THE HUMAN PERSON

IS CALLED TO MAKE
MORAL DECISIONS
THE BIG QUESTION:

HOW DO WE MAKE GOOD MORAL

DECISIONS THAT ARE MOST PLEASING TO
GOD AND BEST FOR OUR PERSONAL
GROWTH AND LIVING WITH OTHERS IN
THE COMMUNITY?
MORAL DECISION MAKING

• As young persons growing in authentic human freedom and becoming

more community-mission spirited, we should be open to the idea of moral
decisions that respect the truth about being human, like our capability of
making good choices in relation to others and to Christ.
 Luke 22:39-46
Then going out He went, as His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the
disciples followed Him. When He arrived at the place He said to them,
“Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a
stone’s throw from them and kneeling, He prayed, saying, “Father, if You
are willing, take this cup away from Me; still, not my will but Yours be
done.” (And to strengthen Him an angel from heaven appeared to Him. He
was in such agony and He prayed so fervently that His sweat became likes
drops of blood falling on the ground.) When He rose from prayer and
returned to His disciples, He found them sleeping from grief. He said to
them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo
the test.”
MORAL DECISION MAKING

• Jesus’ distress is so great that He reaches the point of wanting to die; death
would have been a welcome relief.
• The possibility of the cup to be taken away depends on His Father’s will.
The hour of destiny has come for His passage to the Father through death
and it brings with it the natural disgust of humankind.
• Even in the horror of Gethsemane, Jesus knows God as His Father,
expresses full confidence in Him, and finally His willingness to face His
destiny alone, if this be the Father’s will.
MORAL DECISION MAKING

• Jesus’ own crossroad happened when He was praying in the Garden of

Olives. Jesus confronted the certainty of His suffering and death with
much anxiety.
• Despite the feelings of helplessness and fear, Jesus prayed to the Father
and embraced what was good, and lovingly entrusted Himself to the
Father’s will that His life may be offered “as a ransom for many”.
MORAL DECISION MAKING

• Even in the most difficult choices of His life, Jesus remained courageous,
faithful, and loving. For us, He is the model of fortitude and authentic
freedom, selflessly offering His life to fulfill the Father’s will. Indeed, at
the crossroad of suffering and death, Christ chose to love.
• As young followers of Christ, we are called to respond to crossroads – to
make decisions – as Jesus did. We look at Christ’s example and indwelling
Spirit in facing our own moral decisions.
STEPS IN MORAL DECISION MAKING

• Good decisions can be made only if we have a clear knowledge and

assessment of reality. In our previous lesson, we learned about the three
dimensions of a moral act: the object of the act or the act chosen, the
intention of the act, and the circumstances of the act. These
dimensions have to be considered together in order to arrive at an adequate
moral judgment.
STEPS IN MORAL DECISION
MAKING
1. INVESTIGATE THE FACTS OF THE MORAL ACT.

• One important note that we have to remember when we consider

the intentions of the act is that a good intention can never give
good reason for or justify a way or means that is morally wrong.
• Though the intention may seem to be “noble”, it does not excuse
the nature of a morally wrong act. Another important thing to
remember is that circumstances of the act do not determine
whether an act is morally right or wrong but they can, however,
diminish or increase a person’s responsibility or accountability.
2. INQUIRE ABOUT THE MORAL NORMS
AFFECTING YOUR ACT

• When we make decisions, we usually ask for advice from our

friends and family. We do this because we know that whatever
our decision would be, it would be not only affecting us but
others as well since we are relational beings.
• However, we should not forget that asking the counsel of others
should not take the place of our personal decision making.
3. IMAGINE ALTERNATIVES AND
CONSEQUENCES
• Because of our reason, we are able to imagine both possibilities
and consequences of our actions. When we analyze the effects
of our acts, we need to identify both short- and long-term
effects.
• We should resist the temptation of making decisions because of
its short-term effects. We also need to imagine other options in
order to choose more responsibly.
4. INTROSPECT: LISTEN TO YOUR EMOTIONS

• Our feelings can actually help us be more objective and

responsible in our decision making. For example, we experience
anger when we see or witness acts of violence or injustice, or
we feel a sense of accomplishment when people receive rightful
awards.
• This sense of joy or anger reveals to us our attraction for what is
good and our aversion to what is evil.
4. INTROSPECT: LISTEN TO YOUR EMOTIONS

• However, because of media that often show violence, we

become desensitized to violence and injustice.
• As young followers of Christ, we need to pattern our emotions
and affectivity after Jesus.
• The proper formation of conscience means not only educating
the mind but also forming our hearts, our affectivity.
5. IMPLORE GOD’S HELP IN PRAYER

• Prayer is a personal encounter with God in the depths of our

being.
• Christ is our source and exemplar of prayer.
• In following Christ, our prayer must permeate the whole process
of our moral decision making: before the choice, while thinking
about it, and after finally making our decision.
5. IMPLORE GOD’S HELP IN PRAYER

• Note, however, that our knowledge and application of the

elements of moral decision making would all be without success
if we will not listen to and obey our enlightened and informed
conscience, and implement the judgment of our own conscience
in the moral decision to be made at hand.