Ramona Liezel E. Otero

Ab- Communication I

Mr. Samuya

The Sacrament of Healing (Holy Unction)

The practices of the Episcopal Church incorporate the two major sacraments of Holy Communion and Holy Baptism, and the five sacramental rites of Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation of a Penitent, and the Sacrament of Healing, which is also known as Holy Unction. At The Church of the Incarnation, we offer the Sacrament of Healing on the first Sunday of each month and by appointment. This sacrament begins with the opportunity to privately tell the priest briefly about the nature of your need for healing, body, mind, and or spirit. Healing may also be sought for relationships that are in distress or for strength and guidance at some specific crossroad of life. The priest then will make the sign of the cross in Holy Oil on your forehead, will lay hands on your head, and will pray softly (to insure your privacy) for God's blessing. You may also request this sacrament in proxy for another person. It is available to those who are not members of the Episcopal Church as well as to members.

 

http://www.episcopalchurchoftheincarnation.org/holy_unction.html

The Sacrament of Penance

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The forgiveness of sins committed after Baptism is conferred by a particular sacrament, called the sacrament of conversion, confession, penance, or reconciliation." (CCC 1486)

At the beginning of the chapter on the Sacrament of Penance, the Catechism quotes Lumen Gentium [Light of the World], the Second Vatican Council's document on the Church in the world:

"Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against Him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer, labors for their conversion." (Lumen Gentium 11.2)

The Catechism explains, "To return to communion with God after having lost it through sin is a process born of the grace of God, who is rich in mercy and solicitous for the salvation of men. One must ask for this precious gift for oneself and for others.

"The movement of return to God, called conversion and repentance, entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, and the firm purpose of sinning no more in the future. Conversion touches the past and the future, and is nourished by hope in God's mercy." (CCC 1489-90)

In 1966, Pope Paul VI issued an Apostolic Constitution on Penance, Paenitemini, a high-level document on the importance of the sacrament. "By first of all examining more thoroughly the link which binds it to Christ and His salvific action, [the Council] has underlined more clearly how all its members are called upon to participate in the work of Christ and therefore to participate also in His expiation", he wrote.

The Ritual of Confession
The Sacrament of Penance is a liturgical action instituted by the Church for the reconciliation of sinners to communion with God and with the Church. Catholics are obliged to go to confession to receive the sacrament of penance at least once a year -- usually during the Easter season (it used to be called "Easter duty") -- or whenever they are conscious of serious sin. Receiving this sacrament is encouraged at other times, as a means of restoring full unity with God and His Church, and for spiritual growth.

The sacrament consists basically of four acts of the penitent and the priest:

Contrition: First the penitent (the repentant sinner -- the root word in "penitentiary"), must be aware of his sinfulness and must be truly sorry (contrite) for his sins. Another word for repentance is "contrition". He must repent his sins, and seek the sacrament of penance -- that is, to go to confession to a priest.

Confession: The penitent confesses to a priest all the sins he can recall -- after examining his conscience -- that he has not confessed before. The confession is entirely private -- the priest-confessor never reveals anything the penitent confesses. Traditionally confession takes place in the "confessional", a small room where the priest and penitent are separated by a screen to assure complete privacy and anonymity. It is also permissible, if both the priest and penitent agree, to administer and receive the sacrament of penance "face to face" in another room in the church reserved for this purpose. The sacrament can take place elsewhere, in an emergency.

Act of Penance: The priest-confessor proposes certain actions -- penance -- for the penitent to perform. This may be saying certain prayers and/or performing some other fitting action. The person who performs this penance thus shows his sorrow for his sinful acts. This helps him to overcome his faults, and the harm his sins have caused others -- to be reconciled with them and with the Church, and to return to behavior consistent with being a disciple of Christ.

Absolution: After the penitent accepts the acts of penance, the priest, by the authority that the Church has given him (see the quote from John 20:22, 23 above), absolves the sinner; that is, he grants God's pardon for the sins.

Structure of Confession/ Absolution Rite
The normal practice for administration of the Sacrament of Penance is in private -- with only the penitent and the priest present. On occasion, as during penitential seasons, a parish may hold a "communal penance service", where the congregation may pray and reflect together with the priest before each person individually goes to confession. (Only in extreme cases of emergency, such as on a battlefield, may a priest give "general absolution" to all at the same time; and that with the stipulation that the individual penitents go to confession individually as soon as possible.)

To begin, the penitent kneels and, by custom, says: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned", and may add, "It has been [time] since my last confession." The priest greets the penitent. Then crossing himself, the penitent says "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" and begins his confession.

