Freedom, Conscience, and The Beatitudes

info from chapters 4, 10,13 & 14 of textbook The Moral Life In Christ from the Sophia Institute

Conscience

Comes from the Latin word “c-u-m scientia” meaning “with knowledge,” as this is a practical judgement of reason made by the intellect which also serves as a person’s inner sanctuary where they can hear the voice of God. This regards the good/evil of an act in light of objective moral standards (a.k.a. the moral law) which it interprets and applies to our actions. This is not a feeling or gut-instinct, nor is it a majority opinion, as these things don’t always match up to the reality of what is right or what is wrong. Sacred Scripture affirms its existence, and so does human experience as in our souls we sort through moral questions and hear the promptings of the moral voice inside us. This is formed over an ongoing, lifelong process by constant enlightenment by moral truth according to the Commandments and Christ & the Church’s teachings so it can apply these to real life situations. This may be poorly formed due to poor formation as a child, lack of regular examination & prayer, ignorance of Christ, bad example from others, and habitual sin, among other reasons. The better formed these are, the more trustworthy they will be.

Nature of Conscience

The exercise of moral conscience is both an obligation and a right because we must follow it faithfully, but we are rightfully not forced to act against it/be prevented from following it. A good conscience does not create its own moral standards, but it instead seeks to know and applies moral truths, and it makes judgements according to objective moral law, like a judge. However, this is not infallible, as there is a possibility of error in one’s judgement.

The New Commandment

Christ’s universal call to holiness, which a good conscience should follow by desiring to imitate Christ and love God and others. Charity is key to this commandment, and it should be the conscience’s companion and priority.

Spiritual Direction

Counsel of a spiritually wise person on your spiritual journey through life.

Examination of Conscience

Reflection of one’s actions based on the moral law

Beatitude

Meaning “bliss” or “happiness,” these are promises from Christ which exceed material goods, as they bring light to the fact that things don’t make us happy, but instead it is self-sacrifice and living as a disciple of Christ and deepening our union with Him through love and service. These are counterintuitive and paradoxical as through the worldly eyes, they don’t make much sense; however, they display the portrait of a happy person.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Beatitude which serves as a reminder to us that we are dependent on God, and we are to be grateful for the gifts he provides us.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Beatitude which goes into how sin hurts God and others, but God is there to comfort us when we are suffering or in need. This is also a reminder to forgive others who hurt us as well.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Beatitude which reminds us to be patient with others instead of retaliating against injustice quickly, as meekness is “strength under control,” or gentleness and using power justly and with restraint.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Beatitude which reveals how we must seek to deepen our relationship with God and strive for holiness in our everyday lives.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Beatitude which tells us that we are to forgive and pray for those who hurt us, so that God may grant His mercy upon us in this same way.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Beatitude which tells us to have a pure heart, meaning we must hold love for God dear and stay away from anything that may jeopardize our relationship with Him. We must have this outlook and live the holy life, which can be done in many ways; an example could be helping others out of sincere compassion instead of harboring selfish intentions.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”

Beatitude which reminds us that we are to puts the needs of others before our own and strive for the right relationships in order to establish peace and unity among others in our lives.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Beatitude which shows us that hardship is the way to eternal life, and that if we endure through adversity, we will find ourselves on the right path towards salvation.

Our Father

The “perfect prayer” Jesus gives to us which summarizes the Gospels.

Metanoia

The Greek term for repentance or a turning away from sin and towards Christ.

The Golden Rule

Another teaching touched upon by Jesus which is that we are to “do unto others as you have them do to you.”

Kingdom of God

The reign of God’s peace, justice, and love which Jesus proclaims and ushers in as He is the model or moral living.

Grace

A free and undeserved gift from God which helps us to live up to the expectations of being a disciple of Christ.

Impediment to Freedom

Obstacle that can limit our freedom and thus limit our blameworthiness or responsibility for a particular action.

Ignorance

Impediment of Freedom where one has a lack of knowledge that something is wrong.

Vincible Ignorance

Ignorance because of a failure of due diligence on our part, meaning that we could have easily gained the particular knowledge we needed, and that we still hold some moral responsibility for our ignorance.

Invincible Ignorance

Ignorance that could not have been overcome, potentially due to culture, mental illness, never hearing the Gospel before, etc. We are not morally responsible for this ignorance because it was impossible for us to have gained the knowledge we needed.

Inadvertence

Impediment to Freedom where one is doing something wrong unintentionally or because they weren’t paying attention.

Duress

Impediment to Freedom where one bears stress to sin due to an outside threat or pressure to commit the sin.

Inordinate Attachment

Impediment to Freedom where one has an addiction or obsession with something that causes them to commit a sin.

Fear

Impediment to Freedom where one commits a sin due to fear of consequences that may occur if they don’t commit the sin in question.

Habit

Impediment to Freedom where one has engaged in an impulsive and repeated wrong action that is done without thinking due to the habitual nature of the action.

Incarnation

The fact that the Son of God assumed mankind to save us. Through this, Jesus reveals to us who God is and what it means to be human.

Free Will

The power—based in reason and will—to perform deliberate actions and make choices between good and evil. This is on one’s own moral responsibility, because since we have the freedom to act, we are therefore responsible for those actions (and the more we know, the more responsible we are). This is given to us so that we can choose to love Him and love others as He has loved us; in fact, this freedom is the very thing that makes love possible.

Passions

Emotions/feelings that incline us to act (or not act), which are changes the body and soul undergo as a response to something. These emotions are amoral in themselves, but they can become moral or immoral once they are acted upon.

Sermon on the Mount

One of Jesus’ gatherings to teach the people in Matthew 5-7, where he gives us the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, and the Our Father prayer, as well as taking the Law of Moses one step further by warning against anger, being like the hypocrites, and that one cannot serve both God and material fortune, and preaches that pure intentions must accompany righteous actions and that we must trust in God instead of earthly possessions. This sermon is comparable to how Moses went up Mount Sinai and retrieved the 10 Commandments, as in a similar way, Jesus went up the mountain here and gave us His new law, which is a fulfillment of the Law of Moses.