for to determine our ride, if we are
really heeding the right voice, like what Captain America told the Avengers, “Heroes are made by the
path they choose, not the powers they are graced with”. Did we choose the right voice? Are we
following it?

The Three Determinants of Morality

1. Object of the Act/End of the Act (Finis Operis) – the act itself. The end by which the act naturally tends
to. e.g. Drinking: quench the thirst, Lying: perversion of truth. The act is considered good when it is done
in conformity with reason, which is the proximate norm of morality. Otherwise, it is evil. Right intention
and workable means do not render an evil act good. e.g. murder is intrinsically evil regardless of
situational factors. The object of the human act may refer primarily to the moral implications of the act,
not just the physical or psychological effects of it; e.g. the object of the act of adultery is not the sexual
intercourse itself but the marriage rights the adulterers had violated to the third party. When the object
of the human act is evil, no purpose or intention of the agent can permit this act. Ultron wanted to
annihilate humans in the face of the earth because, in his judgment, we are the flaws. Evolution, thus, is
the answer for survival against stagnation. Ultron called his action a reboot of life into a higher form
which is robotic, not mass murder. On the same manner, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
ordered the killing of more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(1995), thru the army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of General Ratko Mladic.
Karadzic was found guilty of crime against humanity and sentenced to 40 years ‘imprisonment. Karadzic
did not believe he committed genocide, but a racial cleansing of the undesirables. Do you think Ultron
and Pres. Radovan Karadzic were justified in what they did? Is it genocide or evolutionary upgrading /
cleansing, as what they insisted, that they had done? Why?

Regardless of labels people give to their action, we call spade a spade and green a green. All we have to
avoid is calling black, white or cheating, sharing of answers. No matter how we ingeniously call an act
into a nicer terminology, the essence of the act never changes. Stealing is still stealing even though
others may fondly call it creative sneaking. Otherwise, everything will become morally acceptable
depending on how we name it and this makes no sense at all. This is the GPS of the Act in which the
goodness or badness depends primarily on the nature of the act, itself.

2. End of the agent (Finis Operantis) - The end of the doer / agent in performing the act independently,
sometimes from the very end of the act. e.g. The immediate effect of drinking great amount of alcohol is
drunkenness. It could also be the subjective purpose of the agent. But the agent’s purpose may be
different from the effect – he wants to forget his problems. A spy may kill himself (suicide, effect of the
act), in order to prevent from betraying the secret (his intention). In the movie Iron Man 2, Tony Stark
politely told disabled scientist Aldrich Killian to proceed to the rooftop of the building, with good
intention, in order to get some fresh air, watch the beautiful fireworks, and wait for him that they can
discuss regarding Extremis – a cure for any debilitating condition. The motive of Stark, however, is to get
rid of Killian since he gave no importance to this guy. Many politicians, on the real score, present
themselves being poor, approachable, or may even create rocking controversy duringelection period for
the intention that they will for public office. Do the good intention of Stark and some politicians justified
their actions? Why? Can a good intention make an evil act, a good one? In reverse, would a good action
done with evil intent becomes a good act? What do you think?

The GPS of the End, which is the second GPS in following the voice of natural law, reminds us that the
end (motive) does not justify the means (action). If one will sponsor the Miss Earth Beauty Pageant
though a dinner in a prestigious Manila Yacht Club, however, the intention is to take advantage of, or
worst to ask for sexual favor from, the Miss Earth contestants, such action, how noble it is, is deemed
wrong and narcissistically sick. What justifies the means is the very nature of the act, though the end
(intention) may shed light on the reason why such act has been committed.

Human Actions may be modified in some ways:

1. An objectively good act may become morally evil. E.g. When a male student offers a drink that is
mixed with sleeping pills in order to drug a female student he is attracted to.

2. An objectively evil act can never become good in spite of the good motive. E.g. The act of backbiting a
person can never become good even if the purpose of the one who backbites is to tell the truth or a
teenager takes drugs in order to forget his personal problem.

Principle

Every agent acts for an end. The end does not justify the means. The end is always first in intention, last
in execution.

3. GPS of Circumstances – are the situational factors surrounding the concurrent of the act. These
circumstances may either increase or diminish our responsibility in doing the act.

There are Seven Types of Circumstances that affect every act that we do.

1. Who/Person/Doer (Quis) - the doer/agent and the recipient of the act.

2. What (Quid) - the nature of the act.

3. Where/Place (Ubi) - the locus of the act or the place where the action took place.

4. By what means (Quidis Auxiliis) - the instrument used in the performance of the act.

5. Why (Cur) - the reason in doing the act.

6. How /Manner (Quomodo)- the process of performing the act.

7. When/Time (Quando) - the time element in the commission of the act.

Kinds of Circumstance

1. Aggravating - It intensifies the gravity of the act.

2. Mitigating - It lessens the culpability of the act. However, it is still culpable.

3. Exempting - There is culpability but not applicable for the given time.

4. Justifying - No more culpability involved.

Influences of circumstances of human acts:

1. in positive sense, it can make better an act good or even indifferent in its object.

