USCCA Chapter Notes USCCA Chapter/Title: 23 - Life in Christ Part One. CCC Paragraph Reference: CCC #1691-2082 The Principles of the Christian Moral Life. Doctrinal Premise. What is the underlying truth behind the doctrine of this chapter? Connecting it to Christ, summarize the chapter in 1-2 sentences. That each person created in God s image and likeness is the foundation for the moral life. In this we see our purpose and the source of our dignity. Three questions adults might have about this topic. What life-issues do I need to connect with in the people at my session? 1. Why are there so many moral rules in the Catholic Church? 2. Does it really matter what I do as long as I love Jesus? 3. Is it really possible to live a moral life according to the standards of the Catholic Church? Three Points from the Story of Faith/Testimony. How is the underlying truth taught in this chapter brought to life? Person of Faith: Jesus the Teacher 1. One of the primary components of Jesus mission was to teach. His disciples called Him rabbi. At the heart of His message was the mercy of the Father and the forgiveness of sins. He taught about Himself, His plan of salvation, and the importance of conversion, and He backed up His teaching with His very life. 2. Jesus teaching was directed at living, helping us to achieve the fullness of life and happiness by following God s will. He built His teaching on the tradition of ancient Israel, but deepened and perfected it. 3. The Beatitudes summarize Jesus radical perfection of the moral law, teaching us deep happiness and joy. It is this perfection that leads to love, and life in Christ leads us to perfect happiness in God. Essential Points from the Teaching Section. Add in sub-points as needed. What points need to be made explicit and cannot be left to chance? 1. The third pillar of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults concerns the living of Christian morality. a. The Creed presents to us the truths of God s plan of salvation and the invitation to respond to God in faith. USCCA Chapter 23 1 Life in Christ-Part 1
b. The Sacraments give us the grace to live the life God calls us to. c. The moral life, aided by the grace of the sacraments, makes it possible to live a life of faith. 2. The fundamental principle of the moral life is that every person is created in the image and likeness of God. a. Being made in the image and likeness of God protects the dignity of each person. b. God has given every person an immortal soul. c. Living a moral life is difficult because of Original Sin. i. Our intellects have been darkened. We do not know clearly right from wrong. ii. Our will has been weakened, making it difficult to chose good. iii. We have concupiscence, the attraction to sin. d. Human imperfections never extinguish the image of God in each person. e. Only human life bears the image and likeness of God. 3. Human beings are free, able to say yes to God. a. While external circumstances can diminish our culpability in a moral situation, human beings are free to choose for God or against Him. b. The best way to grow in freedom is to develop the habit of doing good. 4. The morality of an action is determined by the following sources, all of which need to be good in order for an action to be good: a. The action itself. For an individual action to be morally good, the act itself must be good. An evil action is never morally permissible, even with the right intention. There are intrinsically evil acts, actions that are always wrong, no matter the intention or circumstance. (These will be examined as we look into the Ten Commandments.) b. The intention of the person acting. The intention is only determined by the person acting and is entirely subjective. For a moral action to be good, one s intention must be good. A good intention can never make a bad action good. (The end never justifies the means.) USCCA Chapter 23 2 Life in Christ Part One
c. The circumstances surrounding the action. The circumstances, or consequences, of an action are the secondary elements to the morality of an action. The circumstances include circumstances (who, what, where, when with whom, etc.), and can diminish or augment the culpability of the person committing the act. Factors that can diminish or nullify responsibility include ignorance, duress, fear, and other psychological and social factors. 5. Sin is an offense against God and neighbor. a. Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience. b. Sins are elevated according to the gravity or seriousness, either as either: i. Mortal sins, without repentance, separate us from God s grace and merit eternal punishment in hell, destroying divine life in us. ii. Venial sins weaken but do not kill our relationship with God. They can be pardoned through the Sacrament of Confession and through the reception of the Eucharist. c. The three conditions for a mortal sin are: 1. The action itself must be serious, gravely evil. 2. We must have full knowledge about the gravity of the action. 3. We must have deliberate consent, the full desire to do the action. d. If we are cognizant of having committed a mortal sin, it must be confessed in the Sacrament of Confession prior to receiving the Eucharist. e. God stands willing to forgive all sins and share His mercy with us; on our part, we must be willing to confess our sins. 6. Conscience helps us to recognize the morality of an action. a. Our conscience resides in our deepest core and is given to us by God. It helps us to hear the voice of God, understand His law and do His will. b. A healthy, good conscience is formed over one s entire life. c. We are obliged to form our conscience according to objective moral standards. d. A conscience not formed can err in its understanding of truth. e. We are to always follow a certain conscience. USCCA Chapter 23 3 Life in Christ-Part 1
f. A conscience that makes erroneous judgments must be changed, if at all possible. g. We are not to act with a doubtful conscience. 7. A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. a. Virtue supports good moral behavior, controls our passions, and helps us avoid sin. b. Cardinal virtues, available to all people, are habits of doing good. They are prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. They are strengthened in us through repetition and by God s grace. c. The theological, or God-given, virtues are faith, hope and charity. They are made available to us in the Sacrament of Baptism and help us to live Christ-like lives in union with the Trinity. d. The seven deadly (or capital) sins are pride, avarice or greed, envy, anger, lust gluttony and sloth or laziness. They are root sins that engender other sins and vices. Scriptural Foundation. List the two to three primary Scripture passages that support the teaching. How is this teaching rooted in the saving events of Scripture? 1. Matthew 5:3-12. 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 2. Matthew 19:16-22. 16 Now someone approached him and said, Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life? 17 He answered him, Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He asked him, Which ones? And Jesus replied, You shall not kill; you shall not commit USCCA Chapter 23 4 Life in Christ Part One
adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; 19 honor your father and your mother ; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 20 The young man said to him, All of these I have observed. What do I still lack? 21 Jesus said to him, If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. 22 When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 3. 1 John 5:16-17. 16 If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly. Summary of the Sidebar material. 1. We are created in God s image and likeness because we have a soul, with the spiritual powers of intellect and will, and because we have freedom. 2. Freedom is the power to act or not act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one s own (USCCA p. 316). We are free when our actions are good, that is, directed towards God. 3. A virtue is a habitual (consistent and regular) and firm disposition (attitude) to do good (USCCA p. 316). Relationship to Culture. What does the USCCA both challenge and affirm in our culture? Affirmations of US Culture: Because of our culture s emphasis on freedom, there is a healthy criticism of legalism, in which love is not taken into consideration. Challenges to US Culture: Our culture exalts individual autonomy and freedom over and against community and tradition. Rules and norms are seen as suspicious. Love, separated from law and morality, gets reduced to sentimentality that puts us at the mercy of feelings. Our permissive culture idealizes romance to the point where love is separated from sacrifice, dooming the possibility of an authentic moral life. Additional Questions for Discussion. Given what the USCCA has in its discussion questions, are there other questions to add to further the discussion? Read Matthew 19:16-22, the story of the rich young man. Describe the encounter between the rich young man and Jesus. USCCA Chapter 23 5 Life in Christ-Part 1
1. Why does Jesus push the rich young man to go beyond morality as simply fulfilling commandments? What is the connection between fulfilling the commandments and moral perfection? 2. How does the rich young man react to Jesus words? How is the rich young man s reaction similar to reaction of people today when confronted with Church teaching on moral issues? Action/Ritual to add with the meditation/prayer. How can you help the participant respond to Christ s invitation given in this chapter? End your session by meditating on Hebrews 13:20-21, praying through it according to the steps of lectio divina. USCCA Chapter 23 6 Life in Christ Part One