Following Your Conscience is it from heaven or hell?

[homeschoolhelen]

felra:

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

**1783 **Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.

This is from a different thread but I thought this was interesting because I have recently had to make a decision and let me tell you, if you were talking about a conscience this was very unclear.

My “conscience” was telling me NOT to do something. But, I was proved wrong a number of times and could not find in the Catechism where the church stood on the subject I was dealing with. I turned to two different Priests who gave me two opposite answers.:yup: :nope: :whacky: So, do you go with your conscience or not? Do you go with your conscience and then find out you were wrong? You did more harm than good?:crying: So, is it your conscience or a little devil sitting on your shoulder telling you it is your conscience?:banghead: :bigyikes:

Blessings,
Helen

 

[Mickey]

homeschoolhelen:

This is from a different thread but I thought this was interesting because I have recently had to make a decision and let me tell you, if you were talking about a conscience this was very unclear.

My “conscience” was telling me NOT to do something. But, I was proved wrong a number of times and could not find in the Catechism where the church stood on the subject I was dealing with. I turned to two different Priests who gave me two opposite answers.:yup: :nope: :whacky: So, do you go with your conscience or not? Do you go with your conscience and then find out you were wrong? You did more harm than good?:crying: So, is it your conscience or a little devil sitting on your shoulder telling you it is your conscience?:banghead: :bigyikes:

Blessings,
Helen

1. Hear what your conscience is telling you.
2. Pray about it
3. Talk to your spiritual advisor. (get one if you don’t have one)

Rule of thumb: confusion is of the devil
peace, love, and tranquility is of God

 

[fix]

. THE JUDGMENT OF CONSCIENCE

1777 Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil.49 It bears witness to the authority of truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.

1778 Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law:

Conscience is a law of the mind; yet [Christians] would not grant that it is nothing more; I mean that it was not a dictate, nor conveyed the notion of responsibility, of duty, of a threat and a promise. . . . [Conscience] is a messenger of him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by his representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.50

 

[fix]

1786 Faced with a moral choice, conscience can make either a right judgment in accordance with reason and the divine law or, on the contrary, an erroneous judgment that departs from them.

1787 Man is sometimes confronted by situations that make moral judgments less assured and decision difficult. But he must always seriously seek what is right and good and discern the will of God expressed in divine law.

1788 To this purpose, man strives to interpret the data of experience and the signs of the times assisted by the virtue of prudence, by the advice of competent people, and by the help of the Holy Spirit and his gifts.

1789 Some rules apply in every case:

• One may never do evil so that good may result from it;
• the Golden Rule: "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."56
• charity always proceeds by way of respect for one’s neighbor and his conscience: "Thus sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience . . . you sin against Christ."57 Therefore "it is right not to . . . do anything that makes your brother stumble."58

 

[Tantum_ergo]

That is a tough situation.
Mainly, one is supposed to first form a good conscience. . .by studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the teachings of the church, i.e., getting proper education and catechetical formation, by prayer, and by adherence to the teachings of the church.
Then, when situations come up, one turns to this well-formed conscience. If one can’t find a “church teaching” to back up some subject (and we sure aren’t all Doctors of Divinity), then one goes to a reliable source (priest, for example). You say you went to two priests. Why–wasn’t the word of one sufficient? But it is true, the fact that a person is a priest does not automatically mean that he is necessarily correct–we all know that there are sadly too many priests out there who aren’t giving correct information about Catholic teaching.

So. . .you have a situation where you have OPPOSING answers. Not just a matter of choosing two possible options, but having to choose between one action and another action. Is it possible that both actions are wrong (or right)? For example, a good Catholic may support, or may not support, the death penalty. Now it looks as though one of those two options must be RIGHT and the other WRONG, but that is not the case. Both actions are equally valid and proper. It is up to the individual to choose, based on his or her conscience, his or her best reasoning, and his or her prayers, which s/he chooses. A person choosing to support the death penalty is not a bad–nor a good–Catholic; neither is a person who chooses NOT to support the death penalty a bad–or a good–Catholic. The fact is, the death penalty is a CIVIL issue which can be enforced not by the church but by a GOVERNMENT. Each individual case which comes before said government to face the penalty may be an example of a good, or of a bad, use of that penalty, but it is the responsibility of the government to decide on the USE of the penalty. The morality of the death penalty is not a Catholic issue per se. The Pope does not support it as a person, and wishes that it were not supported by x societies, but that is the judgment of his conscience and no other Catholic is bound to that judgment.

There are no better words to approach the situation of a “conscience” issue than those of St. Pio: “Pray, work, and don’t worry”.

 

[homeschoolhelen]

Tantum ergo:

You say you went to two priests. Why–wasn’t the word of one sufficient?

