Moral-Theology-Virtue-and-the-Pursuit-of-Happiness-RCIA-2012

Session Title: Moral Theology I – The Search for Happiness, Virtues, the Structure of the Decalogue

references/sources

• Mt. 19: 16-ff
• John Paul II. Veritatis Splendor. June 8, 1993.
• CCC – 1691-1876
• US Catholic Catechism for Adults, chapter 23
• Pinckaers, Servais.
  • Morality The Catholic View, Servais Pinckaers, O.P. South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press, 2001.
  • The Sources of Christian Ethics. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2001.
• Wuerl, Lawler & Lawler (Ed.), The Gift of Faith. Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 2001. pp. 148-ff.

Content

• Begin with asking about basic conceptions of morality… “What do you think when you hear ‘moral theology’.”
• Mt. 19:16-ff The encounter between Jesus and the rich young man
  • GS 22 – only in the mystery of Christ does the mystery of man become clear
  • Jn. 8:32 – the Truth will set you free.
    • Jesus is the Truth The truth and its demands of us (i.e. moral theology) are intimately linked to freedom in heaven.
    • VS 17 – Human freedom and God’s Law are not in opposition; on the contrary, they appeal to one another.
  • “Catholic moral teaching is not a mere code of prescriptions and prohibitions. It is not something that the Church teaches merely to keep people obedient, doing violence to their freedom. Rather, Catholic morality is a response to the aspirations of the human heart for truth and goodness.” (Pinckaers, Morality… p.1)
  • “Christian ethics is the branch of theology that studies human acts so as to direct them to a loving vision of God seen as our true complete happiness and our final end. This vision is attained by means of grace, the virtues and the gifts, in the light of revelation and reason.” (Pinckaers, Sources of… p.8)
    • “branch of theology” – like all theology, morality is aimed at becoming more like God in Jesus Christ. While described as a branch, morality cannot be seen apart from the other categories of theology (e.g. liturgy, scripture, dogma)
    • “human acts” – the physical matters!
    • “vision of God” – understood as a state of being (i.e. beatitude in heaven)
    • in bold – moral theology incorporates every dimension of human life as reflected in the story of the rich young man
      • grace – at work in him called him to Christ… only by grace can we hope to come to the end of our pilgrimage by following Christ.
      • Virtues – see below, focus on habitual dispositions
      • Gifts – pneumatological dimension
      • Revelation and reason – working hand in hand as we incarnate our faith.
• Parsing out Mt. 19:16-22
  • Now someone approached him and said,
    • From the very outset, we see that the dialogue of moral theology is deeply personal (persona-based)… What draws us to Christ?
      • Prevenient grace
      • Reason
      • Revelation (hearing the word of God)
      • Personal encounters with others
  • "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
    • action is necessary - man as unity of spirit and body
    • goal: eternal life
      • happiness/beatitude
      • the great human questions: death, evil, meaning in life
    • direct link between human activity and afterlife anatomy of the human act (object, intention, circumstance)
  • He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother'; and 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
    • Importance of revelation
    • Living of the natural law -Structure of the commandments (1-5, 6-10 // rel. to God and to man)
    • All goodness comes from God
  • The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
    • The big picture… it’s about being totally generous… total outpouring, just as the Trinity is. (see above: There is only one who is good)
    • Everything has to be given back to God (exitus/reditus)
  • Then come, follow me."
    • “come follow” = deute (Gk.) – equivalent to a rousing charge
    • “Forward!” in English… an encouragement.
      • Mt. 4:18-22
      • Mk. 1:16-20
      • Lk. 5:1-9
      • Jn. 1:35-39
    • In John – the call is linked with the concept of “remaining” with Jesus… being in total intimate union with him.
• The Virtues – The “how” of the moral life - A habitual and firm disposition to do the good. The moral virtues are acquired through human effort aided by God's grace; the theological virtues are gifts of God. (CCC –Glossary)
  • Love
  • Faith
  • Hope

Review – as found in CCC Glossary… and difference between Theological and Moral Virtues. …and the three theological in terms of Pieper’s understanding </blockquote?

• • Prudence
  • Justice
  • Temperance
  • Fortitude
    • Love as the highest virtue according to Augustine: As to whether virtue leads us to the happy life, I hold that virtue is nothing other than the perfect love of God. Now, when it is said that virtue has a fourfold division, as I understand it, this is said according to the various movements of love. Thus, these four virtues I do not hesitate to define them as follows: temperance is love giving itself entirely to the beloved; courage is love readily bearing all things for the sake of the beloved; justice is love serving only the beloved and therefore ruling rightly; prudence is love distinguishing wisely between what hinders it and what helps it. But as we have said, the object of this love is nothing other than God, the sovereign good, the highest wisdom and the perfect harmony. We may therefore define these virtues as follows: temperance is love preserving itself entire and uncorrupt for God; courage is love readily bearing all things for the sake of God; justice is love serving only God, and therefore ruling well everything else that is subject to the human person; prudence is love discerning well between what helps it toward God and what hinders it. ( from - de moribus ecclesiae catholicae)

Closing Prayer

Terms

• XX

Cultural Applications

Homework for next session