Conscience Notes

Opening Prayer

Prayer expresses praise for being created in God’s image and gratitude for free will to know and love God.
Request to open the heart to God’s teachings and to form the conscience according to God’s will.
Ask for strength through the virtues of faith, hope, love, and especially prudence.
Seek God’s loving guidance daily and the grace to do God’s will, even when it is difficult. Amen.

Summary: Jesus returns from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and is led by the Spirit into the desert, where He is tempted by the Devil for 40 days. He fasts, growing hungry as the period ends.
Temptations described in sequence:
- First temptation: Devil says, if you are God’s Son, order this stone to become bread. Jesus replies with Scripture:
- "The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone.’"
- Second temptation: Devil shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and offers power and wealth if Jesus worships him.
- Devil claims the power is handed over to him and can be given to anyone he chooses.
- Third temptation: Devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the Temple and dares Him to throw Himself down, citing Scripture that angels will protect Him and that His feet will not strike a stone.
- Jesus answers with Scripture: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
Core scriptural principle: Jesus counters each temptation with a proper understanding of God’s will and the integrity of worship and dependence on God alone.

1) How did Jesus overcome all His difficulties? (Key idea: reliance on Scripture, fidelity to God’s will, and sound discernment in the face of temptation.)
2) If you are tempted like Jesus, what do you think will be your initial reactions? (Consider immediate thoughts, emotions, and the need for reflection and prayer.)

Even Jesus Christ faced daily decisions and continuously used critical thinking based on moral and theological values.
He listened reflectively to His conscience and acted in accordance with it.

Practical judgment enabling a person to recognize whether a concrete act in a situation is good or evil. What is Conscience?
A judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he/she is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. Referenced: CCC 1778.
It does not by itself enable us to recognize good or evil; rather, upon recognition, it summons us to do good or avoid evil.
The capacity arising from reason to determine and evaluate the quality of the concrete act in relation to the law.
Often has a religious source and may be found in notions of human nature. (Source: Lawrence M. Hinman, 2002)
It is one of the gifts of God; a means of communication with the Divine will; it judges the morality of human action and directs humans to the Supreme Good; enables humans to assume responsibility for their actions. (Source: CCC 1776-1794)

Lax Conscience: Makes light of ordinary sins and minimizes grave sins; can lead to a hardened conscience. It results from a lack of effort in judging the morality of the act, producing a poor sense of good and evil.
Scrupulous Conscience: A timid and fearful conscience that tends to judge that something lawful is wrong; or that a simple act is evil or a lesser evil is grave, leading to torments and guilt for no reason.
Erroneous Conscience: Judges to be right what is objectively wrong; mislabels evil as good and good as evil or indifferent.
Hardened Conscience: Acquired by habit of sinning mortally, until virtue becomes vice in the mind.
Pharisaic Conscience: Patterned after the Pharisees in the Gospels; minimizes grave sins but magnifies matters of little importance.
Doubtful Conscience: Unable to judge the morality of an action.
Certain Conscience: No prudent fear of being wrong and decisively views some action as right or wrong.
Right Conscience: In accordance with the objective moral law; reveals the true moral appraisal of a situation.

Discernment: The initial phase involving searching, thinking, consulting others, and praying.
Demand: Bring out the accepted moral norm that applies to the situation.
Decision: The judgment of conscience that commits to a course of action.

The act chosen
Intention
Circumstances
The overall evaluation factors include: WHAT I DO, WHO I AM, and the context that affects moral quality.

Conscience is formed gradually through natural educational agents:
- Family upbringing
- Schooling and education
- Parish catechesis
- Influence of friends and social contacts
Practical steps toward formation:
- Study God’s law regulating moral life; attend to the Word of God and the teachings of the Church
- Adopt the practice of frequent prayer
- Be responsive to the gifts of the Holy Spirit
- Practice regular examination of conscience
- Engage in critical reflection on concrete moral choices and daily experiences

Heart factors: Reading and prayerful reflection on Jesus’ teaching and actions; personal prayer and sacramental life
Mind factors: Deeper understanding of Sacred Scripture and Church teaching, especially Catholic moral principles, and reliable moral guidance

Daily decisions: Some people are good decision-makers due to the ability to think critically and analytically; they consider different methods and alternatives to reach better solutions; they reflect before deciding.
Many people make quick, emotion-driven decisions without thorough reflection.
Some seek advice and help from experts in their fields when making decisions.

The education of conscience is a lifelong task, starting from early years and continuing throughout life.
Children and young people need proper guidance to develop a well-formed conscience and to cultivate a more serious sense of responsibility.