I went to one priest that teaches love. I agree with love, but he couldn’t show me where to find what he was saying in Catholic Law. Let me try once again to tell what the situation is. I don’t want opinions what to do, I want facts. Solid Catholic Law. I posted this before and received opinions.

First let me give you a quick background. I am happily married and have four children that we homeschool. I come from a good Catholic upbringing and have six siblings. My youngest sister is getting married for the third time. She married in the Catholic Church the first time. This marriage lasted six months. Divorced. Married two days after divorce by a minister. That lasted two years and she divorced again. Now, I helped her fill out the annulment papers and the diocese is in the process of going over the annulment. She is now marrying a Catholic Man that is newly divorced. He says (there is no way of knowing) he will get an annulment. They are getting married by civil ceremony with a big reception. My mother has requested that all the siblings attend the wedding/reception. Or just reception. She is reasoning that we show that we don’t approve of a civil ceremony but that we are here for her to come to.

Now, I am very unhappy, uncomfortable with this. Everything tells me not to be a part of this. My priest talked of love and how to be the bigger person etc. Another priest dismissed this as silly to even think about going. But not one could show me where to find the answer by the teachings of the Church. So, here it is. My conscience tells me not to go. Something else is telling me that I will cause a GREAT DEAL of pain and stress to all involved by not attending. I would be the only one. That doesn’t bother me, if I know I have some facts. The only thing I could find about this is that we are not permitted to be in the ceremony, bridesmaid etc.

Just so you know, this is my favorite Saint and I have been asking for his help consistently with this problem. Anyone that has knowledge of what is correct please let me know and now you see what conscience does sometimes! Not so black and white to me!
Helen

 

[Mickey]

homeschoolhelen:

I went to one priest that teaches love. I agree with love, but he couldn’t show me where to find what he was saying in Catholic Law. Let me try once again to tell what the situation is. I don’t want opinions what to do, I want facts. Solid Catholic Law. I posted this before and received opinions.

This is the most solid Catholic law that I would refer you to:

**Matthew 19:19 **Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

**John 13:35 **By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.

**John 15:17 **These things I command you, that you love one another.

**Romans 13:8 **Owe no man any thing, but to love one another. For he that loveth his neighbour hath fulfilled the law.

**Romans 13:10 **The love of our neighbour worketh no evil. love therefore is the fulfilling of the law.

**Galatians 5:14 **For all the law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself

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**1 Thessalonians 4:9 **But as touching the charity of brotherhood, we have no need to write to you: for yourselves have learned of God to love one another.

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**James 2:8 **If then you fulfil the royal law, according to the scriptures: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; you do well.

**1 Peter 1:22 **Purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, with a brotherly love, from a sincere heart love one another earnestly:

 

[Brendan]

Every conscience is created by God endowed with a knowledge of Natural Law. What God expects from all humanity.

Natural Law does not change with time, location or people. What is Right is always Right.

An informed conscience cannot be one that choses against God’s Natural Law and His Teachings.

So a well informed conscience, by defination, cannot lead on to things like an abortion, or sexual immorality.

 

[gavin52]

A well formed conscience, if followed, will not lead you astray. On the otherhand, an uninformed consciecne will lead you into all kinds of problems.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

I don’t want opinions what to do, I want facts. Solid Catholic Law. I posted this before and received opinions.

i think that you are trying to find laws where the law does not apply. there is no law that says you can’t attend. i can’t even think of a law that says you cannot be in the ceremony. but none of that matters. the second priest was right. and if you love your sister and the rest of the family, you will testify to the truth by not being present.

every Catholic is duty bound by reason of love for the Most Holy Trinity to defend the Faith. That is the law. Jesus is in your presence always. if you attend, you are escorting Jesus to this wedding. your presence is a statement.

being there endorses what you are seeing when you do nothing to stop it. now, if you are brave enough to attend and object at the proper time, well that’s another thing entirely. i know i don’t have the guts to do that, but it would be awesome if you did. the Church would be vindicated that day. but, your conscience says do it the kinder, gentler way. may that’s the Holy Spirit. however, don’t just not go. they need to know why. tell them.

if love were always warm and fuzzy, we wouldn’t have the Cross. people who use “love” to mean inaction, complacency, and permissiveness have lost sight of part of what Jesus said. the divine love that Jesus give is for both the easy stuff and the hard stuff.

 

[puzzleannie]

if your beloved sister was bound and determined to drive her car off a cliff, because somebody told her that was the way to find true happiness, would you pull the chocks out from under the wheels and let her rip? Love does not mean assisting and approving someone to persist in an action that will bring pain and misery and death to their immortal soul. Read 1 corinthians 13 for the definition of love before putting “aiding and abetting” in that category.