Chapter 17: Freedom, Morality,
and Grace
INTRODUCTION TO CATHOLICISM
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
ANTICIPATORY SET
Free write for a few minutes on the meaning of Christ’s statement that
the truth will make one free.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
BASIC QUESTIONS
 What is freedom?
 What is the highest exercise of freedom?
 What are the consequences of free choices?
 What is the relationship between freedom
and truth?
 Why does God give us freedom?
 What is the relationship between grace and
freedom?
 What is morality?
 What is the relationship between civil law
and morality?
KEY IDEAS
 Freedom is the ability to use the will to make a
conscious choice to believe and act.
 The highest use of freedom is to choose to
conform one’s own will to God’s.
 A free choice has practical, moral, legal, and eternal
consequences.
 Freedom must be grounded in objective truth;
otherwise, it leads to moral slavery.
 God gives freedom so people can return his love
and love others as he loves them.
 God gives grace to free people from the slavery of sin.
 Morality is the standards by which actions are
judged to be good or evil.
 Civil law must always be based on some moral
standards. These standards ought to be grounded in
the dignity and sanctity of the human person.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTION
What does the pyramid analogy reveal about the conscience?
Each person has an innate sense of right and wrong, which commends
him or her for doing good and censures for doing evil. If someone,
however, continually ignores this sense of right and wrong, it gradually
fades away.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is the origin of conscience?
Conscience is given by God.
Why are people able to ignore their consciences?
God also gave human beings freedom. Extension: Freedom is a power
of the soul, the soul being directly created by God at conception.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why is discernment necessary to listen to a conscience?
Discernment is necessary to distinguish God’s voice from other
influences.
What duties does a person have toward his or her conscience?
Each person must form his or her conscience well in harmony with God’s
will and the teachings of his Church, and he or she must follow it when
making moral choices.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Complete the following table to articulate true and false ideas of freedom.
False ideas about freedom
True ideas about freedom
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Think/Pair/Share using the following question:
 Based on the “Prayer to Do God’s Will” (p. 384), why is it wise to seek
God’s will rather than one’s own?
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Think/Pair/Share using the following question:
 What is the relationship between freedom and truth?
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What effect do moral choices have on the actor’s character?
Good moral choices help perfect a person’s character, whereas bad ones corrupt his
or her character.
According to the Catechism, no. 1730, do human beings have true freedom?
Yes; human beings have the dignity of persons who can initiate and control their
own actions.
According to the Catechism, no. 1730, why did God give human beings
freedom?
God gave freedom so people could choose to seek him and become perfect by
joining themselves to him.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is the relationship between freedom and love?
God gave freedom so people can return his love and love others as he has
loved them.
What did St. Thomas mean when he wrote, “God is offended by us
only when we act against our own good”?
Moral good and evil are grounded in human nature, which is why sin harms
people. Extension: The moral law is not arbitrary; that is, good is not good
and evil is not evil simply because God says so. Because he is all good, God
has created human beings in such a way that the good is that which is in a
person’s own best interest and evil is that which harms a person.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why is choosing to do the will of God the truest exercise of
freedom?
God made human beings free so they can grow and mature in truth and
goodness in order to attain perfection. If people freely choose what God
wants, they will begin to receive what they should want most.
What is the role of habit in both moral freedom and moral slavery?
Striving to do God’s will in every instance forms moral habits that make it
easier to do good and to avoid sin. Extension: Good moral habits are
called virtues. Evil moral habits are called vices.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is the highest choice a person can make with respect to God’s
will? (Hint: This was illustrated in the life of Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
[Mother Teresa].)
It is the choice to reveal Christ to others through self-sacrifice. Bl. Teresa
lived out this choice daily while ministering to the needs of the poor in
Calcutta.
What obligation does each person have with respect to others’
freedom?
Everyone is obliged to respect others’ religious and moral freedom within
the limits of law and the common good.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why did Christ die on the Cross?
He set all people free from the slavery of sin.
What is the relationship between the Sacraments and sin?
Christ’s Sacraments lead their recipients toward holiness and away from
sin.
What is the relationship between grace and temptation?
When a person is tempted to sin, grace helps him or her see what should
be done, but it does not force either action.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Free write for a few minutes—for your eyes only—about the greatest
obstacle to avoiding sin and seeking holiness in modern world.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Is religion only for holy people? Why or why not?
No; every person is a sinner and tempted to sin throughout his or her life.
Every person, therefore, should strive to grow closer to God.