2. In negative sense, it can also make worse an act evil or indifferent in its object. It can also make less
good or less evil an act good in itself.

The act may be morally good, all three determinants must be without a flaw, according to the received
axiom: "Bonum ex integra causa, malum ex quocumque defectu," -- " A thing to be good must be wholly
so; it is vitiated by any defect.” No act has been done in a vacuum i.e. any act is within the bounds of
surrounding situations. When James ‘Bucky’ Barnes a.k.a. the winter soldier, murdered Howard Stark
and his wife (Tony’s parents), he is under the control of the Hydra, Tony’s parents were on the run
carrying those blue liquid packs and unarmed, no one else in the scene when it happened, they were
shot to death, and it’s almost dark. Do you think these settings have significance in the murder of Tony’s
parents? In what way? The how, when, where, by what means, and what are what comprised the so
called GPS of Circumstances. They cannot change the culpability of the act, although they can indirectly
effect its degree. It can be aggravating if all the gravity of the circumstances are higher in degree,
mitigating if the gravity shows lower or insignificant degree of impact, exempting if the culprit involved
is not of legal age as to the commission of the crime, and justifying if the accused is proven innocent
beyond reasonable doubt. Only human persons act for a reason, a purpose, an intention or a goal
because only human persons are created with the intelligence to know and the free will to choose. In
the concrete reality of our every day life, this is not easy. Many times, we find ourselves at the crossroad
of choosing and deciding what is good, what is better, or what is best, what is evil or what is less evil for
one particular situation. Determinants are “essential features of morality that point to the righwithtness
or wrongness of an action” (Gomez, OP., 2003). They enable us to perceive the specificity of morality,
i.e., to evaluate the goodness or the badness of the actions that we do by taking into consideration the
object (act itself), the end (intention of the agent/doer), and the circumstances that surround our action.

Evaluate.

Rubric: The basic notions in the thesis statements are explained well using a critical reflection method.
The correlations of the thesis statements are importantly established by identifying the organic
relation of the moral truths being presented in the controlled conversation or in small group panel
discussion via Zoom. The show case and mastery of the concepts, ideas and reflection are clearly
articulated in an orderly fashion of the mind, correct discourse and well-meaning conversation with
the Teacher. Each group is encouraged to make sense with their conversation by grounding it with
data and authoritative sources.

Moral Thesis Satement (10 points each).

Things to do: The students will be divided into an asynchronous small discussion group. The guide
questions for the conversation shall be provided before the asynchronous small group activity. Each
group will have a moderator. The task of the moderator will host the Zoom meeting and call into order
the panel discussion. He/she will assign the members for the thesis presentation. The moderator will
take charge of recording the Zoom meeting and submit the group details immediately after the group
presentation. The synchronous small group panel discussion will be announced ahead of time, so as the
students will have the ample time to do a pre-recorded asynchronous and synchronous group activity.

Thesis 1: Law is an ordinance of Reason, promulgated by Authority and for the Common Good.

Thesis 2: The 2 faces of Law are to teach and to punish the violator. The former revealed that there's the
teaching side of the law: "Dura lex sed lex" is a Latin term that means "it is harsh, but it is the law." (The
Natural Law thinkers believed that man can attain a desirable good for himself.) Simply put, the Law
generally speaking is an objective moral norm. The later points to a moral agent who failed to follow the
Law of Love, the Love Commandment may suffer the "sense of loss" or death on the Judgment Day.

Thesis 3: Freedom is the ability to choose what is good and right. Human Freedom then is exercised by
a moral agent with Responsibility.

Thesis 4: The Freedom of man is relative but God's Freedom is absolute. Simply put, the evil desire of
man's heart made the Human Freedom defective, making himself devoid of God's grace and awaiting for
the Divine Mercy. With the Divine Plan, the Father sent his only Son to pay for the Sin of humankind that
everything on earth will be restored completely by the person of Jesus, truly man and truly God. By his
Redemption, we are called humbly to seek forgiveness (The Sacrament of Reconciliation) of the human
frailty. So, we claim once again the "Imago Dei" as Children of God, worthy of Human Dignity destroyed
by sin.

Thesis 5: Conscience is a practical judgment of reason upon an individual act as good and to be
performed, or as evil and to be avoided.

Thesis 6: Conscience derives its order from the Law of God (10 Commandments). It belongs to the
subjective moral norm. It is therefore, the moral compass for every man who had fallen astray. In the
new man, Jesus, the Freedom of Conscience perfected man's calling, his obedience to the Divine Law.
The man of God always listens and obeys the Moral Conscience to develop Virtues and for the
perfection of Charity despite the human weaknesses brought about by the evil forces. But with God's
grace, the man of God firmly believed and committed to the values of God's Kingdom into order to
pursue the best version of oneself before God.

Insert.... Supplementary instructional material for the panel discussion:

For Thesis 1& 2

You Tube 1; Thomas Aquinas; On General Law

You Tube 2: Theory on Natural Law

For Thesis 3 & 4 (Freedom)

You Tube 3:

You Tube 4;
For Thesis 5 & 6 (Conscience)

You Tube 5:

You Tube 6: