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Quick Links: Letter, Hungry for More, Moral Authority, Making the Connection, Further Reading, Next Steps

 

Hungry for More

The metaphor of “changing the rules of the game” about our society’s re-creation of what is good and evil may suggest that morality is extrinsic rather than written in creation.  That is, once God set things up, He “arbitrarily” gave the moral code, so to speak, setting the rules for the game of life that are not essentially related to creation itself.  The Catholic doctrine of natural law probes much deeper than this metaphor can express. Pope John Paul II expounds on this in his Encyclical, The Splendor of Truth, and it will guide us through this lesson and the following one.    

To begin with, the “good” has its origins outside of creation itself. Jesus informed the rich young ruler that “only God is good” (Matthew 19:16ff.).  By this, Jesus meant, “Only God can answer the question about what is good because he is the Good itself.” The challenge is to acknowledge this fact with humility and faith.  He then tells the young man that the only way to eternal life is to become good like God through obedience to His law.  The young man thinks he is alright with this score, but he is not.  Behind the objective, written law is a Person who is Goodness itself who invites the young man to the radical discipleship we discussed in our earlier letter, Our Lofty Call, “If you would be perfect, go sell what you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.”  

It is important to grasp that a good moral life is not about the rules but a perfection that comes through a union with God, who alone is Good. This union comes through both an obedience to objective moral law and a faith that is stimulated by God’s promise of the true treasures of His Kingdom. One might object that moral goodness motivated by “treasure” is mercenary and self-serving. Behind this objection is an obtuse Kantian notion of autonomy and self-sufficiency, which rejects the notion that we are creatures dependent on God to know what goodness is. For Kant and our society, we are the determiners of good and evil; we are left to ourselves to figure things out. Who sets the rules? Why should we even obey the rules? Why can’t we change the rules?  

But the “good” is not remote from us, located “out there” in a transcendent God. At creation, God created everything “good,” especially man, made in the image of God.  Creation is not “God” and therefore not “good” in the divine sense Jesus is talking about here, but a reflected good, a goodness that exists only in relation to the Creator.  For humanity, to whom God gave the responsibility to have dominion over the earth, aspects of this goodness are the powers of reason and choice. Such powers, endowed to us by the goodness of God, give us by nature a “rightful autonomy”, a real freedom to align ourselves to the divine moral law, which not only belongs to God but to us. This law is written in our hearts where“human freedom and God’s law meet and are called to intersect”. As the Catechism states,

1954 Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true and the good. The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie:

The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin . . . But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted.

Rather than re-create our own moral order with our freedom, we are to “participate” in God’s providence through natural law, and this natural law springs from a “higher reason,” i.e., eternal reason.  “This participation of the eternal law in the rational creature is called natural law”. Our dignity as human beings rests on this participation that calls us to perfection, not in our fallen human state driven by concupiscence.  Whereas secular culture desires to recreate, the Kingdom of God is all about participation.  

We participate in God’s moral order through the exercise of our interior powers of reason and will for the purpose of conforming to God’s eternal law written in our hearts.  Our motive for this participation is the love of God our Creator. In this, God has not left us to ourselves; He has given us a built-in power called the conscience. Our conscience sits within the depths of our souls like the tablets of the Law were set in the Ark of the Covenant located in the most holy depths of the Tabernacle. There, the conscience judges our actions and either acquits or condemns us. “The conscience thus formulates moral obligation in light of the natural law; it is the obligation to do what the individual, through the conscience, knows to be a good he is called to do here and now”. The conscience is, therefore, another form of knowledge, a knowledge that connects the human community together and is universal to humanity.  

Using the imagery Jesus used in Matthew 6:22-23 of the eye being the “lamp of the body,” we see that the conscience is the “eye of the soul.” It does not always see well but can become darkened by our resistance to it and can become weakened, even to the point of darkness, where we can no longer see the truth. On the other hand, it becomes brighter and stronger when we yield to it, and we see it as it really is: our friend that fills our soul with light. 

The Church and her Magisterium has the responsibility, right, and power to form the conscience of the Christian faithful. As such, She does not bring to light truth extraneous to the conscience but truth that the soul ought to possess by virtue of being made in the image of God. “The Church puts herself always and only at the service of the conscience, helping it to avoid being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine proposed by human deceit” (cf. Ephesians 4:14).

This is why “changing the rules” is, in fact, diabolical.  The culture that does this replaces the conscience with its own doctrines that directly conflict with natural law.  It kills the conscience of individuals and the public and becomes a blind guide of the blind. It is Satan himself that leads them into the pit.    

 

  1. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor: The Splendor of Truth, Encyclical Letter of John Paul II. Boston, Massachusetts: Pauline Books and Media, 2003, 9
  2. Ibid, 39
  3. Ibid, 41
  4. Ibid, 43
  5. Ibid, 59
  6. Ibid, 63

 

Moral Authority

Scripture References

1 Corinthians 6: 18-20 Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own;  you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5: 19-21 Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit,  envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Thessalonians 4: 3-5  For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,  not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God

1 Corinthians 10: 13  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

 Catechism References

 2332 Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others. 

