My dear parishioners,
Peace! In other bulletins (4 December, 2016-11 June, 2017) we have considered the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on “conscience.” We then turned to Saint John Paul II’s encyclical letter Veritatis splendor (6 August, 1993) which addresses fundamental moral issues, including “conscience” more than one hundred times. These reflections were begun earlier (6 April, 2018-30 May, 2018). Here we now consider a passage from Veritatis splendor, 60.
Saint John Paul II (+2005) when considering the “judgment of conscience” highlights the link between the Natural Law, practical knowledge and the judgment of conscience, in that they all have “an imperative character: man must act in accordance with it.” Of course, this implies that we know something about the Natural Law, practical knowledge and a well formed conscience. It also presupposes that we know something about “an imperative character.”
The Ten Commandments are a revealed and privileged expression of the Natural Law (cf. CCC, 2070). Saint Irenaeus (+202) in his Adversus Haereses explained that “From the beginning, God had implanted in the heart of man the precepts of the Natural Law. Then He was content to remind him of them. This was the Decalogue.” While the precepts of the Natural Law can be known via the natural light of reason, our human intelligence, because of the Fall, Original Sin, it is difficult to know the truth, including the moral truth, what good to do and what evil to avoid. That the Natural Law has an imperative character means that we are to do what it commands, either through the natural light of reason or through it’s revealed expression in Sacred Scripture (cf. Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:1-12).
Practical knowledge ought to be straightforward, yet distinct from, while not entirely unrelated to theoretical knowledge. Some might make a distinction between practical and theoretical knowledge in that one knows that X and that one knows how to X. An example commonly given contrasts carpenters and architects, the one actually builds while the other designs. It is practical knowledge which has us look both ways before crossing the street. It is practical knowledge that keeps us from putting our hands on a hot stove. The imperative character of practical knowledge becomes evident when the practitioner practices, this is how to do it. When considering the imperative character of the well-formed conscience we look at both the theoretical aspect, good should be done, evil should be avoided, and put it into practice accordingly. It is one thing for us to know the Natural Law, the Decalogue, the teachings of the Church, and another thing for us to act accordingly. When we allow ourselves to act according to the Natural Law, the Decalogue, the teachings of the Church we are eminently practical with eternal consequences. To disregard the eternal consequences of sinful, irrational, immoral behaviors is anything but practical. We should thank God for a well-formed conscience and the graces we need to act accordingly.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr