The basis of all Catholic Christian morality is our belief in the God who

created all things and in Jesus who taught us even better how to live. We
believe we are created in God’s image and that we, and all creation, are
basically good. Yet we recognize our own tendencies toward evil, especially in
an excess of our desires. The Ten Commandments are part of the
code known to the early Israelites that helped them to live better lives in
relationship with Yahweh. We believe in the same values, with certain
changes because of our knowledge of Jesus Christ.

We believe Jesus, as God become human “God among us,” has most truly
shown us how to live. Our moral life is based on trying to live and treat
others as Jesus did.The Bible is the primary source for information on the
life of Jesus. In it, we find that the Reign of God (or Kingdom of God) is the
central focus of Jesus’ teaching.

Exactly what the Reign of God might mean is not clear. However, we know
that it is a way of living which transforms us when we live it and transforms the
world when our actions are consistent with it. At the core of the teaching are
the two commandments: “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart,
your whole soul, your whole mind, and with all your strength” and “Love your
neighbor as yourself.” This implies that a certain selflessness is an intrinsic
part of the Reign of God, where we treat others as though they were Christ,
since we see Christ in them.

Jesus demanded faithof his followers (miracles only happened for people of
faith) and ongoing conversion(repentance), recognizing that we will never
do all that we could. But Jesus challenged all to become his disciples, leaving
home and possessions, and “taking up your cross.” Thus, it is not always easy
to follow his teachings. The Catholic Church maintains this ideal, that we all
should be trying to live a perfect life. Since we know that it is not possible, we
have sacraments like Reconciliation, penitential rites at Mass, and one time
during the year (Lent) when we try to focus on our own lives and how we are
continually called to be better. We must, as Jesus’ followers, always continue
to strive to be better, without focusing on the mistakes of the past.

Morality
Definition

Morality for a Christian is the application of God’s laws regarding a person’s private and
public behavior. In his or her seeking to live a moral life, a Christian tries to obey the
rules for his or her personal behavior that have been decreed by God and recorded in
the Bible. Throughout centuries of history these rules have been proclaimed by God’s
prophets, like Moses and Isaiah and Jeremiah, taught by Jesus, interpreted by the
apostles, like Peter and Paul, established by Emperor Constantine, and proclaimed by
various popes, theologians, and preachers, like St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John
Calvin, Jacob Arminus, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, Billy
Graham, and other contemporary preacher/teachers within the Jewish-Christian
traditional understandings of what is right and what is wrong.

Problems with moral behavior

In spite of all of the clearly written and proclaimed statements of moral law, individual
Jews and Christians and non-members of these biblically based religious communities
have found it to be impossible to live in accord with these laws. No one has the ability
to be as good as he or she knows that he or she should be. Although most people have
a basic understanding of what is right and what is wrong, most of us cannot be
consistently right in how we obey God’s laws as well as those that have been
established by various governmental authorities.

The psalmist of ancient Israel said that “all have turned aside (from seeking to do good
and from seeking God) they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not
even one”(Psalms 14:3). Paul quotes this in his teaching letter to the Romans in Chapter
3, verses 10-11, and he adds this comment to include believers “all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All human beings live and have lived on a
battlefield between the righteous God and his rebellious angel Lucifer or Satan, and this
battle between God’s righteous will and Satan’s rebellious desires goes on day after day
in everyone’s life.

Attempts to deal with personal immorality

No one likes to admit that he or she is a rebel against God, that he or she is a sinner.
Individuals have gone to a great deal of effort in the study of God’s moral laws to find
loopholes in these laws that will enable them to excuse their immoral behavior and
attitudes. They have written new interpretations of these laws, and defined exceptions
to them, like it is all right to use “deadly force” against a person if that person is
threatening to use a “deadly” force against you or someone you love.

The book shelves of hundreds of law offices and law schools are filled with books
interpreting these laws and their derivatives and how they have been applied in
numerous legal cases throughout history. Our courts, including our Supreme Court, are
constantly seeking to apply these laws to the behavior of individuals with whom they
are dealing. The legislative bodies of our society are regularly engaged in the processes
of trying to understand what is “right” for our citizens and what laws need to be
enacted in order to get people to behave and to live basically moral lives. But there are
hundreds of examples of how some legislators and lawyers and enforcers of these laws
do not and cannot live in accord with them themselves. The moral life is neither easily
defined nor demonstrated.

