Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God. (Catechism, #1691)
“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now
if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
—Romans 7:15-25a
These are basic concepts in Catholic moral theology:
Freedom
Truth
Natural law
Law
Conscience
God creates us in the state of freedom. We are at liberty to choose, based on reason and will, whether to act or not in a specific situation. We are responsible for our choices. With these choices, we choose our own ultimate destiny: that of eternal life with God, or that of death.
We believe that moral truth is objective, and not relative to the subjective whims of culture or taste. It is valid at all times & everywhere. God is the ultimate source of all moral truth.
People have an innate sense of basic moral truth. Using human reason, we can deduce the principles of this natural law. But because sin clouds our vision of the truth, God has chosen to directly reveal the law to us.
We use our natural facility called conscience to apply the general principles of the law to specific situations, judging specific actions to be right or wrong in accordance with objective law. (Conscience is not the source of those moral principles!)
Understanding these basic principles of Catholic morality will help you avoid a lot of trouble.
Go to Formed.org watch: Symbolon: Pt 2: Session 6: A Catholic Moral Vision: Virtue, Grace & ...Happiness
We have learned a little about the Church’s moral vision and how it allows us to live truly authentic and heroic lives. Let’s summarize now some key features of the Catholic moral life. God loves us so much he revealed to us the pathway to happiness. All people desire to be happy, but true happiness is found only in God and in following God’s moral law.
Freedom is not merely the ability to make choices, but the ability to perform actions
of excellence directed toward what is good. To be truly free we need more than good
desires and intentions. We need virtue. Virtue is the habitual disposition to do the
good. It helps a person rise above his selfish desires and give the best of himself
to God and others. God’s grace helps us to overcome our habits, grow in virtue, and
live a life worthy of a child of God.
The morality of human acts has three parts: the kind of action itself, the person’s
intention, and the circumstances surrounding the action. We must follow our
conscience, but we must have a well-formed conscience that is formed according to
the teachings of Christ and the Church.
Sin is a spoken word, an action, or a desire contrary to God’s moral law. Mortal sin
breaks friendship with God while venial sin hinders one’s friendship with God.
To receive God’s mercy we must acknowledge our sin, repent, and ask God for his
forgiveness. We do this primarily in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
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