The priest may help the penitent with an examination of conscience, perhaps by asking questions. During the confession, the priest may read Scripture passages and offer spiritual counsel.

After hearing the confession, the priest assigns a penance, and the penitent accepts the penance with the following prayer:

http://www.wf-f.org/Confession-Penance.html

 

What is to reconcile?

"To Reconcile" derives from two Latin words (re + conciliare) that together render the meaning "to unite." As we acknowledge ourselves and others as to who we truly are, we further realize Jesus's prayer: "Father, may they all be one as you and I are one that they may be one in us."

To reconcile denotes:

1. "to cause to be friendly again;
   

1. to adjust, settle (as to reconcile differences);
   
2. to make consistent or congruous; and
   
3. to bring to acquiescence or quiet submission (as to reconcile oneself to affliction)." (Webster's Seventh Collegiate Dictionary)
   

When we reconcile, we unite ourself with ourself – or as the Zen tradition might phrase it: the self settles into the self. Before we can reconcile ourselves with another, including, God, we first must reconcile ourself with ourself. Before we can love another, we first must love ourself. Within this love, we learn what forgiveness is as well as how to forgive. As we know in our collective wisdom: To err is human; to forgive, divine.

Process of Reconciliation

In effecting reconciliation, we befriend ourself. We cause ourself no harm. We adjust and settle the alleged diverse aspects we may have come to know about ourself. We realize that we are essentially light emanating through the prism we may have labeled our bifurcate self. As we do so, we become more and more conscious and less self-aware. We join with life, reconcile with life as it is rather than as we would have it be. We ground within or experience, "in its concrete presentness, in that vast background barely touched by conscious form (and which) has always appeared to be of superior validity when compared with any concept or institutional form."¹

We become like little children and live life in heaven rather than struggling to survive the drama of life in which we are simultaneously the antagonist and protagonist, the tragic victim and heroic conqueror. We are no longer imprisoned within the web of our delusions (allusions, and illusions). We simply recognize them for what they are and graciously surrender to them becoming free of them.

Paths of Reconciliation

Within the Christian tradition, there are also several other ways we can effect reconciliation with, that is, forgiveness from God. We can realize reconciliation:

1. through hearing the word of God: "the encounter with the forgiving word of God (in preaching, reading, discussion, or the dialog of prayer) is no less effective or certain than the encounter that takes place, for example, in sacramental action."
   
2. through restitution: "reconciled with the people we have wronged or injured is a precondition for God's effective forgiveness."
   
3. through productive love: "Whenever a person turns away from a fixation on him or herself (and) undertakes a commitment, individually and socially, on the behalf of others, that person's sins are forgiven in this God-given practice of life even if he or she does not think directly of God and God's forgiving word."
   
4. through conversational encounter: "The New Testament admonitions to speak to one another and to listen to one another make it clear that conversation, critique, and self criticism can be of decisive importance in the reception of the effective word of forgiveness."
   
5. through dying with Jesus: "The (healthy) ascetic of life, acceptance of situations OF which we have no human solution  (loneliness, old age) and the endurance of meaningless but unavoidable suffering can be understood as death of the self..."
   
6. through the Church: "Jesus as the primary sacrament and the Church as the fundamental sacraments. The sacraments, as expressions of the Church's Life, are symbolic actions perceptible to the senses in which the gift of divine forgiveness is also effective."²
   

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation we receive God's pardon for our failure to abide by his will – by not intending to love God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39) by what we do and not do. Our refusal "need not always be expressly directed against God, since there is a close connection between the relationship of a human person to God and to fellow human beings, so that essential resistance to God is enacted in the realm of human society, the very realm in which, both in the Old and New Testaments, God has made his concrete will known"³
reiterating specifically: love God, neighbor, upon these two laws is based the whole law of the prophets.

"Jesus Christ forgives sins THROUGH the Church with which he is united, the TOTUS CHRISTOS, in which he alone is the controlling head; the Spirit can be described by one symbolic word columba, dove. Thus it was regarded as a matter of course that in the reconciliation of the penitent sinners with the Church, which had been seriously wounded by their sins, peace was also created between sinners and God."⁴
Hence, "the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the effective memory of God's gracious judgment, in which the love of the Father through the Son and for the Son's sake, in the Holy Spirit, removes all human guilt."⁵

Therefore, we hear the priest saying when imparting absolution:

God, the Father of mercies
through the death and resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and has sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins
in the name of the Father, and of the Son.
and of the Holy Spirit.

to which we answer: Amen.