2333 Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out.

2335 Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way. The union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator’s generosity and fecundity: “Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.”  All human generations proceed from this union.

2394 Christ is the model of chastity. Every baptized person is called to lead a chaste life, each according to his particular state of life.

2396 Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices.

Vatican Documents

Vatican documents on sexual morality, largely overseen by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – CDF), articulate a, vision of human sexuality rooted in natural law, divine revelation, and the indissoluble, procreative, and unitive union of marriage

Key documents and teachings include:

  • Persona Humana (Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, 1975): Issued under Pope Paul VI, this document addressed rising challenges to traditional morality. It emphasizes that sexual acts must occur within the context of marriage and affirms that sexual union is only legitimate between a man and a woman who have established a stable community of life. It directly addresses sexual relations before marriage, homosexual activity, and masturbation, defining them as contrary to the church’s ethical standards.
  • Humanae Vitae (Encyclical of Pope Paul VI, 1968): A foundational text that reaffirmed the inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings of the marital act. It outlines the church’s prohibition against artificial contraception, promoting natural family planning as the morally accepted method.
  • Familiaris Consortio (Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II, 1981): Discusses the role of the Christian family in the modern world, emphasizing conjugal chastity and the upbringing of children.
  • Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons (1986): States that while homosexual tendencies are not in themselves sinful, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”.
  • Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons (2003): Reaffirms that marriage is solely between a man and a woman and warns against the legal recognition of homosexual unions.
  • Male and Female He Created Them (Congregation for Catholic Education, 2019):A document providing guidance on dialogue regarding gender theory in education, advocating for a biological understanding of gender and opposing ideologies that separate gender from biological sex.
  • Dignitas Infinita (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2024): This document reinforces that all human beings possess intrinsic dignity, and addresses issues such as gender theory, sex changes, and surrogacy, viewing them as violations of that dignity. 

These documents maintain that sexual intimacy is a gift from God designed for the union of a man and woman, and for the transmission of life. 

 

 

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Making the Connection

Cafeteria Catholic

I was raised Catholic, but the emphasis in our home was mainly to live a good Christian life. Going to church regularly or following the catechism was optional. Since religion in my family was mostly about showing Christ’s love in our actions, I believed I was a devout Catholic because my arms were stretched wide helping people like nobody’s business. I attended Mass when it was convenient, and had committed my career to teaching in the Catholic schools. It was at one of these schools that I met my dear friend Lauren.

Lauren was a strange Catholic in my eyes. She kept telling me about different saints and their stories, using them as examples to lovingly teach me about my faith. I thought she was a little out there and kept asking her, “How do you know that story is true?” or “Where did you get that story?” Her patience with me was amazing.

Eventually she started telling me about the holy days of obligation. Like Sunday Mass, those, too, were optional in my opinion. I was not going to be a hypocrite and attend Mass during the week. Besides, my dad told me that going to Mass so everyone can see you is not what makes you holy. It’s how you live that makes you holy.

Poor Lauren. Look what she was up against. I was this holier than thou Catholic teacher who knew nothing about our faith and was convinced I didn’t need to know it because I was living it. Bless her heart. Lauren did not give up on me.

Lauren gave me Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s conversion stories. You’d think that would turn me around wouldn’t you? No, they were neat stories, but I was already Catholic.

As we went through the school year, Lauren invited me to begin praying with her after school. That was really pushing it. Prayer is a private thing. Sharing with a friend, whoa! But I agreed because I loved her and knew I needed to do what interested her.

Wow! What a difference that prayer time made. She taught me how to pray the rosary, how to talk to Jesus rather than just God the Father, and how to call on the gifts of the Holy Spirit for help. That did me in. When she got all three persons of God and Mother Mary working with me, my eyes began to open.

Then one day Lauren used the phrase “cafeteria Catholic” in a story she was telling me. I asked, “What is a cafeteria Catholic?” Lauren explained that a cafeteria Catholic is someone who only follows the rules of the Church that he or she agrees with and lets the rest go. Well, I’m a major rule follower and did not at all like the sound of that. So I began asking questions.

We turned to the Catechism, we turned to the Bible, we prayed the rosary, and I was convicted big time! I knew that I was indeed a cafeteria Catholic, and until now I had not even known it. It was time to decide. “What will it be, Mary, are you Catholic or not?”

I pondered this for months and in the meantime got pregnant. This affected me deeply. Was I going to teach my children to be cafeteria Catholics? My heart began to ache, my anxiety increased, and at the prodding of Lauren, I decided to go to confession at St. Charles.

I was so scared. I wrote everything down. I listed all the individual sins that I could think of, such as my wrong attitude, and the biggest sin of all which was that my husband and I had used birth control for years, even before we were married. That one killed me. Granted, he was my only one, but I had still sinned against God. That my husband is my one and only made it okay? Right? Not!

