Notes from Gathered for the Journey Six (6) essays David McCarthy

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these is a desire to be superhuman This modern notion actually takes us back toour first temptation, Adam and Eve‘s desire to become like gods. (Gen. 3:5). Thecontingencies of our own particularity do not make us less free; they are simplythe character of human freedom.‖ (171)Practice made Perfect—the Beautiful LifeThe more we practice Christian virtue, the more creative and free one becomeswithin the medium—just as the professional musician, the veteran jazz artist.The saint can improvise because the saint is a master.Our freedom reflects the image of God within us.Good acts participate in the good ―that moves us toward God when we act inaccord with reason and our human nature.‖ (172)Key: ―Freedom is not an end in itself, but is directed to our fulfillment as humanbeings, ultimately in communion with God.‖ Law and grace work within us tohelp us toward that goal. (172)Sin—Quicksand drawing us away from the Good—and Human FulfillmentMisdirected acts (i.e. sin), ironically, act as a ―limitation to our freedom.‖Allowing sin to metastasize into vice cripples our ability to do the good—our lensand will become distorted and drawn down, away from the light.―The more we sin, the less free we are to act in ways that draw us closer to God.Grace and law are two different means God uses to liberate us from our ownefforts to thwart our freedom.‖ (172)V. Law and Consciencepp. 172-175―Conscience is bound by truth.‖ Hearing God’s voice unimpededWhat is the relationship between law and conscience?Key—the freedom is freedom from constraint, oppressive laws, and socialcustoms (172)―Freedom of conscience, therefore, from a Christian point of view, is not freedomfrom God‘s law; rather it is freedom from human interference in order to chooseand move toward the good—an inclination that is carried within us.‖ (173)Dillon and McCarthy explicate the model of conscience as capacity, process andjudgment through St. Thomas‘ reflection. (cf. 173)Conscience is the interaction of freedom and natural law—the power of will andmoral truth meeting and both shaping character as well as responding to moralprinciples. (cf. 174)Fundamental Moral Theology Page 44 of 54Class Notes – Father Michael Seger
Truth and Virtue: shaping our conscienceConscience is shaped by theological virtues, as well—not merely an exercise ofintellect.Key: ―Conscience is bound by truth‖—like the shores acting as boundaries torushing waters, the good gives content to the experience of conscience, so that itrises to its true goal: ―freedom to do the particular good that will move us towardour greatest good and greatest happiness which is union with God.‖ (174)(Importantly, never forget that conscience must be informed and—in humility—reformed when it is in error and contrary to the authentic fulfillment incommunion with God.)Conscience is not in se infallible.Conscience as ProphetOften times, conscience reacts against evil in society—the spontaneous moment―This is wrong!‖―Conscience tends to be used in a moral appeal against cultural conventions, law,and authority. It becomes an active part of our moral language in times of crisis,and for this reason our day–to-day moral formation and decision making dependmore on words like ―honesty,‖ ―loyalty, ―courage,‖ ―justice,‖ and ―love.‖Conflicts among these profound moral virtues—primary moral terms (174)—pushus to form our conscience—to struggle with shaping and guiding our freedom.Conscience and LawConflict situations do not, however, necessarily mean that conscience is opposedto law. (174)Law‘s purpose is to protect values and to promote order, and ―to move us towardthe good.‖ Law is always a mentoring of our freedom—toward doing andrealizing the good. In the order of salvation, law is an act of love.Does the law direct us toward the good? If not, it‘s not an authentic law.Dillon and McCarthy dissect voluntarism and antinomianism—―two sides of thesame coin.‖ ―Voluntarism gives the will the power to legislate good and evil;antinomianism reacts against the assumption that law could do so.‖ (174)Key—―all creation is good, not neutral, by God’s design.‖ (175, top)―The human person is designed to know and to seek freely that good.Intrinsically, reason, through the act of conscience, works to direct us to thatgood. Extrinsically, God‘s law serves as an instruction and a guide to thatsame good. The two are designed to complement one another in drawing usto the good.‖ (175)Fundamental Moral Theology Page 45 of 54Class Notes – Father Michael Seger
Page 1 and 2: Notes from Gathered for the Journey
Page 3 and 4: Note: the emphasis is on the Inspir
Page 5 and 6: --a ―gift from God for the purifi
Page 7 and 8: Well, two historical reasons:1. Fir
Page 9 and 10: considered the real intentions of t
Page 11 and 12: David Cloutier: ―Human Fulfillmen
Page 13 and 14: Tragic Mistake—we instrumentalize
Page 15 and 16: V. Who Loves Me and Whom Do I Love?
Page 17 and 18: Like the person finding the pearl b
Page 19 and 20: Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt --
Page 21 and 22: to Aryanism, a powerful, divisive h
Page 23 and 24: liberal. In other words, it runs th
Page 25 and 26: c. ―Reading‖ may mean tracing t
Page 27 and 28: God’s gift of theological virtues
Page 29 and 30: How God operates in CreationThe iss
Page 31 and 32: Miller draws his conclusions using
Page 33 and 34: Grace in Developing Natural GiftsGr
Page 35 and 36: Dana Dillon and David McCarthy -
Page 37 and 38: Rational Insight into Human Inclina
Page 39 and 40: 6.of social life.‖ (i.e. military
Page 41 and 42: The ―Texture‖ of Human Reason
Page 43: Kant again—he ―attempted to gro
Page 47 and 48: William C. Mattison, III ―Moral V
Page 49 and 50: II. Naming and Defining the Four Ca
Page 51 and 52: Mattison keeps the discussion philo
Page 53 and 54: V. The Significance of Infused Virt

Notes from Gathered for the Journey Six (6) essays David McCarthy

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