Compassionate Reconciliation

"The pastoral strategy of the New Testament Churches seems to have been one of compassion, connection, and challenge. Mutual correction and forgiveness form part of the fabric of community life (Matthew 5:23-24, James 5:16), but compassion is balanced against an awareness of the effect of son on the life and mission of the Church itself."⁶
God forgives us through the sacramental life of the Church. "The Church knows what it is both to forgive and to be forgiven, mindful always of the Lord's own prayer:'And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us'"⁷

Paths Leading to Reconciliation

Human consciousness beings fluid like water and through the human condition, usually transforms into some stone-like quality. We might now recall the fluidity if a young child and the rigidity of a lonely, crusty, old man.(Perhaps the Christmas Carol, a story of reconciliation, characters of Bob Crachett and Mr. Scrooge might come to mind.) The young child lives in a world of fluid relativity of light. The crusty old man survives in a word of hard and fast absolutes of darkness. How do we transform ourselves from children of light into children of darkness?

Light/Darkness

Most of us are neither totally in light nor totally in darkness. We navigate through the phenomenal realm sometimes living, sometimes surviving in a world of shadows. We are either reacting or responding to ourselves being alive here and now. We create the obstacles to our light that cast shows on our path. In other words, we make mistakes, we err. These obstacles we
idolize. We idolize by making our relative interpretations about ourselves, people, places, things, and events absolute. We concretize the natural fluidity of the phenomenal realm. The more we do this, the less able we are to listen to God speaking to us as He is wont.

Our obstacles, our idols, are a stimulus for further learning and a means for reconciliation if we let them be so. As we know, we learn (best) from our own mistakes. We either admit our mistakes or try to hide them either from our own self and/or others. The more we hide or try to hide our errors, the more we lie. The more we lie, the more we let lying become a habit. The more a habit, the less aware we are of our basic lies. Eventually we slip into denial which means: don't even know I
am lying.
The degree to which we empower our idols and to the same degree that we become unconscious of our personal responsibility, we create evil. Evil is only a power that we either use or we allow to use us. Evil is our creation. We create evil through our idolization of our mistakes, which are our creation. We diabolize evil by judging evil as bad; we satanize evil by creating it as a good. Good/bad like right/wrong and beauty/ugliness are just matters of personal interpretation for which we can only take personal responsibility for our personal interpretation. Hence, the admonition of Christ: Judge not, lest you be judged. (Matthew 7:1) He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone. (John 8:7)

http://www.whiterobedmonks.org/recon.html

THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK

"By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ.

I. ITS FOUNDATIONS IN THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION

Illness in human life

Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death.

Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him.

The sick person before God

The man of the Old Testament lives his sickness in the presence of God. It is before God that he laments his illness, and it is of God, Master of life and death, that he implores healing. Illness becomes a way to conversion; God's forgiveness initiates the healingIt is the experience of Israel that illness is mysteriously linked to sin and evil, and that faithfulness to God according to his law restores life: "For I am the Lord, your healer." The prophet intuits that suffering can also have a redemptive meaning for the sins of others. Finally Isaiah announces that God will usher in a time for Zion when he will pardon every offense and heal every illness.

Christ the physician

Christ's compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that "God has visited his people" and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of.His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: "I was sick and you visited me." His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them.

Often Jesus asks the sick to believe. He makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of hands, mud and washing. The sick try to touch him, "for power came forth from him and healed them all." And so in the sacraments Christ continues to "touch" us in order to heal us.

Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.". But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the "sin of the world,". of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion.

"Heal the sick . . ."

Christ invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in their turn. By following him they acquire a new outlook on illness and the sick. Jesus associates them with his own life of poverty and service. He makes them share in his ministry of compassion and healing: "So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them"

The risen Lord renews this mission ("In my name . . . they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.") and confirms it through the signs that the Church performs by invoking his name. These signs demonstrate in a special way that Jesus is truly "God who saves."

The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church."

"Heal the sick!" The Church has received this charge from the Lord and strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick as well as by accompanying them with her prayer of intercession. She believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of souls and bodies. This presence is particularly active through the sacraments, and in an altogether special way through the Eucharist, the bread that gives eternal life and that St. Paul suggests is connected with bodily health.

However, the apostolic Church has its own rite for the sick, attested to by St. James: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [presbyters] of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." Tradition has recognized in this rite one of the seven sacraments.

