After reading about difficult moral questions, many people feel either relieved or newly worried. Perhaps you realize that something in your past was wrong. Perhaps you are unsure how to apply a principle to your own situation. This final lesson looks at conscience, at what to do when you are in doubt, and at the gift of confession.
What conscience is
The Catechism calls conscience a person's "most secret core and sanctuary", where one is alone with God whose voice echoes within (CCC 1776). Conscience is a judgment of reason by which a person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act (CCC 1778). We must always obey the certain judgment of our conscience (CCC 1790).
But conscience is not a feeling or a private preference. It must be informed and enlightened (CCC 1783). The Word of God, the teaching of the Church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the witness and advice of others, and prayer all help form it (CCC 1785).
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Sources
- CCC 1776-1802 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Moral conscience
- CCC 1446 Catechism of the Catholic Church, The sacrament of penance
- CCC 1458 Catechism of the Catholic Church, The confession of venial sins
- CCC 1857-1860 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Mortal and venial sin