God’s summary of his moral laws

Jesus engaged in a lot of discussions regarding the laws of God and personal morality
with the lawyers of his people, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They were constantly
challenging him in regard to his interpretation of some of these laws and why his
accepted disciples did not follow them more fully. In one situation a Pharisee, an expert
in these laws, asked Jesus, as he addressed him as “Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36). And Jesus replied with this answer: “‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments” (Matthew 22:37- 40.

This really simplifies the rules for morality, God’s laws for moral behavior. Just love God
completely and love everyone else as much as you love yourself. So the moral life is to
be lived in love, and immorality is not living with such love for God and others. A life
lived in accord with these two laws would be a perfect demonstration of morality.

How to practice morality

In the first place it must be done with a person’s sincere confession of his or her sin and
his or her inability to obey God’s laws by his or her own efforts. Such confession and
repentance demonstrate one’s acceptance of God’s will and love.

With the acceptance of God’s will and love comes his forgiving grace and his gift of the
Holy Spirit. It is God’s grace, faithfully trusting in his good will, and surrender to the
transforming power of the Holy Spirit that enables any Christian or believer in Jesus to
practice morality, to live a moral life. This is not a matter of regularly practicing
traditional religious rituals of worship or even service to others, but it is a matter of
being “born” by the Spirit of God. For some particular guidance in this transforming
process see my statements on “Basic doctrine regarding sin”, “God’s work of
redemption”, and “The Plan of Salvation (Revised)” on this website.
CATECHESIS ON CHRISTIAN MORALITY (RE 104)

Course Title : Catechesis on Christian Morality

Course Code : RE 104

Credit : 3 Units

Time Allotment : 54 Hours

ENTRY CONDITION:

The course requires that students had completely finished the following or any equivalent subjects thereof
after a careful assessment and approval by the Religious Education Director.

The requirements are:

Religious Education 101 – Catechesis on Salvation History

Religious Education 102 – Catechesis on Jesus Christ

Religious Education 103 – Catechesis on Church and Sacraments

COURSE DESCRIPTION :

The course is a catechesis on the essentials of Catholic Moral Life. It focuses on LIVING LIKE JESUS CHRIST,
a life of loving relationships as a way of following him. Christ being the center of our life calls us to be his
disciples by integrating directly his way of life with our experience and culture, both personal and social. The
course provides the students with an opportunity to know more the richness of the gifts (dignity, intellect,
freedom and conscience) and use them towards Christian discipleship.

In the course, we consider the six anthropological dimensions as our starting point and approach them for
the perspective of Christian discipleship. Thus, for each of the six dimensions, we will go into a methodological
action reflection cycle. We start with SEEING, in experiencing reality within the different areas of relationships.
We survey the questions, contradictions, and inconsistencies that we meet. We move by DISCERNING, we seek
guidelines and norms that we can follow to arrive at a richer and more authentic way of becoming disciples of
Jesus. These guidelines and norms have to be translated into Christian ACTING, proposing concrete strategies in
order to live our Christian life to the full.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES :

At the end of the semester, students are expected to :

1. Acquire a wholistic and integrated understanding of themselves as followers of Jesus called to live
relationship with nature, their bodies with others, society, culture, with their thoughts and actions,
and with the Sacred Ultimate.