A sacrament of the sick

The Church believes and confesses that among the seven sacraments there is one especially intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness, the Anointing of the Sick:

This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the apostle and brother of the Lord

From ancient times in the liturgical traditions of both East and West, we have testimonies to the practice of anointings of the sick with blessed oil. Over the centuries the Anointing of the Sick was conferred more and more exclusively on those at the point of death. Because of this it received the name "Extreme Unction." Notwithstanding this evolution the liturgy has never failed to beg the Lord that the sick person may recover his health if it would be conducive to his salvation.

The Apostolic Constitution Sacram unctionem infirmorum, following upon the Second Vatican Council,¹²⁸ established that henceforth, in the Roman Rite, the following be observed:

The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given to those who are seriously ill by anointing them on the forehead and hands with duly blessed oil - pressed from olives or from other plants - saying, only once: "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up."¹²⁹

II. WHO RECEIVES AND WHO ADMINISTERS THIS SACRAMENT?

In case of grave illness . . .

The Anointing of the Sick "is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived."

If a sick person who received this anointing recovers his health, he can in the case of another grave illness receive this sacrament again. If during the same illness the person's condition becomes more serious, the sacrament may be repeated. It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation. The same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more pronounced.

" . . . let him call for the presbyters of the Church"

Only priests (bishops and presbyters) are ministers of the Anointing of the Sick. It is the duty of pastors to instruct the faithful on the benefits of this sacrament. The faithful should encourage the sick to call for a priest to receive this sacrament. The sick should prepare themselves to receive it with good dispositions, assisted by their pastor and the whole ecclesial community, which is invited to surround the sick in a special way through their prayers and fraternal attention.

 

 

III. HOW IS THIS SACRAMENT CELEBRATED?

Like all the sacraments the Anointing of the Sick is a liturgical and communal celebration, whether it takes place in the family home, a hospital or church, for a single sick person or a whole group of sick persons. It is very fitting to celebrate it within the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord's Passover. If circumstances suggest it, the celebration of the sacrament can be preceded by the sacrament of Penance and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the sacrament of Christ's Passover the Eucharist should always be the last sacrament of the earthly journey, the "viaticum" for "passing over" to eternal life.

Word and sacrament form an indivisible whole. The Liturgy of the Word, preceded by an act of repentance, opens the celebration. The words of Christ, the witness of the apostles, awaken the faith of the sick person and of the community to ask the Lord for the strength of his Spirit.

The celebration of the sacrament includes the following principal elements: the "priests of the Church" - in silence - lay hands on the sick; they pray over them in the faith of the Church- this is the epiclesis proper to this sacrament; they then anoint them with oil blessed, if possible, by the bishop.

These liturgical actions indicate what grace this sacrament confers upon the sick.

IV. THE EFFECTS OF THE CELEBRATION OF THIS SACRAMENT

A particular gift of the Holy Spirit. The first grace of this sacrament is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death.¹³⁵ This assistance from the Lord by the power of his Spirit is meant to lead the sick person to healing of the soul, but also of the body if such is God's will. Furthermore, "if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."

Union with the passion of Christ. By the grace of this sacrament the sick person receives the strength and the gift of uniting himself more closely to Christ's Passion: in a certain way he is consecrated to bear fruit by configuration to the Savior's redemptive Passion. Suffering, a consequence of original sin, acquires a new meaning; it becomes a participation in the saving work of Jesus.

An ecclesial grace. The sick who receive this sacrament, "by freely uniting themselves to the passion and death of Christ," "contribute to the good of the People of God." By celebrating this sacrament the Church, in the communion of saints, intercedes for the benefit of the sick person, and he, for his part, through the grace of this sacrament, contributes to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all men for whom the Church suffers and offers herself through Christ to God the Father.

A preparation for the final journey. If the sacrament of anointing of the sick is given to all who suffer from serious illness and infirmity, even more rightly is it given to those at the point of departing this life; so it is also called sacramentum exeuntium (the sacrament of those departing). The Anointing of the Sick completes our conformity to the death and Resurrection of Christ, just as Baptism began it. It completes the holy anointings that mark the whole Christian life: that of Baptism which sealed the new life in us, and that of Confirmation which strengthened us for the combat of this life. This last anointing fortifies the end of our earthly life like a solid rampart for the final struggles before entering the Father's house.

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a5.htm

 

The Definition of Morality

First published Wed Apr 17, 2002; substantive revision Mon Feb 11, 2008

The term "morality" can be used either

1. descriptively to refer to a code of conduct put forward by a society or,
   
   1. some other group, such as a religion, or
      
   2. accepted by an individual for her own behavior or
      
2. normatively to refer to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons.
   

