Day 236: The Morality of Human Acts (1749-1761)

• It’s Day 236!!

• ARTICLE 4: THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS

• THE SOURCES OF MORALITY 

• GOOD ACTS AND EVIL ACTS

• Paragraph 1750 says, “The morality of human acts depends on: -the object chosen; -the end in view or the intention; -the circumstances of the action. The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the ‘sources,’ or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts.”

• How can we think about moral choices critically?

• Maybe we have a general idea of right or wrong

• Maybe there are some cases where we did the right thing but we didn’t do it for the right reason

• NO!!

• The object chosen is the good toward which we actually direct ourselves

• The end in view or the intention aka what is the reason? 

• The circumstances of the action

• Let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise, and thank you so much. Thank you for making us like you. Thank you for giving us an intellect and a will. Thank you for calling us to love, making us in your image so that we can love. We are sorry for the times we have failed to love. Help us. Help us in our weakness. We are truly sorry for all the times that we have not risen above our brokenness. For all the times we have not said YES to your grace. For all the times we have done the wrong thing in the right way or for the wrong reason or the right thing for the wrong way or wrong reason. For all the ways, Lord, we just have violated your law, violated your will, and broken your heart, we are sorry. We ask you to help us. Receive our broken hearts. Receive our wounded hearts. And help us to belong to you this day and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• So what are we talking about here?

• Object chosen

• The intention

• The circumstances

• Let’s break it down

• Paragraph 1749 says, “Freedom makes man a moral subject. When he acts deliberately, man is, so to speak, the father of his acts. Human acts, that is, acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience, can be morally evaluated. They are either good or evil.”

• We have AGENCY which means that we can CHOOSE

• Because we can choose between RIGHT AND WRONG those are often moral choices

• We are a moral subject

• Remember Fr. Mike’s quote from a couple of days ago?

• “The child becomes the father of the man; the child becomes the mother of the woman”

• We become the father of ourselves

• We are the ones who choose

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike’s story about Christian Smith…

• He had some shocking results in his study of young people

• 60% had neither the ability nor the categories to make moral decisions

• This does not mean they aren’t free

• This does not mean they are worse people

• What it means is that we have lost a language of good and evil

• IN FACT…

• The vast majority of young adults that were surveyed would not say something was wrong or was bad

• It eliminates the reality that we can actually evaluate the morality of actions by saying this is good or this is evil

• TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!

• We want to be people who have the ability to identify good and evil so that we can CHOOSE good over evil

• THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT!!

• BUT…

• If we have lost the category of objective morality, and all we have is RELATIVISM, then we have GIVEN UP OUR FREEDOM

• This massive number of American young adults surveyed had neither the ability nor the categories to make moral decisions because they did not see them in terms of right and wrong

• OR…

• They thought it was wrong because they didn’t like it

• Ultimately, morality becomes either a matter of preference or utility

• OR…

• Something is bad because I don’t like it or it doesn’t work

• The world’s view is that things are only right or wrong if you have the OPINION that they are right or wrong

• Or they don’t work

• Or they do work

• It is either preference or utility

• It is not actually objective right or wrong

• AND YET…

• Paragraph 1750 says, “The morality of human acts depends on: -the object chosen; -the end in view or the intention; -the circumstances of the action. The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the ‘sources,’ or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts.”

• These are OBJECTIVE ELEMENTS

• The first is OBJECT CHOSEN

• So think of almsgiving, giving charity to someone who needs it

• Think about blasphemy

• Think about telling the truth

• We CHOOSE to do these

• The second is THE END IN VIEW OR THE INTENTION

• WHY DO I DO THIS?

• The third is THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ACTION

• In order for a human act to be fully morally good, then ALL THREE OF THESE ELEMENTS MUST BE MORALLY GOOD

• So we can’t choose to do the right thing for the wrong reason

• In our secular culture, our hearts are often in the right place

• It’s good to have your heart in the right place

• BUT…

• To say their heart was in the right place as they choose fornication does not make fornication good

• Yes, they truly love that person

• BUT…

• Their actions are sin

• So a good INTENTION cannot make a bad action good

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike talk about Dr. Peter Kreeft…

• Ok all these different elements are not simplifying a thing to me haha 😉

• If one of those elements is missing, it’s no longer a great book or a great movie 

• So think about almsgiving to the poor

• BUT…

• I’m going to give to the poor so that others may see it

• That is taking this morally good act, the object chosen, and made it morally BAD because my intention was to be seen

• I’m going to give candy to my niece because I want her to be happy

• The intention is good

• The action is fine

• The circumstance is that she is massively diabetic

• And so that makes a good object chosen, a good intention, but a bad moral action because of the circumstances of horrible diabetuhs Diabetes v. Diabetuhs

• In order for a human act to be fully morally good, then ALL THREE OF THESE ELEMENTS MUST BE MORALLY GOOD

• Paragraph 1759 says, “‘An evil action cannot be justified by reference to a good intention’ (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Dec. praec. 6). The end does not justify the means.”

• If I sacrifice this one innocent person, the nation will be saved

• NO!!

• THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS!!

• This is one of those philosophical or moral principles that we hold to as Catholic Christians

• THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS!!

• Paragraph 1761 says, “One may not do evil so that good may result from it.”

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO HOLD ONTO THESE!!

• All three aspects have to be GOOD

• The object chosen

• The intention

• The circumstances

• A bad intention or bad circumstance can make the whole moral act evil

• If the object chosen is evil, the best of intentions and the best of circumstances CANNOT MAKE THAT A GOOD ACTION

• THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS!!

• ONE MAY NOT DO EVIL SO THAT GOOD MAY RESULT FROM IT!!

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!