Conscience Test

4 Types of Conscience

- Correct - Erroneous - Certain - Doubtful

Factors that can corrupt one's conscience

- Ignorance of Christ and His Gospel - Bad example by others - Enslavement to one's passion - Reject of the Church's authority and teachings, i.e. Her Magisterium

What means should a person take to form his/her conscience?

- Instruction from the Magisterium of the Church - Sacred Tradition - both written and oral - Prayer - you should pray before making an important moral decision - Personal Examination of Conscience

Why can't our conscience be a feeling?

- Our feelings are constantly changing - Sometimes, our feelings cause us to do something we would otherwise not choose to do or say - Our feelings about whether or not to do something might not conform to what God wants

2 principles to use in deciding whether or not you are allowed to perform an action

- You may always act on a correct conscience - You should never act on a doubtful conscience

In an emergency, 3 principles that one should use to act morally correct are...

1. You must never use evil means to achieve a good end 2. Love of God and then love of neighbor override any other considerations 3. Follow the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Example of a correct conscience

A kid who grows up knowing that pre-marital sex is always wrong

Example of an erroneous conscience

A kid who grows up thinking pre-marital sex is ok sometimes

Sanctifying grace

A supernatural gift of God by which our sims are forgiven and we are made holy. It restores our communion with God.

Vincible

Able to find out the truth, but failing to know the truth either willfully (you make an effort not to find out the truth) or you are too lazy or too apathetic to find out

3 Types of Judgement of Conscience

Antecedent Concomitant Consequent

Cardinal virtues

Based on the Latin word for "pivot," four virtues that are viewed as pivots or essential for full Christian living; prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance

Fill in the Blank: Conscience is _________________ of knowledge at conception

Empty

True or False: Conscience is a faculty/power distinct from the intellect

False

True or False: Conscience is a feeling

False

True or False: Conscience is not a judgement of the practical intellect and not the theoretical intellect

False

True or False: You do not need a correctly formed conscience to make the right moral decisions

False

Special graces

Gifts intended for the common good of the Church; also called charisms

Actual graces

God's interventions and support for us in the everyday moments of our lives. They are important for conversion and for continuing growth in holiness.

Doubtful Conscience

Hesitates to judge, fearing that the opposite may be true

Example of a certain conscience

Hunting

Fill in the Blank: A person who acts with a(n) ________________ ignorance does not commit sin

Invincible

Consequent Judgement

Judgement made after an action is performed

Antecedent Judgement

Judgement made before an action is performd

Concomitant Judgement

Judgement made while an action is performed

Erroneous Conscience

Judges as good what is really evil and as evil what is really good

Correct Conscience

Judges as good what is really good and as evil what is really evil

Certain Conscience

Judges without fearing that the opposite may be true

Where does the knowledge which forms one's conscience come from?

Parents, teachers, personal experience, the Church, etc.

Example of a doubtful conscience

Shooting when you don't know if it's an animal or not

Faith

The belief in the existence of God; one of the three theological virutes

Prudence

The cardinal virtue by which a person is in lined toward choosing the moral good and avoiding evil; sometimes called the rubber virtue because it helps steer the person through complex moral situations

Temperance

The cardinal virtue by which one moderated his or her appetites and passions to achieve balance in the use of created goods

Justice

The cardinal virtue concerned with the rights and duties within relationships; the commitment, as well as the actions and attitudes that flow from the commitment, to ensure that all persons - particularly those who are poor and oppressed - receive what is due them

Fortitude

The cardinal virtue that enables one to maintain sound moral judgement and behavior in the face of difficulties and challenges; also called strength or courage

Grace

The free and undeserved gift of God's loving and active presence in the universe and in our lives, empowering us to respond to his call and to live as his adopted sons and daughters. It restores our loving communion with the Holy Trinity, lost through sin.

Sacramental graces

The gifts proper to each of the Seven Sacraments

Love

The human longing for God and a selfless commitment to supporting the dignitary and humanity of all people simply because they are created in God's image; also called charity; one of the three theological virtues

Conscience

The practical judgement of reason on an individual act as good and to be performed, or as evil and to be avoided

Hope

The theological virtue by which we trust in the promise of God and expect from him both eternal life and the grave we need to attain it

Culpable

To be guilty of wrongdoing

True or False: An erroneous conscience is an ignorant conscience and that ignorance may be either invincible or vincible

True

True or False: Conscience is the intellect itself performing a specific function (judging the rightness/wrongness of an act)

True

Invincible

Unable to find out the truth

Fill in the Blank: A person who acts with a(n) ___________________ ignorance may be committing sin

Vincible

What question does conscience deal with?

What should I do right here and now in this situation?