What "morality" is taken to refer to plays a crucial, although often unacknowledged, role in formulating ethical theories. To take "morality" to refer to an actually existing code of conduct put forward by a society results in a denial that there is a universal morality, one that applies to all human beings. Recently, some comparative and evolutionary psychologists (Haidt, Hauser, De Waal) have taken morality, or a close anticipation, to be present among groups of non-human animals, primarily other primates but not limited to them. "Morality" has also been taken to refer to any code of conduct that a person or group takes as most important.

Among those who use "morality" normatively, different specifications of the conditions under which all rational persons would put forward a code of conduct result in different kinds of moral theories. Some of these moral theories claim to put forward an account of morality that provides a guide to all rational beings, independent of whether these beings have any characteristics of human beings. Other moral theories claim that morality applies only to rational beings that have what they regard as the essential features of human beings. To claim that "morality" in the normative sense does not have any referent is to claim that there is no code of conduct that, under any plausible specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons, and results in one form of moral skepticism. Thus, although not widely discussed, what morality is taken to refer to has great significance for moral theories.

Dictionary definitions of referring terms are usually just descriptions of the important features of the referents of those terms. Insofar as the referents of a term share the features that account for why that term refers to those referents, the term is not regarded as ambiguous. "Morality" is an ambiguous term. What "morality" refers to when used in the descriptive sense does not have most of the important features of what "morality" refers to when used in the normative sense. Further, accepting a descriptive definition of morality need have no implications about how a person should behave. Accepting a normative definition of morality commits a person to regarding some behavior as immoral, perhaps even behavior that he is tempted to perform. Because accepting a normative definition of morality involves this commitment it is not surprising that there are serious disagreements about what normative definition to accept.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/morality-definition/

THE COMPONENTS OF MORALITY

 

A. Freedom of choice.

 

1. Concept of "choice" today" -> "right to believe what you want = truth" you can believe 2+2=5, but it still won't be true! God does not give "right to believe what you want", but the right to choose belief or unbelief!

 

2. A Bible doctrine

1. True as Israel entered the promised land. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (KJV)
   
2. Joshua 24:15 (KJV)
   
3. 
   

3. The doctrine of sin

 

a) 1 John 3:4 (KJV) "Whosoever committeth [verb = action, something done – choice involved] sin transgresseth [verb, something done, action taken] also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

 

(1) One cannot do or say anthing without first making the choice to do it. "I didn't think" is not true … you might not have thought enough!

 

B. Knowledge.

 

1. Knowledge is available to man (ability to know right and wrong)

1. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV) "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 [For this purpose]That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." [thoroughly equipped for every good work.—NKV]
   
2. 2 Peter 1:3
   
3. 
   

2. When knowledge is rejected, immorality results (always a result!)

1. Romans 1:28
   

 

 

 

C. Conscience.

 

1. To violate conscience is immoral

1. Acts 24:16
   

   
    

2. Conscience must be supplied with correct knowledge of truth

 

a) Acts 26:9

 

(1) Cannot be our only guide.

 

3. Conscience must be in working condition.

 

a) 1 Timothy 4:1-2

 

(1) We need a "tender" conscience. Some need a strong rebuke before they will take notice!

 

D. The components of morality illustrated – Genesis 2 & 3.

 

1. Man was given the command not to eat of a certain tree – KNOWLEDGE – Genesis 2:16-17

 

2. Man given the freedom to choose whether or not he would obey the command of God – FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

 

3. Man hid himself after disobeying God – CONSCIENCE – Genesis 3:7-8

 

E. NOTE: It is impossible to be "moral" without components. However, one can be "immoral" without making a knowledgeable choice, or violating conscience. One is either moral or immoral depending on his actions in relationship to God's standard of morality.

http://www.pghchurchofchrist.org/outlines/other_Christian_Morality.pdf

Mortal Sin

The concept of mortal sin has been an integral part of the Christian message since the very beginning. Literally dozens of passages in the New Testament proclaim it a fearful reality, and these biblical teachings were fully accepted by, and indeed expounded upon, by the early Church Fathers.

It was not until the time of John Calvin that anyone would claim that it was impossible for a true Christian to lose his salvation. That teaching, which was not even shared by Martin Luther and his followers, was a theological novelty of the mid-sixteenth century, a teaching which would have been condemned as a dangerous heresy by all previous generations of Christians. It would drive people to the despair of thinking that, if they had committed grave sins, they had never been true Christians. Further, they would suffer similar anxiety over any subsequent conversion, since their first would not have been genuine, according to this teaching. Or it would drive them into thinking that their grave sins were really not grave at all, for no true Christian could have committed such sins.

