
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, return to your conscience and question it. Turn inward,
brethren, and in everything you do, see God as your witness.
We shall reassure our hearts
before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts,
and he knows everything.
One may never do evil so that
good may result from it, because the Golden Rule is that, whatever you wish
that men would do to you, do so to them, because charity always proceed by way
of respect for one’s neighbor and his conscience; “Thus sinning against your
brethren and wounding their conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore “it
is right not to do anything that makes your brother stumble.
The more a correct conscience
prevails, the more do persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and try
to be guided by objective standards of moral conduct.
To live well is nothing than
to love God with all one’s heart, with one’s soul and with all one’s efforts;
from this it comes about that love is kept whole and un-corrupted (through
temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys
only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as
not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).
Hope, O my soul, hope. You
know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes
quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns
a very short time into long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you
prove that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your
beloved, in happiness and rapture that can never end.
The Apostle Paul has given an
incomparable depiction of charity: “charity is patient and kind, charity is not
jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its
own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but
rejoice in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things and endures
all things.
If we turn away from evil out
of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the
enticement of wages, we resemble mercenaries. And again, if we obey for the
sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands, we are in the
position of children.
Love is itself the
fulfillment of all our works. There is a goal; that is why we run: we run
towards it and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. If
children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.
Conversion requires
convincing of sin; it includes the interior judgment of conscience, and this,
being a proof of the action of the Spirit in man’s inmost being, becomes at the
same time the start of a new grant of grace and love: “receive the Holy
Spirit”. Thus in this “convincing concerning sin” we discover a double gift:
the gift of the truth of the conscience and the gift of the certainty of
redemption. The Spirit of truth is the consoler.
When the will sets itself
upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients
man towards his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object,
whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the
love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. But when the sinners will is
set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed
to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate
laughter and the like, such sins are venial.
While he is in the flesh, man
cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins
which we call “light”: if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble
when you count them. A number of light objects make’s a great mass: a number of
drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope?
Above all, is confession!
Sin is a personal act.
Moreover, we have responsibility for the sins committed by others when we
cooperate in them, by participating directly and voluntarily by ordering,
advising, praising or approving them. We have responsibility for the sins
committed by others by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an
obligation to do so; and by protecting evil-doers. The Catechism Of The
Catholic Church (CCC).
I
urge you to listen to your conscience, sin no more and God will see you through
by crowning your efforts with a great success.
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