What is Conscience?

I s a practical judgment of human reason concerning the moral goodness or evil of an action. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives & recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law. An act of the human intellect. Therefore subject to the shortcomings of our intellect.

CONSCIENCE
It is the inner voice summoning us to love the good and avoid evil, by applying objective moral norms to our particular acts, and thus commanding: do this, do not do that.

MOMENTS
ANTECEDENT - Conscience which discerns. (Before the act) CONCOMITANT- Conscience in action. Am I doing the right thing? (During the act) CONSEQUENT - Conscience which reviews, evaluates an action which has already been done.

LEVELS OF CONSCIENCE
1. INSTINCTIVE LEVEL Dominated by fear of punishment & desire for approval or reward. Natural level, normal for children.

2. MORAL / PHILOSOPHICAL - Operates on the ethical level, that is, not just on what is commanded by some authority but now from awareness of the inner good or evil of an act.

3. CHRISTIAN LEVEL - My Christian Faith illumines, clarifies & deepens what we perceive as truly worthy of being a person. It places moral striving as a personal call to wholeness & holiness.

 We become conscious of the healing & liberating grace present in our very moral struggle & striving, as we are called to greater & fuller conversion into the persons that God has created us to become.

CONSCIENCE SINCERITY CORRECTNESS

It is not enough to be sincere. It is important to be correct.

KINDS OF CONSCIENCE
I. Conscience with reference to the degree of voluntariness: FREE UNFREE II. With reference to objective moral norm: CORRECT or TRUE ERRONEOUS Invincible Vincible III. With reference to the degree of certainty: 1. CERTAIN 2. DOUBTFUL IV. With reference to moral attitude: 1. DELICATE 2. LAX 3.SCRUPULOUS 4. PHARISAICAL 5. CALLOUS

Formation of Conscience
INFORMED ENLIGHTENED FORMED

HOW DO WE FORM A CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE?

Personal & ecclesial PRAYER LIFE Studying the WORD of GOD & the Teachings of the Church (Seek the moral guidance of the Church) Responsiveness to the indwelling Holy Spirit. Examination of ones conscience. Critical Reflection on our concrete moral choices & experiences in daily life.

The Catholic Church as Moral Guide & Teacher:

Bearer of Moral Tradition A community of Moral discernment Shaper of Moral Identity.

SUPEREGO VS. CONSCIENCE

Commands us to act act for the sake of gaining approval or out of fear of losing love Responds to an invitation to love, in the very act of responding to others

Turned in toward self in order to secure ones sense of being lovable

Fundamental openness that is oriented towards the other and the value that calls for action

 Oriented primarily toward authority, obeying commands blindly

Oriented toward value, responds to the value that deserves preference regardless of whether authority recognizes it or not.

 Primary attention is Primary attention is given on a particular given to the larger acts as being important pattern or process. in themselves Individual acts became important within this larger context.

 Oriented towards the Oriented towards the past: The way we were future: THE PERSON ONE OUGHT TO BECOME

 Punishment is the sure of guarantee of reconciliation

Reparation comes through structuring the future toward the value in question.

 The transition from Self renewal is a guilt to self renewal gradual process of comes fairly and easily growth that characterizes all and rapidly by means dimensions of of confessing to the development authority

 Often finds great disproportion between feelings of guilt experienced and the value at stake, for extent of guilt depends more on the significance of the authority figure disobeyed than the weight of the value at stake

Experience of guilt is proportionate to the degree of ones knowledge ,freedom and emotional stability as well as the value at stake, even though the authority may never have addressed the specific value.

SUMMARY
Authority figure oriented Selfish Static-does not grow and develop Concerned with past acts Looks backward Acts independently Conscience is value oriented Other oriented Dynamic Concerned with the present and the future Looks forward Acts with prudence based on reason

EXERCISE
Shall I attend the party? If I do, what will my classmates say? They would certainly blame me for leaving my sick mother behind while I enjoy a good time with them?

 Do I really need to stay home? Mother says I can go to the prom and even adds that she will be happier if I go with my friends. However I can sense that she is very weak and I can feel that she needs me.

 Suppose my mother gets worse while I am away. It would be better to be able to attend to her needs than to be with my friends. Id better tell her I would rather stay.

However, what would my teachers think of me? Irresponsible? I do not like to lose the good image I have with them.

 I will submit my assignment because it will make my mother happy if I will get high marks.

 The SUPER EGO is sometimes called the authoritarian conscience and the internalized voice of external authority Often associated with words nakakahiya naman sa kanila

 GENUINE CONSCIENCE - is the internalized voice which echoes in our depths, always summoning us to do good and avoid evil.

MORAL NORMS

CHRIST is our moral norm- for Christians all our thoughts, words and deeds are judged and evaluated is not some law but on the PERSON OF JESUS. Salvation depends on ones attitude towards Jesus.

 Matthew 10:32-Whoever acknowledges me Romans 10: 9- Confess that Jesus reveals to us not only God as our Father, but who we truly are. He embodies Gods loving call to us and the perfect human response of a child of God.

 In Christ-God fully revealed Himself In Christ-gives every man with the light and strength to measure up to His own calling. Man came to know his dignity, the heights to which He was raised of the surpassing worth of His humanity and of the meaning of His existence.

 Hence, CHRIST is the MOST SIGNIFICANT OTHER in our life.

 Two characteristics of law 1) It is based on a vision 2) It expresses basic values The Sermon on the Mount expresses basic values. (Matthew 5)