2. Demonstrate a deep sense of appreciation of their capacity to love as human persons and disciples of
Jesus.

3. Take steps to leave out the challenge of Christian Discipleship and live a Moral Life.
COURSE OUTLINE :

I. TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN MORALITY

SEE : The Reality of the Way People Live Today : Priorities of People Today

DISCERN :

A. Basic Concepts in Christian Morality

i. Human Dignity

ii. Freedom

iii. Conscience

iv. Sin

v. Human Existence

B. Approaches in Morality

i. Morality as Law, Inner Conviction, Personal Growth, Love, Social Transformation

C. Towards Christian Morality

D. Renewal of Christian Morality

E. Making a Moral Decision

ACT : Becoming Who We Really Are

II. ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONSTANTS : RELATING WITH ONE’S BODY, NATURE, COSMOS

SEE : Situation Analysis

DISCERN :

A. My Body and Sexuality in the Process of Becoming a Christian Moral Person

B. The World that We Want our World to be

ACT : Ritual of Celebration

i. My Sexuality

ii. Nature of Cosmos

III. SECOND ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONSTANT: RELATING WITH OTHERS

SEE : Identifying Different Kinds of Relationship Through Pictures

 DISCERN :

A. Becoming Persons in Relationships

B. Relationships of Friendship and Intimacy

C. Virtues of Friendship and Intimacy

D. Road Blocks in Relationships

E. Taking Moral Responsibility in Relationship

F. Relationship and Christian Discipleship

ACT : Showing Love for One Another

IV. THIRD ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONSTANT : RELATING WITH COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY

SEE : Socio-Economic, Political Analysis of the Philippine Situation

DISCERN :

A. Social Doctrine with the Church

B. PCP II Vision of a Renewed Nation

ACT : Towards a New Paradigm of Development

V. FOURTH ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONSTANT : RELATING WITH CULTURE AND HISTORY

SEE :

A. The Reality of Filipino Culture and History

B. Filipino Cultural Values

DISCERN :

A. Christian Responsibility for our own Filipino History

B. Filipino Cultural Values from the Christian Perspective

ACT :

A. Appreciation of our Filipino Cultural Heritage

B. Being Responsible for our History

VI. FIFTH ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONSTANT : RELATING WITH THINKING AND ACTING

SEE :
 A. The Relational Character of Filipino Thinking and Acting

B. Separation Between Thought and Action

C. Colonial History versus Critical Thinking and Decisive Acting

DISCERN :

A. We are in the Service of Truth

B. We are in the Service of Freedom

ACT : Making Truth and Freedom our Way of Life

VII. SIXTH ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONSTANT : RELATING WITH THE ABSOLUTE

SEE :

A. The Monarchical Model of God

B. The Monarchical Model of God and Christian Perception of Nature, Society and Gender

DISCERN :

A. God as Transcendent and Immanent

B. Imaging God as Spirit

ACT : Living a Life centered in the Spirit

GRADING SYSTEM :

A. INSTRUCTION (60%)

Class Standing

Quizzes

Major Exam

B. FORMATION (20%)

Class Attendance

Reflection/Journal

C. INITIATION (20%)

Teacher/Self-Evaluation

Community Involvement
 TEXTBOOK :

Wostyn, Lode, CICM, Living Like Jesus, Claretian Publication, 2004

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, Pasay City, St. Paul Publication,
1992

Astorga, Ma. Christina, PhD, Living the Faith Option Christian Morality, FNB Educational, Inc, 1999

Catechism for Filipino Catholics, Manila, ECCCE, Word and Life Publication, 1996

Doromal, Sr. Rosalyn, DC and Castillo, Sr. Maria Helen, DC, Living in Community as Followers of
Jesus, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, 2006

ECCE and CBCP, Maturing in Christian Faith (NCDP), St. Paul Publication, 1983

Flannery, Austin, OP, Ed, Vatican Council II – The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Document, Vol. 1, New
York, Costello Publishing Company, 1984

Grojan, Patricia, FCJ and Hurault, Bernardo, Christian Community Bible, Claretian Publication, 2004

Haring, Bernard, CSSr, Free and Faithful Christ, St. Paul Publication, 1978

Keenan, James, SJ, Moral Wisdom, Claretian Publication, 2004

Manginas, Ismael Ireneo, EdD, Filipino Christian Morality, 1993

Moreno, Francisco, Moral Theology from the Poor, Claretian Publication, 1988

Rausch, Thomas, SJ, Catholicism in the Third Millenium, Claretian Publication, 2003

Verzosa, Sr. Mary Pilar, RGS, et al, Learning to Live and Love, Worn and Life Publications, 1996