FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE

For a moral choice in the election of leaders for governance

INTRODUCTION
Casting a VOTE in an election is both a POLITICAL ACT and a MORAL ACT.
Choosing a leader from a pool of candidates is making a decision that has
consequences. A bad choice is bound to result in bad consequences just as a good
choice can bring much good. In moral theology we speak of good acts and bad acts.
There are also acts that have direct good or evil effects. We are accountable for our acts
– good or bad – and for their effects or consequences.

Those who refuse to recognize the MORAL nature of voting like, of course, to
speak of a “separation of Church and State” and understand this principle to mean that
the STATE is not subject to the MORAL TEACHING AND AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH.
If this were true it would, by pushing the logic of the assumption, the STATE can
legislate laws and implement laws without any regard for morality. It would mean that
the concepts of “good” and “evil” are not part of the government of peoples.

A politics and political action that does not allow the light of the moral law to
guide “political decisions” is to detach the human law from the moral law. This would
make governance not be based on TRUTH and JUSTICE. This would make a government
the rule of the law of the jungle where the strongest reign and are free to do what they
like with impunity for there is no accountability to any higher authority.

Removing the moral character of election is listening to the temptation of the

serpent in the garden of Eden. There, the devil convinced Adam and Eve to disobey
God and eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that they can become like
God, that is, having authority for their own acts and not be subject to God’s laws on
good and evil. The temptation to “moral autonomy” or non-compliance to the moral
law is always Satan’s plan. Satan does not want us to let God and religion disturb our
decisions. Satan does not want us to let the moral law shed light on our choices. Woe
to us should we heed the foul suggestions of Satan!
THE CHURCH, “MATER ET MAGISTRA”
The Church has over the centuries acted or exercised her role as MATER ET
MAGISTRA in helping her children and all men of good will to see the wisdom of her
counsel not only on spiritual matters but also on temporal matters. History will bear
witness to the role of the Church in promoting PEACE and ORDER in the world. We
remember the holy attempt of St. Francis of Assisi in resolving the conflict between
Islam and Christianity in the Middle Ages. Today we are witnesses of the “intervention”
of Pope Francis in the war in Ukraine.

The interest of the Church is not to usurp political power. The Church duly
recognizes legitimate power. The Church does not meddle in the affairs of government.
The Church, again as MATER ET MAGISTRA, offers her counsel and guidance to both
candidates and voters. The Church reminds one and all what should be considered
when MORAL ACTS are to be made. The Church exercising her prophetic role watches
from her vantage point of view as a “non-combatant” in the political battlefield and
warns the DANGERS those who have to take action in the frontlines. From her position
of moral ascendancy she points out to all what actions may bring disaster and what may
be harbingers of good. The Shepherds of the Church, namely, the Bishops in
communion with the Holy Father, have to raise the alarm when there is danger for the
flock. They also hope to direct their flock to verdant pastures.

It behooves us all as children of our Holy Mother Church, to listen to her wise
counsel that we might act aright in a matter of great consequence. If the Church seems
so very engaged at this time in this political exercise it is because she has seen the
urgency and the necessity to helping her children make the right decisions. Election
2022 will be a watershed, a turning point, in the history of our country. The future of
our children is at stake. As a loving Mother the Church cannot leave her children
unaccompanied in their decision making. As a wise Magistra (Teacher), she will provide
the necessary lessons for this political activity.

AN OVERVIEW
We will have 5 segments of our CATECHESIS / CONSCIENCE FORMATION for
participating in the ELECTIONS 2022. We will briefly present here an overview and then
develop each lesson separately in more detail.
 Of late we have been hearing of “CIRCLES OF DISCERNMENT.” What are these?
For the longest time we have applied “discernment” only to matters strictly spiritual as in
discerning vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We owe this word from the
great St. Ignatius of Loyola who has made it a key word of the Jesuits. It means, of
course, determining God’s holy will, in a particular situation. It is quite providential that
our present Holy Father is a Jesuit! Now we have become more at home with this
concept. But now we do not only apply it in religious / spiritual matters; now we also
apply it to a temporal / political agenda. We seek to know God’s holy will in a MAJOR
DECISION we have to make for the good of our country, for the good of our children,
for our future! By establishing

CIRCLES OF DISCERNMENT in our communities we are teaching our faithful to

make their DEVOTIONAL FAITH to a FAITH THAT DOES JUSTICE. It is about time the
Faith we have received 500 years ago become alive in our socio-political life as a nation.
This instrument dovetails perfectly with the “synodal church” we have recently been
walking. In fact, the SYNOD is a CIRCLE OF DISCERNMENT! When God’s children
gather in Faith to seek God’s will on a matter of consequence, they gather TO LISTEN,
TO LEARN, SO AS TO LOVE! The decision that is reached in a Circle of Discernment is
the fruit of PRAYER born out of a sincere effort to be in COMMUNION, in active
PARTICIPATION, and for MISSION. The ACTION or decision that is reached in Circles of
Discernment are ever respectful of the values of the GOSPEL, namely: TRUTH, JUSTICE,
CHARITY, PEACE. These are the pillars of the Circles of Discernment in the process and
in the result.

