As an infant develops into a toddler, his or her newly acquired mobility presents a challenge to parents. Crawling limbs can now go where they should not go. Tiny hands can grab things they should not grab. Growing but fragile bodies can bump into sharp surfaces and tumble down stairs. Houses have to be baby-proofed, hazardous materials placed out of reach. Moms and dads get plenty of exercise following the kids around the house.
Physical growth is a natural, beautiful part of every life — it demonstrates the potential we have in countless areas and the wisdom of God’s creative hand. But human development must be guided, taught and formed. No responsible parents would ever leave a little one to fend for herself, assuming she could pick up skills and lessons to be learned on her own. They teach her to walk, carefully show her the difference between “hot” and “cold,” deny her certain foods that would be bad for her, protect her from hidden dangers, keep her clean, hug and praise her constantly, and love her unconditionally. They would not think of doing otherwise.
Our lives of faith must be similarly guided, taught and formed. No Christian parents would ever think of letting their son fend for himself in learning about God, since they know faith is God’s gift to be cherished and passed on. They teach him about God and how to pray. They take him to church and help with his prayers each night. They give good example and show him what faith in action means. They instill in him reverence for God and a proper sense of religious obligation. They know that faith in God is essential to every human life.
There is another area of life I would like to address this week and next: the development of conscience. Here, too, we must be guided, taught and formed. No wise parents would ever think of telling little children, “Do whatever you want,” for disaster would not be far away. They teach them the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. They explain the meaning of sin.
They demonstrate proper behavior and respect for others. They set down rules and expect them to be followed. They lay out principles by which their children can make good decisions. They find the proper time to instruct them in sexual morality and give good example in family life. They teach them how to say both “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you.” They encourage and support them when they fail.
It is especially important that parents teach children the intimate connection between one’s relationship with God and the formation of conscience, because growth in both is lifelong — and destined for eternity.
True morality has its source and goal in God. The moral law is God’s gift to us, through which we are guided, taught, formed and led to union with him. God has given us freedom, and he never coerces us to love him or denies us the use of freedom, even in the most delicate and complicated matters. However, he also offers us the wisdom to use our freedom properly by doing good and avoiding evil. We were made for God — we were made for good — and God knows we will never be happy when doing evil. Evil is beneath our dignity, for we were made in God’s image and likeness.
The fathers of the Second Vatican Council gave a beautiful definition of “conscience” in the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World:”
“Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment ? For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God ? His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary … There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths (16).”
Commenting on this passage, Pope John Paul II wrote:
“Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a person, where we are alone with God. In the depths of our conscience, we detect a moral law, which does not impose itself on us, but which holds us to a higher obedience. This law is not an external human law, but the voice of God, calling us to free ourselves from the grip of evil desires and sin, and stimulating us to seek what is good and true in life.”
If freedom is to be full and authentic, it must be educated by the formation of a right conscience; otherwise, we risk misusing our freedom and falling into evil, intentionally or unintentionally. God, our loving and protective Father, would never think of leaving us to fend for ourselves in living good, moral, and holy lives. He guides, teaches, and forms us as his children, giving us everything we need to grow in faith and goodness.
Next week I will address the formation of conscience and how conscience comes into play in many aspects of life.
Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him at Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock, AR 72217.
