MORAL CONSCIENCE from evil and to choose between

them. This is so even if the decision,

Reflection seen in an objective light, is wrong.
● Show judiciousness and ● Unless man’s conscience has been
resourcefulness in making personal incorrectly formed, the inner voice
and professional decisions speaks in agreement with what is
generally reasonable, just and good
in God’s sight
Life is all about making choices. Each
hour, each day of our life we need to
make choices Conscience is the final arbiter of our
actions. It is the final decision-maker.
There is nothing we can run to, except our
Conscience
conscience when we are confronted with
● It is the inner voice in a man that important decisions
moves him to do good and to avoid
evil by all means. At the same time it This truth necessitates the formation of a
is the ability to distinguish one from Christian conscience
the other.
● For most Filipinos, it is understood TYPES OF CONSCIENCE
as a kind of inner voice, or “tinig ng Certain Conscience
budhi”, which guides us in our moral ● Passes judgement without fear of
life. (CFC701) error
● In the conscience, God speaks to Doubtful Conscience
man ● The uncertainty about the morality of
● When we say, “I cannot reconcile an act
that with my conscience”, this means Right Conscience
for a Christian, “I cannot do that in ● Presents good as good and evil as
the sight of my Creator!” evil. A person who has this does
Can someone be compelled to do what is ought to be done
something that is against his Erroneous Conscience
conscience? ● Mistaken judgement because it
● No one may be compelled to act judges something good to be evil
against his conscience, provided he and something evil to be good. This
acts within the limits of the common may spring from ignorance or
good. malformation
● Anyone who overlooks the KINDS OF ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE
conscience of a person, ignores it, Scrupulous Conscience
and uses coercion, violates that ● Judges that there is sin when there
person’s dignity. is no sin or judges that something is
Can someone be compelled to do a mortal sin when it is a venial sin.
something that is against his Perplexed Conscience
conscience? Fears sin in whatever choice it
● Practically nothing else makes man makes. This actually occurs in
more human than the gift of being individuals who are less acquainted
able to personally distinguish good with norms
Lax Conscience (To form the conscience of a disciple of
● Inclined to judge something to be a Christ, the key is obviously Christ and His
light sin when in fact it is a grave Spirit, experienced within Christ’s
one. community, the Church)
1. To form our conscience we need to
FORMATION OF CHRISTIAN allow Christ to lead us and the Holy
Spirit to guide us
CONSCIENCE
- It is Christ alone, by His life and
teachings that comes to us through
Decisiveness
the Bible and the Church, who can
● Engage in reflective practice to
help us to know what is truly good
ensure discipline relevance and
from what seems to be good.
professional development
- The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of
Spirituality
discernment which helps us
● Manifest fidelity to the teachings of
determine those action that will
the Christ, mediated by the Catholic
please God and the gift of courage
Church, in the continuous deepening
which moves us to do that which will
of faith and spirituality in dealing with
please God no matter how difficult it
new life situations and challenges.
may be
Can a person form his conscience
2. We for our conscience “through
● Yes, in fact he must do that
prayer, by attending to the Word of
● The conscience, which is innate to
God and teachings of the Church, by
every person endowed with reason,
critically reflecting on the events and
can be misled and deadened
experiences of our life
● That is why it must be formed into an
- Our critical reflection will be aided if
increasingly fine-tuned instrument
we go through basic education and
for acting rightly
catechesis in the faith. This is where
we learn the basic and initial
Our conscience is not something knowledge about God’s love and our
“automatic”. It is gradually shaped through response to that love
all the many complex factors that enter 3. Conscience formation is also
into out growth to Christian maturity
facilitated with the help of people
around us
Crucial to correct understanding of our - We seek the counsel of people when
conscience is its essential relational we are faced choices of conscience.
dimension But we should not approach just
about anyone, rather we consult
Our ongoing moral experiences, within people of proven integrity, those who
which our conscience gradually take
live as genuine witnesses to the
shape, are never isolated, but rather
always involve countless interactions Gospel.
within the social groupings of family
school, parish, and community.
Forming a Christian Conscience