It was Saturday and approaching 3:00 p.m. I was so nervous that I was shaking. I picked Father Pat as the priest I would confess to. He is so warm and caring that I felt I could talk to him. So, I went in. “Face to face or behind the curtain?” I decided to face him. He smiled and said, “Sit down, Mary.” Before I lost my nerve, I told him that I wrote down a whole list of things, and that I had not been to confession in years. I don’t think I took a breath.

Father Pat was so dear. He touched my knee and said, “Let’s start with a prayer.” We did, and that calmed me. Then he told me to begin my confession. I read everything. I explained how I was raised Catholic and how I had changed. I told him about my husband and me. I got it all off my chest. You know what? He did not look disappointed, he did not tell me how bad I was, and he did not even call me a huge sinner and tell me to leave the Church forever. “You know what he said?” “Mary, you have had a conversion. God has drawn you closer to Him and your life is about to change for the better.” I was shocked and so relieved that I started to giggle. Father Pat joined me. He was so happy for me.

He gave me my penance, which was to go and live the life of a good and faithful Catholic and to say the Joyful Mysteries for strength and courage. I did, and now both my husband and I are living a Catholic life and raising our children to do the same. My life changed that day, and I give thanks and praise to God for both Lauren and Father Pat.

“Mary”

Tacoma,Washington 

From: Cafeteria Catholic 

 

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Further Reading

Additional Reading Materials

Ratzinger, Joseph. On Conscience. Edited by Edward J. Furton. (Philadelphia, PA: National Catholic Bioethics Center; San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2007).

Prepared and co-published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, this book is a combination of two lengthy essays written by Cardinal Ratzinger and delivered in talks when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Both talks deal with the importance of conscience and its exercise in particular circumstances.

Ratzinger’s reflections show that contemporary debates over the nature of conscience have deep historical and philosophical roots. He says that a person is bound to act in accord with his conscience, but he makes it clear that there must be reliable, proven sources for the judgment of conscience in moral issues, other than the subjective reflections of each individual.

The always unique and profound insights that the new Pope Benedict XVI brings to perennial problems reminds the reader of his strong warning before the recent Papal conclave of the great dangers today of the “dictatorship of relativism.”

Jensen, Steven J. The Natural Law: A Beginner’s Thomistic Guide. (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2025).

Drawing upon the timeless wisdom of Thomas Aquinas, The Natural Law offers clear insights into perplexing ethical dilemmas. The compelling conclusions of Aquinas emerge through a critical examination of contemporary ethical frameworks including moral relativism, utilitarianism, and Machiavellian politics. In part one, which elucidates the core principles of natural law ethics, the reader will discover fundamental truths underpinning the concepts of right and wrong, which are rooted in the very fabric of our humanity. Part two navigates the ethics of harm, grappling with contentious issues such as capital punishment, just war, and self-defense, while at the same time addressing moral quandaries like sacrificing one life in order to save another. This section also resolves thorny practical questions surrounding human actions. How can we tell the difference between an action and its consequences? How do we determine exactly what it means to kill another person? Part three ventures into the intricacies of human societies. The reader will explore the importance of authority and rules in guiding social interactions, from the nurturing bonds of the family to the shifting complexities of political society. The principles examined will shed light upon controversial topics within sexual ethics, such as transgenderism, faithful spousal intimacy, and cloning. The Natural Law invites readers on an engaging journey of critical inquiry. By challenging prevailing assumptions and provoking self-reflection, it will reshape your understanding of ethics and human nature, ultimately revealing your role and purpose within the universe.

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Next Steps

Ready to Take the Next Step?

It is not a sin to be sexually attracted to those of the same sex. The Church makes it clear that this attraction only becomes sinful when a person gives in to temptation and performs sexual acts outside of marriage. Since marriage, by nature, must be between a man and a woman, sexual acts between same-sex couples are always a sin. How can we better understand the Church’s teaching on homosexuality? Study, prayer and practice!

📖 Study

Begin to form your conscience by aligning it with God’s will through the study of Scripture and Church teaching such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other Church documents. Begin by looking at the Moral Authority and Further Reading for this Letter or the links below.

Understanding Conscience | USCCB

Learning from the Early Church: How to Form Your Conscience – The Catholic Diocese of Tyler

💖 Prayer

Continue to form your conscience by praying daily for guidance and perform a regular Examination of Conscience to reflect on actions, motives, and sins.

Prayer for Conscience Formation

I praise you Lord for creating me in your divine image. Thank you for giving me a free will to know you and love you. Open my heart to your teachings and help me to form my conscience according to your will. Please strengthen me with the virtues of faith, hope, love, and especially prudence. Grant me your loving guidance each day and send me the graces to always do your will, even when most difficult. Amen.

✝️ Practice

Key Practices to Forming Conscience:

  • Frequent Sacraments: Receive the Eucharist regularly and participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least four times a year to strengthen your spiritual life.
  • Seek Truth, Not Consensus: Conscience is not just “doing what I feel,” but submitting to the objective truth revealed by God.
  • Avoid Moral Relativism: Disconnect from worldly noise, such as social media and political ideologies that contradict church teaching. 

 

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