We now divide the lessons in the following way:

LESSON 1 THE SETTING / THE SITUATION

LESSON 2 OUR DREAMS / OUR VALUJES

LESSON 3 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AND APTITUDE FOR GOVERNANCE

LESSON 4 COURSE OF ACTION

LESSON 5 SOME QUESTIONS

 CIRCLE OF DISCERNMENT
FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
+ Renato P. Mayugba

The following process is proposed. In the spirit of the SYNOD we begin the
DISCERNMENT PROCESS by invoking the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Then we LISTEN to the Word of God. We allow God’s Word to TEACH US. A short
REFLECTION is offered. If time allows the community gathered can also have some
sharing on the Gospel. The FACILITATOR of the Discernment then conducts the LESSON.
Four KEY WORDS are used to lead in community sharing. The community can elaborate
or deepen the considerations.

Opening Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
I n the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.
Reading
The Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36)

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him
and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his
face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men,
Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke
about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32
Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving
Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three
shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he
was saying.)

34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were
afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is
my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they
found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell
anyone at that time what they had seen.

Reflection
The 2nd Sunday of Lent (Cycle C) brings us to the mystery of the
Transfiguration. This is a follow up to the mystery of the 1st Sunday, namely, the
TEMPTATION OF JESUS. Jesus rejected the proposals of Satan about how Jesus
could be a popular / effective Messiah! Satan had suggested to Jesus (1) “Just
give them money / material comforts”; (2) “Lower your standards and allow some
evil, allow people to adore me, Satan, a little”; (3) “Just entertain them and give
them with fads and stage shows for them to forget their miseries.” Jesus rejected
all three temptations.

Now, this Sunday we get to know the PROGRAM / PLATFORM of JESUS,

THE MESSIAH – THE SON OF THE FATHER WHO WILL FULFILL THE
PRESCRIPTIONS OF THE LAW (MOSES) AND THE DEMAND FOR FIDELITY TO THE
COVENANT (ELIJAH).
 The mystery of the Transfiguration read in Lent is understood by referring
to the first reading (Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18) on the COVENANT of Yahweh with
Abram. The Covenant, AN AGREEMENT between two parties, is sealed with a
sacrifice. This OLD COVENANT will be replaced by the NEW COVENANT which
will be sealed with the sacrifice of Jesus. The two parties will still be GOD and
man. Jesus being TRUE GOD and TRUE MAN makes the covenant unbreakable!
His SACRIFICE will confirm the faithfulness of God and the faithfulness of man at
the same time.

When we apply this mystery to the LESSON at hand, we can point out 2
important concepts, namely:

(1) COVENANT
Governance / an elected official enters into a CONTRACT with his / her
constituents. (A SOCIAL CONTRACT is entered into between elected
officials and the citizens.) When elected he / she swears (by the Bible) to
be a faithful PUBLIC SERVANT and render self-less service to his / her
constituents in accordance with the CONSTITUTION. They add: “SO HELP
ME GOD!”

(2) SACRIFICE

The honor and the power that go with becoming a PUBLIC SERVANT also
includes the commitment to render service. It is a commitment to make
SACRIFICES for the sake of those served. This means concretely, the call or
vocation to make the COMMON GOOD the primary mission of the Public
Servant. It is hoped that private of person interests are not to interfere
with the call to service. OTHERS, and not the self is the reference point.
 LESSON 1 THE SETTING / THE SITUATION

(The following ESSAY is an attempt to present in broad strokes what I

perceive, within my limited knowledge, the current socio-political setting of the
political activity we are to engage in. I confess that my grouping may be arbitrary
and I do not provide references or sources for what I write. It is, precisely, an
“essay” my thoughts on the matter. It does not prevent our readers or community
from doing their own assessment of the situation as they see it.)

Election 2022 is an event that will determine how our country will be
governed over the next 6 years. Will we have a better government? What are
fundamental and existential issues or concerns that our people live by or suffer?
In the process of DISCERNMENT we begin with the examining the prevailing
circumstance or situation. We SEE the situation.

There are 4 prevailing socio-political-economic-cultural concerns or

context of the majority of our people at the present time, namely:

 KAHIRAPAN – endemic poverty

We do not need a “rocket scientist,” as the saying goes, to tell us that the
prevailing situation of our people is that of KAHIRAPAN! The great
majority of our people are poor. Many are in a “survival mode.” They are
poor for a plethora of reasons, not least of these is POOR GOVERNANCE.
When programs and policies are anti-poor, people resort to personal
initiatives to alleviate their poverty. More and more our principal export is
out people. The social cause is enormous – the breakdown of our families
being the most painful.