In time the "once saved, always saved" teaching even degenerated in many Evangelical circles to the point that some would claim that a Christian could commit grave sins and still remain saved: sin did not injure his relationship with God at all.

Fortunately, most Christians today reject Calvin's error, acknowledging that there are at least some mortal sins—sins which kill the spiritual life of the soul and deprive a person of salvation, unless he repents. Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Pentecostals—all acknowledge the possibility of mortal sin at least in some form. Only Presbyterians, Baptists, and those who have been influenced by these two sects reject the reality of mortal sin.

The early Church Fathers, of course, were unanimous in teaching the reality of mortal sin. They had to embrace the doctrine of mortal sin precisely because they recognized not only the salvific power of baptism but also the damning power of certain serious sins. The Church taught that "baptism . . . now saves you" (1 Pet. 3:21; see the Catholic Answers tracts Baptismal Grace and Born of Water and the Spirit). However, since during the persecutions some baptized people denied Christ, and since Christ taught that "whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 10:33), the Church Fathers recognized that it was possible to lose the grace of salvation after baptism.

The idea that one could never lose salvation would have been unimaginable to them, since it was evident from the Bible that baptism saves, that the baptized can deny Christ, and that those who deny Christ will not be saved unless they repent, as did Peter.

It was equally unthinkable to predestinarian thinkers, such as Augustine, who, just two years before he died, taught in his book The Gift of Perseverance that not all who were predestined to come to God's grace were predestined to remain with him until glory. This was, in fact, the teaching of all the high predestinarians (Augustine, Fulgentius, Aquinas, Luther)—until the time of Calvin.

http://www.catholic.com/library/Mortal_Sin.asp

Venial Sins

Since a voluntary act and its disorder are of the essence of sin, venial sin as it is a voluntary act may be defined as a thought, word or deed at variance with the law of God. It retards man in the attainment of his last end while not averting him from it. Its disorder consists either in the not fully deliberate choosing of some object prohibited by the law of God, or in the deliberate adhesion to some created object not as an ultimate end but as a medium, which object does not avert the sinner from God, but is not, however, referable to Him as an end. Man cannot be averted from God except by deliberately placing his last end in some created thing, and in venial sin he does not adhere to any temporal good, enjoying it as a last end, but as a medium referring it to God not actually but habitually inasmuch as he himself is ordered to God by charity. "Ille qui peccat venialiter, inhæret bono temporali non ut fruens, quia non constituit in eo finem, sed ut utens, referens in Deumnon actu sed habitu" ( I-II:88:1, ad 3). For a mortal sin, some created good must be adhered to as a last end at least implicitly. This adherence cannot be accomplished by a semi-deliberate act. By adhering to an object that is at variance with the law of God and yet not destructive of the primary end of the Divine law, a true opposition is not set up between God and that object. The created good is not desired as an end. The sinner is not placed in the position of choosing between God and creature as ultimate ends that are opposed, but is in such a condition of mind that if the object to which he adheres were prohibited as contrary to his true last end he would not adhere to it, but would prefer to keep friendship with God. An example may be had in human friendship. A friend will refrain from doing anything that of itself will tend directly to dissolve friendship while allowing himself at times to do what is displeasing to his friends without destroying friendship.

The distinction between mortal and venial sin is set forth in Scripture. From St. John (1 John 5:16-17) it is clear there are some sins "unto death" and some sins not "unto death", i.e. mortal and venial. The classic text for the distinction of mortal and venial sin is that of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 3:8-15), where he explains in detail the distinction between mortal and venial sin. "For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: every man's work shall be manifest; for the day of theLord shall declare it; because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." By wood, hay, and stubble are signified venial sins (St. Thomas, I-II:89:2) which, built on the foundation of a living faith in Christ, do not destroy charity, and from their very nature do not merit eternal but temporal punishment. "Just as", says St. Thomas, [wood, hay, and stubble] "are gathered together in a house and do not pertain to the substance of the edifice, so also venial sins are multiplied in man, the spiritual edifice remaining, and for these he suffers either the fire of temporal tribulations in this life, or of purgatory after this life and nevertheless obtains eternal
salvation." (I-II:89:2)

