Moral Agent:

Christian Moral
Life
Simply the call to become
loving persons, in the
fullness of life-with-others-
in-community before God,
in imitation of Jesus Christ.
 Human Person
 a conscious, historical, unique, relational
embodied spirit with innate dignity –
created, redeemed, graced now for eternal
life.
 considered in the light of both reason and
faith.
 “ The inviolable dignity of every human person…is the most
precious possession of an individual, [whose] value comes not from
what a person ‘has’ as much as from what a person ‘is’ .”
(CL 37)
 Person in Christ
In Christ and through Christ, we have acquired full
awareness of our dignity
The heights to which we are raised
The surpassing worth of our own humanity
The meaning of our existence
Person in Christ

All persons are created by God in His

Image and Likeness (CF. Gen 1:26)
All persons are called to be children
of God.
 Persons in Experience

1. Persons are open and relational by nature.

1.Persons are conscious beings
2. Persons are embodied spirits
3. Persons are historical realities
4. Persons are unique, yet fundamentally equal
1. Persons are open and relational by nature
created by God as a social beings.
redeemed by Christ as a people.
the Holy Spirit works not only
within but among us as the people
of God, journeying toward our
common destiny in God.
2. Persons are conscious beings

Aware of themselves in
their outgoing acts.
Possess this self-
awareness through our
knowing and free will.
 3. Persons are embodied spirits
This stresses the unity between our
“body and soul”.
St. Paul admonishes us: “You must
know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit, who is within- the Spirit
you have received from God…So,
glorify God in your body”. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
 4. Persons are historical
realities
 who gradually through time,
become our full selves.
Decide and form ourselves; in this
sense we are our own cause.
 5. Persons are unique,
yet fundamentally equal
“All men are endowed with a rational
soul and are created in God’s image;
they have the same nature and origin
and, being redeemed by Christ they
enjoy the same divine calling and
destiny; there is here a basic equality
between all men” (GS 29).
 Human Freedom
 Authentic Freedom - is not “the right to
say and do anything,” but to “do the good”
(cf. CCC1740).

In Christ Words, “The truth will set you free”

( Jn. 8:32)

 But the greatest single obstacle to authentic

freedom is SIN.
 Authentic Human Freedom
 is a shared capacity with others in the community
for choosing not anything at all but what is good,
in order to become our true selves.
 TWO OBSTACLES IN ATUHENTIC FREEDOM:
 Freedom from (interior threats) – come from
within us.
 Freedom for (exterior threats) –arise from our
environment.
 Freedom of the Children of God
The goal of this process and task of personal
freedom is “to be set free from slavery to
corruption and share in the glorious freedom
of the children of God” (Rom 8:21)
 Freedom “to attain the good” simply means
to “act as Jesus did”.
 Exercise of Responsible Freedom

 To know what is moral good in the

light of the Gospel and human
experience.
 Throws a new light on everything
and manifests God’s design for
our total vocation, and thus
directs the mind to solutions that
are fully human.
 Conscience
o It is understood as a kind of inner voice (tinig
ng budhi) which guides us in our moral life.
o It is most secret core and sanctuary of a man,
where he is alone with God, whose echoes in
his depths.
o It is the proximate norm of personal morality,
our ultimate subjective norm for discerning
moral good and evil, with the feeling of being
bound to follow its directive.
 Moral Conscience
It is the expression of the divine law,
defining what is good and what is evil.
To obey conscience is “our very dignity;
according to it we will be judged”
(GS 16; cf Rom 21:15f)
 Christian Conscience
Formed by directing one’s freedom
to the person and message of Jesus
Christ, the center of the Christians
self-becoming and identity.
 Two types of Formative Factors:
1. Heart Factors – include reading and prayerful
reflection on Jesus’ teaching and actions, and our
own prayer and sacramental life.
2. Mind Factors – refer to a deepening in
understanding of Sacred Scripture and Church
teaching, especially Catholic moral principles,
and sound moral guidance.
 Types of Conscience

1. Correct Conscience – corresponds to

objective moral values and precepts;
2. Erroneous Conscience – one which
mistakenly judges something as morally
good which is objectively evil.
Three Dimensions of
every Moral Act

1. Nature
2. Intention
3. Circumstances