CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5

Conscience
Formation
How do we form
our conscience?
1. Learn God’s standard.
2. Pray for the strength to
follow God’s standards.

Conscientious Decisions
 What Conscience Why not?
What is is NOT
Not majority Doing what the crowd thinks is right surrenders
conscience opinion responsibility to group and not self.
NOT Not a feeing Feelings may be out of touch with what is right
or wrong.
Not superego Conscience is the forefront of who you are
based on God’s Law, not a hidden set of rules.
Because of this,
I always strive Not a gut instinct A decision based on conscience is more
to keep my thorough and accurate than a gut reaction.
conscience clear Not Jiminy Cricket Conscience does not come outside of yourself.
before God and
Not Just Guilt Denial of conscience leads to death of morality.
man.
Acts 24:16 What is Conscience?
 NOT A FEELING NOT SUPEREGO

CONSCIENCE

NOT “JIMINY
NOT A GUT INSTINCT
CRICKET"
What is Conscience?
What Is Conscience?
• Conscience is a law written on your heart by God.
• Conscience always summons you to do good and avoid evil.
• Conscience must be obeyed; you will be judged according to how you
follow your conscience.
• Conscience is the “most secret core and sanctuary” of your being,
where you are alone with God.
• Conscience reveals divine law that you fulfill by love of God and love
of neighbor.

What is Conscience?
 • Deep in your
conscience you can
hear God’s invitation to
Relationship be who you are called
with God
to be.
• You are created in the
image of God.

• There is an awareness
Awareness of good and evil.
of God’s call
to Love • Love God and your
neighbor as yourself.

• Conscience urges you

to do good.
Practical • It keeps you from doing
Judgment of evil.
the Intellect • It guides you in actions.
• It judges actions as
good or evil. What is Conscience?
 SEER METHOD
Catholics must always form and keep informing
their conscience and obey certain conscience
Study from the Choose the right course
appropriate sources of action. Through
and deliberate on what prayer you can ask God
you have learned. to help you decide.

Put what you have Evaluate and reflect on

decided into action. the on the actions you
Follow through and do already performed.
what your conscience
tells you to do.

How to Form Your Conscience?

Examination of Conscience

An honest, prayerful assessment of

how well you have lived God’s
covenant of love. This examination
leads you to accept responsibility for
your sins and to realize your need for
God’s merciful forgiveness.

How to Form Your Conscience?

 Certain versus Uncertain Conscience
• You must always follow your certain conscience.

• If your conscience is uncertain, it is a sign you must pursue

conscience formation further

Note: You will not be held morally culpable if when you made the decision you
had done everything you could to form your conscience.

Avoiding Erroneous Judgment

Invincible Ignorance Vincible Ignorance
Ignorance about the
rightness or wrongness of an
action in which one is not
morally culpable. Despite a
person’s reasonable effort in
seeking the truth, the
ignorance was invincible—
that is, “incapable of being
overcome.”
Ignorance about the
rightness or wrongness of
an action in which one is
morally culpable. This kind
of ignorance is vincible—
that is, “capable of being
overcome” if the person
had diligently sought the
truth.
Avoiding Erroneous Judgment
Individual Conscience: It is by the judgment of
your conscience that you perceive divine law.

Primacy of Conscience: Decisions must be free.

You are responsible for informing your
conscience.

GOD’S LAW is the final Judge of what is right

and wrong.

Avoiding Erroneous Judgment

 Types of Peer Pressure

Neutral
Negative
Positive

Peer Pressure and Conscience

Four Ways to Combat Peer Pressure

Learn effective ways to

Know your standards.
say no.

Peer Pressure

Stay away from situations

Pray.
that might tempt you.
Peer Pressure and Conscience
Grow in the Virtue of Fortitude

Self-Denial: Offer up inconveniences to God.

Prayer: Pray daily to ask for the Lord’s support as you surrender your
principles.
Service: Help someone less fortunate than you.

Peer Pressure and Conscience

Assignment
Think of a time
when you had to
combat peer
pressure in order
to follow your
conscience. How
did the virtues of
fortitude assist
you?