WE need to talk a little bit more
about conscience these
days, because if ever some reference to it is made in the media, it is
so swallowed up by its controversial social, legal and political
context, that its basic religious and spiritual nature is practically
distorted, if not corrupted, and its strategic role in all aspects and
levels of our life unappreciated.
Especially when we make reference to what is usually
termed as “freedom of conscience,” we can have such a varied
interpretation of meaning and understanding that we end up confused
and in unavoidable conflicts.
In some extreme cases, conscience can be understood as a
right to do anything we like, practically making ourselves our own god
and creator, our own lawgiver. And this simply cannot be. It’s absurd.
The commonest of common sense can readily debunk it.
Conscience is a judgment we make with respect to the
morality of an action we make. It is a judgment we make either before,
during or after a human act, qualifying it as either good, bad or
neutral.
It is something personal which does not mean that it does
not have implications in the other aspects of our life, social, legal,
professional, etc. Conscience figures at the very foundation of every
human act we make, and our human acts can have varied effects,
consequences and implications.
Let’s remember that as persons, we are meant by nature to
be in relation with others, first with our God and Creator who is the
original and ultimate lawgiver, and then with everybody and everything
else. Therefore, our actions as persons will unavoidably involve our
web of relations.
Our sense of privacy, which is also part of our nature,
should not be taken to mean that we can be on our own. It is meant
rather to protect our individuality, our uniqueness, our subjectivity,
without compromising our need to be universally related to everyone
and everything else, starting with God and always with God.
We need to take good care of our conscience. As an act of
judgment, it has to gather relevant data, first of all from God, our
ultimate lawgiver, and from things on the ground, in a specific
situation, with concrete persons involved.
It has to hear from all these sources and process the
information slowly and with prudence before making a judgment. It’s
not true that judgments of conscience are always spontaneous and
immediate. They can take time and has to go through a long process.
From these considerations, we can already gather that for
our conscience to be properly formed, we need to have a vital
relationship with God and with others. This will require of us
constant effort, and of course the grace of God to discern his mind
and will. This grace is actually abundantly given to us.
This vital relationship with God and with others should
not be substituted by mere doctrine, norms and our legal, cultural,
social, traditional systems, etc., which are meant at best to be
guides only. The latter should only be the means, not the end in
themselves.
Otherwise, we would be prone to fall into the anomalies of
legalism, traditionalism and other isms that are caricatures of the
real thing. These anomalies would in turn lead us to make rash
judgments and to be self-righteous in the end.
Sad to say, this is what we are seeing these days—many
seemingly good people stuck in self-righteousness, whose sense of
justice hardly sits well with mercy and compassion, and is easily
lured into the wiles and tricks of men, if not of the devil.
Thus, more than anything else, to have a good conscience
involves intensifying our attitude and dispositions of faith, prayer,
piety and devotion, as well as our effort to enter into personal and
even intimate contact with others.
That is why our catechism tells us that our common and
ultimate vocation is holiness that involves communion with God and
with everybody else. We need to do everything to foster the attainment
of this communion.
Caring for our conscience also means developing virtues,
especially humility that is so basic that no other virtue can prosper
if not grown on the ground of humility. We need to have a genuine
concern for the others, doing our best to know them as deeply as
possible and to love them irrespective of their conditions.
This is how Christ behaved toward all of us. And he gave
us that new commandment that we have to love one another as he himself
has loved us. This is how we can have a really good conscience.
days, because if ever some reference to it is made in the media, it is
so swallowed up by its controversial social, legal and political
context, that its basic religious and spiritual nature is practically
distorted, if not corrupted, and its strategic role in all aspects and
levels of our life unappreciated.
Especially when we make reference to what is usually
termed as “freedom of conscience,” we can have such a varied
interpretation of meaning and understanding that we end up confused
and in unavoidable conflicts.
In some extreme cases, conscience can be understood as a
right to do anything we like, practically making ourselves our own god
and creator, our own lawgiver. And this simply cannot be. It’s absurd.
The commonest of common sense can readily debunk it.
Conscience is a judgment we make with respect to the
morality of an action we make. It is a judgment we make either before,
during or after a human act, qualifying it as either good, bad or
neutral.
It is something personal which does not mean that it does
not have implications in the other aspects of our life, social, legal,
professional, etc. Conscience figures at the very foundation of every
human act we make, and our human acts can have varied effects,
consequences and implications.
Let’s remember that as persons, we are meant by nature to
be in relation with others, first with our God and Creator who is the
original and ultimate lawgiver, and then with everybody and everything
else. Therefore, our actions as persons will unavoidably involve our
web of relations.
Our sense of privacy, which is also part of our nature,
should not be taken to mean that we can be on our own. It is meant
rather to protect our individuality, our uniqueness, our subjectivity,
without compromising our need to be universally related to everyone
and everything else, starting with God and always with God.
We need to take good care of our conscience. As an act of
judgment, it has to gather relevant data, first of all from God, our
ultimate lawgiver, and from things on the ground, in a specific
situation, with concrete persons involved.
It has to hear from all these sources and process the
information slowly and with prudence before making a judgment. It’s
not true that judgments of conscience are always spontaneous and
immediate. They can take time and has to go through a long process.
From these considerations, we can already gather that for
our conscience to be properly formed, we need to have a vital
relationship with God and with others. This will require of us
constant effort, and of course the grace of God to discern his mind
and will. This grace is actually abundantly given to us.
This vital relationship with God and with others should
not be substituted by mere doctrine, norms and our legal, cultural,
social, traditional systems, etc., which are meant at best to be
guides only. The latter should only be the means, not the end in
themselves.
Otherwise, we would be prone to fall into the anomalies of
legalism, traditionalism and other isms that are caricatures of the
real thing. These anomalies would in turn lead us to make rash
judgments and to be self-righteous in the end.
Sad to say, this is what we are seeing these days—many
seemingly good people stuck in self-righteousness, whose sense of
justice hardly sits well with mercy and compassion, and is easily
lured into the wiles and tricks of men, if not of the devil.
Thus, more than anything else, to have a good conscience
involves intensifying our attitude and dispositions of faith, prayer,
piety and devotion, as well as our effort to enter into personal and
even intimate contact with others.
That is why our catechism tells us that our common and
ultimate vocation is holiness that involves communion with God and
with everybody else. We need to do everything to foster the attainment
of this communion.
Caring for our conscience also means developing virtues,
especially humility that is so basic that no other virtue can prosper
if not grown on the ground of humility. We need to have a genuine
concern for the others, doing our best to know them as deeply as
possible and to love them irrespective of their conditions.
This is how Christ behaved toward all of us. And he gave
us that new commandment that we have to love one another as he himself
has loved us. This is how we can have a really good conscience.
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