The suitableness of the division into wood, hay, and stubble is explained by St. Thomas (iv, dist. 21, Q. i, a. 2). Some venial sins are graver than others and less pardonable, and this difference is well signified by the difference in the inflammability of wood, hay, and stubble. That there is a distinction between mortal and venialsins is of faith (Council of Trent, sess. VI, c. xi and canons 23-25; sess. XIV, de poenit., c. v). This distinction is commonly rejected by all heretics ancient and modern. In the fourth century Jovinian asserted that all sins are equal in guilt and deserving of the same punishment (St. Aug., "Ep. 167", ii, n. 4); Pelagius, that every sin deprives man of justice and therefore is mortal; Wyclif, that there is no warrant in Scripture for differentiating mortal from venial sin, and that the gravity of sin depends not on the quality of the action but on the decree of predestination or reprobation so that the worst crime of the predestined is infinitely less than the slightest fault of the reprobate; Hus, that all the actions of the vicious are mortal sins, while all the acts of the good are virtuous (Denz.-Bann., 642); Luther, that all sins of unbelievers are mortal and all sins of the regenerate, with the exception of infidelity, are venial; Calvin, like Wyclif, bases the difference between mortal sin and venial sin on predestination, but adds that a sin is venial because of the faith of the sinner. The twentieth among the condemned propositions of Baius reads: "There is no sin venial in its nature, but every sin merits eternal punishment" (Denz.-Bann., 1020). Hirscher in more recent times taught that all sins which are fully deliberate are mortal, thus denying the distinction of sins by reason of their objects and making the distinction rest on the imperfection of the act (Kleutgen, 2nd ed., II, 284, etc.).

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14004b.htm

VICES WITH VIRTUES

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Eph. 6:13).

We need to see the deadly vices in the context of the spiritual warfare we are engaged in as Christians. We are in mortal combat with an enemy, Satan and his host of evil spirits, who seek to destroy us and to take from us the reward of heaven-an inseparable union with an all-loving and all-wise Creator. While the encounter with vices may be inevitable, we need not counter them unarmed. The virtues are like a warrior's armor and weaponry. At worst they blunt the blows of the deadly vices; but at their best they enable us to defeat the enemy decisively. The Apostle Paul exhorts us to "put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature" (Col. 3:5). He goes on to list a number of deadly vices: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and lies (Col. 3:5,8,9). He instructs us to "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Col. 3:10). This new self is characterized by virtue: compassion, kindness. humility, gentleness, patience, and love (Col. 3:12,14).

The necessity of countering the vices with virtues was long recognized by Christians. Francis of Assisi, a 13th century reformer, describes the power of the virtues in destroying vices in his poetic discourse on The Praises of the Virtues (Salutatio Virtutum)

0 most holy Virtues, may the Lord protect all of you, from Whom you come and proceed. There is surely no one in the entire world who can possess any one of you unless he dies first. Whoever possesses one (of you) and does not offend the others, possesses all. And whoever offends one (of you) does not possess any and offends all.  And each one destroys vices and sins. Holy Wisdom destroys Satan and all his subtlety. ...Holy Charity destroys every temptation of the devil and of the flesh and every carnal fear.

Writings on the seven deadly sins or vices can be traced back to the early church fathers, such as Cassian, a 4th century writer. Geoffrey Chaucer, a 14th century English writer, included a treatise on repentance and the nature of the seven deadly sins or vices in his book The Canterbury Tales (last chapter, "The Parson's Tale").  Chaucer used the image of a tree in describing the deadly vices as "principle sins because they are the chief sins and the trunk from which branch all others. And the root of these seven sins is pride, which is the general root of all evils; for from this root spring certain branches, as anger, envy, acedia or sloth, avarice (or coveteousness, for vulgar understanding), gluttony, and lechery. And each of these principal sins has its branches and its twigs..." Chaucer remarked that the visible acts of sin are indications of what is within a man's heart, just as the sign outside the tavern is a sign of the wine that is within the cellar. Chaucer identified a virtue for countering each of the deadly vices:
 

Seven Deadly Vices	Virtues
Pride	Humility
Greed, avarice, coveteousness	Liberality, mercy
Lust	Chastity, continence
Anger	Patience, meekness
Gluttony	Temperance, abstinence, self-control
Envy	Love of God, love of neighbor, love of enemy
Sloth	Fortitude, courage

 

There are, therefore, eight kinds of vices, for every one of which we shall give a brief description.

1. Stupidity is deficiency of wisdom; that is, not using the power of the intellect to understand the nature of things.

2. Slyness is the excessive use of the intellect; that is, using the power of the intellect in matters for which it is inappropriate, or using it too much in matters for which it is appropriate.

3. Cowardice is deficiency of courage; that is, fear and irresolution in cases where there is no cause for them.

4. Foolhardiness is the excess of courage; that is, reckless action in cases where it is inappropriate.

5. Lethargy is the deficient state for which the point of moderation is chastity; that is, failure to use things which the body needs.

6. Rapaciousness is the other extreme in opposition to lethargy; that is, excess in sexual activity, eating and drinking, and other sensual pleasures.

