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Levels of Conscience

The document discusses the development of conscience through three levels: fear conscience, philosophic-ethical conscience, and Christian conscience. It asserts that the formation of conscience is an essential part of becoming a fully developed person and Christian. Prayer is also presented as important in forming one's conscience, as it allows one to discern God's will when making important decisions.

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1K views

Levels of Conscience

The document discusses the development of conscience through three levels: fear conscience, philosophic-ethical conscience, and Christian conscience. It asserts that the formation of conscience is an essential part of becoming a fully developed person and Christian. Prayer is also presented as important in forming one's conscience, as it allows one to discern God's will when making important decisions.

Uploaded by

Adoremus Duero
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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LESSON 3: WE ARE SUMMONED TO DO THE GOOD

Path 8: Levels of Conscience

CONTEXT
ICON

Let us review the passage in the previous meeting. Let us read the story again and
see whether we can complete the following exercise.

Recall the story about Jesus’ going to the Temple when


SIMPLE He was twelve. Then answer the following questions.
RECALL

1. How did Jesus show that He was a faithful Jewish boy?


__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
______________________

2. What took place in the young boy Jesus during His visit to the Temple when he
was twelve?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
______________________

3. Was it disobedience to His parents when Jesus chose to stay in the Temple while
the caravan they had joined was already returning to Nazareth?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
______________________

4. Did Mary, His mother, and Joseph understand all that Jesus told them?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
______________________

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ICON –
EXPOSITION

SACRED SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 13:11-12


When I was a child, I used to talk like a child; when I became a man, I put
aside childish things.

We are human persons who gradually develop in time and through time:
Physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially and spiritually. As children we act like
children but we do not stay in this stage forever; we grow and become more mature every day.
Growth is not something static nor does it grow automatically; it needs to be developed
gradually as the person grows to maturity.

CHURCH TEACHING: Catechism of the Catholic Church 704

`But our conscience is not something "automatic." It is gradually shaped through all
the many and complex factors that enter into our growth to Christian maturity. Family
upbringing, basic education and catechesis in the Faith, our cultural attitudes and values, the friends we
grow with in school, and the larger social environment of the community __ all influence the
development of conscience. Crucial to correct understanding of our conscience is its essential
relational dimension. Our ongoing moral experiences, within which our consciences
gradually take shape, are never isolated, but rather, always involve countless interactions
with parents, guardians, relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers, religious and priests, within
the social groupings of family, school, parish and community.

As conscience develops, we recognize three basic


levels: Fear conscience, philosophic-ethical conscience and
Christian (religious) conscience.

The first level is fear conscience, which operates on the


instinctive level. This is the fundamental stage. During this
stage, a person judges based on whether or not he/she will be
punished for the planned action. Authority determines
morality. The person acts to escape punishment and judges
according to physical material result of an act of a big stain or
only a little stain of breaking one dish or three dishes. It is also
motivated by an authority figure. Children often act on this
level. When this level is still predominant among adults, it

Edit and modify the 50


picture.
constitutes a serious moral defect which becomes a major obstacle to personal growth and
well-being.
The second level is the philosophic-ethical conscience, which operates on a person’s
moral-ethical level. A person on this level sees the inner moral good or evil of the act and
judges according to human nature of person in community.

The third level Christian (religious) conscience, is the most mature stage. The
person acts out of Christian moral norms grounded in love of God and neighbor and inspired
by Christ and the Holy Spirit. It operates on the religious level in our daily lives, using our
ethical reason, strengthened and illumined by Christ’s revelation and grace. We call this
“Christian” because we judge a moral good based on Jesus Christ’s life and teachings. We
discern what the good is according to what Jesus Christ wants us in the concrete situation.

These three levels of conscience are NOT exclusive. We all retain a good measure of
the first and second levels even after we have reached the third. This actually happens
because of our human condition. However, each of us has the responsibility to grow toward a
dominantly Christian level of conscience in all moral decision-making and choice of activity
which itself is grounded in God’s love.

Read this short story and apply what you have just learned about conscience.

- Honesty Is the Best Policy -

A 16-year-old boy in high school in a small American town did not even have
enough money to buy lunch when he found two 20-dollar notes on the floor of the
school bus he was riding.

He promptly turned the money over to the bus driver. Instead of


praising his honesty, his classmates called him stupid.

From “Honesty Is the Best Policy” (Readers’ Digest)


You can use, “The Next 500 Stories,” page 139 by
Fr. Frank Mihalic, SVD

51
P
O
I
N
T 1. How do you regard the reaction of the
S classmates of the 16-year-old high school
T
boy?
O
2. Comment on the decision of the 16-year-
P old boy who promptly turned the money
O over to the bus driver.
N
D
E
3. Would you have done what the boy did?
R Why/Why not? Based on your answer,
what level of conscience is applied?
Why?

52
ICON – Morals:
INTEGRATION Forming our Christian conscience means the process of developing
our capacity to judge correctly the moral good or evil of individual
acts.
Our goal as Christians is to develop a graced capacity to judge in
Christlike way motivated by Christ’s life and teachings.

Doctrine:
The formation of our conscience is an essential dimension of the process of
becoming an integral person and Christian with our natural growth and
development.

Explain this statement in your own words.

Worship:
Prayer is a necessary factor in the formation of our conscience.
In making critical decisions in life, we naturally beg God to guide us in our
choices and inspire us to carry them out. We should strive to know God’s will
and do it in the best way we can.

Have you personally experienced God’s help while making a big


decision in your life? Give a concrete example.

SUMMARY VOCABULARY

Conscience develops gradually Prudence- is all about good judgment,


through discernible stages. The weighing all the possibilities, considering
formation of our conscience is a process the consequences of one’s actions,
which goes along with our natural thinking before one acts, being
growth and development. thoughtful, using common sense, doing
what is best for oneself, using discretion,
Prayer plays a vital role in the exercising caution, and conforming to
formation of conscience. We are reason and decency.
confident that the Spirit of God is always
with us and within us, guiding us and
directing us in our moral choices.

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