"Making a difference, one child at a time."
Chapter 2- We Make Moral Choices
How do you make good decisions?
What is the gift of conscience and how does it help you?
Moral decision-making- the process by which we make choices between right and wrong, good and evil, eternal life and sin
Conscience- our moral compass; guides us to make good moral decisions
Before we make decisions, our consciences help us:
Know what’s good
Consider the results of our possible choices
During the decision-making process, our consciences help us by bringing us feelings of peace or discomfort.
After we make decisions, our conscience enables us to:
Judge as good or evil the decisions we have made
Accept responsibility for our choices.
God’s grace helps us to make good moral decisions.
Well-formed conscience- a conscience that is educated so that it is able to recognize what is good and then direct us to act on that good
Helps form our conscience:
Scripture
Teachings of the pope and bishops
Guidance of faithful Catholics
Guidance of the Holy Spirit
What are the benefits of choosing a friend who is developing a well-formed conscience?
What happens when we don’t choose to do what is right?
Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation- we prepare by examining our conscience; we acknowledge our sins; priest acts in Jesus’ name; we can be continually reconciled with God and with the Church
Effects of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation:
We receive God’s forgiveness and grace
God’s grace helps us to:
Make good moral decisions
Lead good moral lives
Resist the temptation of sin
Different kinds of sins:
Acts- wrongs we have committed
Omissions- failures to do the good that we are called to do
As disciples of Jesus we are called to choose actions that show our love for:
God
Others
Ourselves
The effects of Penance:
Restoring or strengthening our relationship with God
Reconciling us with the Church
Excusing us from eternal punishment for the mortal sins repented
Lessening the purification necessary for our sins after death
Granting us peace and serenity of conscience
Comforting us
Strengthening us to continue living a moral life
Social sin- unjust situations and conditions that negatively impact society and its institutions
How did Jesus take action against problems in society?
Stood up for those treated unjustly
Protected people who couldn’t protect themselves
Offered peace and freedom that comes from God’s love and forgiveness
Effects of social sin:
Poverty
Homelessness
Crime
Because we are created in God’s image and we all share the same human dignity, we are one human community.
How can the choices we make affect the lives of others?
Who helps you to make the right decisions when you do not know what to do?