Aggravating our exporting our people is our importation of even products

we can easily raise in our own backyards. Our farmers bear the brunt of
this policy. Our fisher folk suffer the same fate with foreign shipping
companies depriving our own poor fisher folk of their source of livelihood.
 To top it all, the rape of our Mother Earth through mining, logging, and
quarrying render also our indigenous peoples a loss of their own habitat
and endangering also our rich natural resources. The Philippines right
smack along the typhoon belt, it is inevitable that when calamity strikes
the most vulnerable are the poor. We have witnessed too many
devastating typhoons to be counted.

KAHIRAPAN makes our people easy prey to unscrupulous people. When

defenseless, our people are easily coerced to bend to the “highest bidder”
during elections. Principles and morals are sacrificed when the temptation
of money is offered. “Pantawid gutom” and “ayuda” while most welcome
do not solve or address the real problem of KAHIRAPAN. Structural and
systematic poverty has to be addressed in a systematic and institutional
way, and with honest sincerity!

 KAWALAN NG KATARUNGAN – prevalent criminality and injustice

“Nanlaban” has entered the vocabulary of poor Juan de la Cruz. Too
many cases of abuse and violation of human rights by agencies that are
supposed to protect the citizens and uphold law and order have forced
many to wonder why only the poor end up in our prisons. Many languish
without the safeguard of law, and too often the wheels of justice turn all
too slow. Despite protestations of an all out fight against drugs, we have
not seen real prosecution of drug lords. Only the little ones, the poor and
many innocent persons end up being deprived of liberty.

Is the Constitution upheld and defended? So many new laws are crafted
and still there is so much chaos in the lives of so many, especially again,
among the poor. There are so many exposes and hearings “in aid of
legislation” but we do not hear of resolution to cases, especially of
corruption. The concept of restitution seems to be foreign in the
administration of justice.
 KATIWALIAN – corruption and disregard for the rule of law
Corruption is so rampant. It is accepted as the S.O.P. Alas! A culture of
cheating and defrauding of the citizenry has brought not only poverty in
our land but also inefficiency in our procedures. What is so dangerous is
that the consciences of so many are conditioned to accept corruption as
normal, even the right way to do things!

We do not need to belabor this reality. We all are aware of KATIWALIAAN

in our daily lives and in our transactions. Again, “alas, in what dire
straights have we found ourselves!” We see the growing impoverishment
of so many while at the same time we notice the scandalous enrichment of
a few!

 KASINUNGALINGAN – dishonesty and fake news

Especially alarming at the present time during this election is the

prevalence of fake news. Too many trolls are corrupting truths and facts.
Brazen dishonesty and outright malicious dis-information and mis-
information spread like a virulent virus. The millennium is the age of social
communication. The purpose of communication is to build relationships
and communities. Truth is at the heart of relationships and communities.
When lies are spread relationships and communities are destroyed.
DECISIONS made from faulty and false information cannot but bring about
faulty results.

The young, the future of our country, are being misled by endemic
KASINUNGALINGAN!. A society built on blatant lies will be a society that
would have no honor. The covering up of lies with more lies cannot but
bring about more sins, more crimes, more injustice, more suffering.

Let us be reminded that in the Trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate new the truth
about the innocence of Jesus but since he did not care for the truth he had
Jesus condemned to death. The enemies of Jesus accused him of crimes
he was not guilty of and they presented witnesses that presented false or
fake data. And the crowd believed the lies presented and so they shouted
“Crucify him!” God spare us from men who promote lies!
 LESSON 2 OUR DREAMS / OUR VALUES
Governance / PUBLIC SERVICE is a most altruistic vocation.
One who aspires for office has at heart the COMMON GOOD. One who
seeks to be elected into office professes a desire TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. It
is the concerns or DREAMS of the people that a would be public official
embraces. A PUBLIC SERVANT is ready to sacrifice himself / herself for the
sake of the people. A PUBLIC SERVANT dreams of making the lives of his /
her constituents more humane, more conducive for human development,
more just. A PUBLIC SERVANT is one who has the good of his /
constituents as his / her primary interest.
There are four values or reference points we propose that
would capture the dreams and aspirations of our people for a GOOD
GOVERNMENT. These are:

 MAKA-DIOS NA PAMUMUNO
 MAKA-TAO NA PROGRAMA / PLATFORM

 MAKA-KALIKASAN NA “DEVELOPMENT”

 MAKA-BAYAN SA PAKIKITUNGO SA INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

LESSON 3 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES / APTITUDE FOR

GOVERNANCE
LESSON 4 COURSE OF ACTION
LESSON 5 SOME QUESTIONS