7. Submissiveness is the deficient state for which the point of moderation is justice; that is, accepting oppression and tyranny.

8. Tyranny is the other extreme in opposition to submissiveness; that is, oppressing either one's own self or others.

http://www.rc.net/wcc/virtues/seven.htm

DEFINITION OF LAW (St. Thomas)…

According to St. Thomas, law is an "ordinance of reason, promulgated for the common good by the one who has charge of a society."

As an ordinance, the law is an objective guide which is so patterned after the natural course of movement of things. Hence, it is an ordering in reference to the end of an object or individual. And as an ordinance of reason, the law is something that is objective, permanent, useful, and good. In being objective (that is, in being a "true account" of something), the law must necessarily be "just" and "honest." Any law that does not give an objective account of something or someone is an untrue, unjust, and dishonest law. An untrue and unjust law is not itself a law.

A law is relatively permanent because it is discerned by reason as something universal and transcendental. The law is not a product of man's arbitrary will but the "discovery" of his reason. Man discovers truths about God's plan and providence.

A law is also something promulgated to its subjects, that is, it must be made known to those bound by it. Inanimate objects governed by physical laws "know" these laws simply by "doing" them. Man, who has free will and reason, "knows" these laws through the use of the said faculties. In man, it is not however the case that "knowing" is "doing" like that in inanimate objects. Knowing and doing are two separate operations for him.

A law is promulgated for the common good, This is based from the fact that laws are someone or something's nature. Nature, as we have said, is the order which is weaved towards an end or purpose. This purpose or end is good because it "perfects" the very being of someone or something. Since men share the same nature (because nature is universal), an authentic law promulgated on men also means a guideline that leads men towards the good each of them share, i.e. the common good.

The law is promulgated to a society. This is indicated by the idea of common good, that a law must reflect the "commonality" in the nature of men. Law sustains order not only within an individual, but also the extrinsic interconnections of peoples and things.

The ultimate "one" (person) who has charge for the society is the one who has supreme authority to say "what is right." Man can be a legislator because, by virtue of his reason, he has the ability to know what is right from what is wrong. But definitely he cannot be the ultimate legislator of the universe. Only a Supreme Being endowed with an immeasurable wisdom can promulgate a perfect law that guides and order the whole of creation. Only a God knows what is "best" for the "universal" society.

It is important to note however, that law in its strictest sense (i.e. as it applies in ethics), pertains to the norms of "conduct" provided by reason that tells us, in reference to the good end, which action are good therefore to be performed and which actions are evil therefore to be avoided. Law as studied in ethics is limited to norms governing "free actions" of man.

Before going to the Natural Law, let us first have a brief discussion of the eternal law.

 

GENERAL NOTION OF CONSCIENCE…

We usually see the conscience as an intrinsic element in the human soul that continually guides and pushes us to do what is right and avoid what is wrong, and praises or condemns us after the action. For this reason, we call the conscience the mouthpiece or voice of God in us. If we are to situate conscience in our discussion of natural law, it is the instrument used by God to persistently persuade man to be what he planned him to be, as a part of the Divine ordination. Conscience guides the free will of man; without this guide man is just a bohemian roaming aimlessly in the universe.

The popular culture depicts this religious view very well. It portrays the conscience as the angel standing on the right shoulder of the moral agent that persuades him to do the right thing. Not following the command of the "angel" means agreeing with the "devil," who stands on the left shoulder of the moral agent. Following the angel means acquiescing with the "voice of God", and disobeying the angel means disrupting the Divine order that is sanctioned by the devil.

There are differing views about the meaning of conscience among the various scholars and thinkers. It is no longer an exclusive topic for ethics and religion. It has also been a topic of interest for disciplines like ethology, neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary psychology. For the latter group of disciplines, conscience is just a function of the brain that evolved to facilitate reciprocal altruism within societies. Segmund Freud, one of the great minds in psychology, proposed that conscience is a human phenomenon that originated from the superego through early childhood rearing. These views may look very plausible but they are nonetheless insufficient in explaining the phenomenon. The empirical sciences reduced conscience into a mere coping mechanism of humans, and in a way, the same with human instinct. This reduces man into just a highly evolved animal whose conscience is not really an instrument for "moral" order but only for the "physical" order. Freud's account, on the other hand, although very much akin with the Christian notion of conscience, reduces consciences into a human faculty whose existence is grounded in the society's standards (environmental influences) and therefore arbitrary and conditioned.

http://tamayaosbc.wordpress.com/2008/08/22/natural-law-and-conscience/