Why is frequent examination of conscience in light of Church
teaching important?
Frequent examination in light of Church teaching helps a person to see
his or her flaws, confess his or her sins, seek greater virtue and holiness,
and avoid sin in the future.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
FOCUS QUESTION
What factors can reduce a person’s responsibility for sin?
Fear, force, ignorance, habit, inattention, inordinate attachments, and
psychological or social factors reduce responsibility for sin. Extension:
These factors reduce responsibility because they reduce a person’s
freedom to choose good over evil.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT




Study Questions 1-7 (p. 402)
Practical Exercise 4 (p. 403)
Workbook Questions 1-15
Read “What is Conscience?” through
“Types of Conscience” (pp. 388-394)
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
CLOSURE
Summarize this lesson by answering each of the Basic Questions in
one or two sentences.
1. Freedom (pp. 382-387)
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Work with a partner to answer Practical Exercise 4 about virtues.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
ANTICIPATORY SET
Discuss how the cardinal virtues of fortitude and temperance are
necessary to do the right things a person wants to do and avoid the wrong
things he or she does not want to do.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
BASIC QUESTIONS
 What is conscience?
 Why must a person form his or her conscience?
 How does conscience relate to the moral law?
 What effect do the passions have on conscience?
 Must a person always obey his or her conscience?
 In what states can the conscience be?
KEY IDEAS
 Conscience is a judgment of reason regarding the good or evil of a particular act in light of
the objective moral law.
 Conscience must be formed so a person can know the moral law, make correct applications
of the law to particular actions, and have an upright attitude toward the good.
 Nobody determines the moral law but discovers it or is instructed in it.
 Because of Original Sin, passions can lead people astray when making moral decisions.
 Everyone must obey his or her conscience.
 A conscience can be right or invincibly or vincibly erroneous.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is morality?
Morality is the standards by which actions are judged to be good or evil.
What is the relationship between morality and civil law?
Civil law is necessarily based on moral standards.
What is the difficulty with respect to morality and civil law?
The difficulty is determining what moral standards should be the basis to
judge the goodness or evil of a civil law.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is the fundamental disagreement regarding standards of morality
in the modern United States of America?
The fundamental disagreement is between (1) those who believe in an objective
morality rooted in the dignity of the human person and the sacredness of
human life and (2) those who embrace moral relativism, a view that morality
varies from person to person and situation to situation. The former believe that
the moral law is universal and applies to everyone, while the latter believe in no
absolute standards for human dignity and behavior.
What is the great inconsistency with respect to laws permitting abortion?
There are laws forbidding the murder of innocent people, yet the law allows a
doctor to abort a living child in the womb.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
How is all true civil law rooted in human dignity?
True civil law promotes and protects people’s well-being. For example,
traffic codes protect people from unsafe driving; taxes support services
like military defense; and criminal law protects lives and property.
What does reason reveal about the moral law?
Reason affirms that there is an objective moral law and obeying this law
can make people better and bring them true happiness.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is conscience?
Conscience is a rational judgment of the intellect regarding the good or
evil of a particular act in light of the objective moral law.
What is the origin of the word conscience?
It comes from the Latin cum scientia, which means “with knowledge.”
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What kind of knowledge does conscience possess?
It possesses a clear knowledge of right and wrong and of how an action
relates to this standard.
What does it mean to say that conscience is a practical judgment?
Conscience is a judgment about the moral quality of a concrete action
that a person is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has
already performed.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is both right and wrong about the following statement: “My
conscience says it is okay for me to __________”?
It is right that a person’s conscience deserves to be respected and should
be followed. Often, however, his or her conscience is poorly formed
without consideration of what is objectively right and wrong.
Are only Catholics required to act according to their consciences?
No; as the pagan poet Homer attested 2500 years ago, people should not
“do anything that wounds our conscience or that makes us ashamed of
ourselves” (The Iliad).
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Perform a paragraph shrink on CCC 1776 (p. 389).
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why is conscience a gift?
God has given each person a conscience to enable him or her to
demonstrate love for him by doing good and avoiding evil.
What human power is employed to make acts of conscience?
Intellectual judgment makes acts of conscience.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What ought to be the basis of moral judgments?
Truth ought to be their basis.
What are the sources of truth upon which moral judgments should
be based?
They are the natural law, the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the
teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why do consciences require formation?
In order to form a conscience properly, a person must know both the moral
teachings of Christ and how to apply them to concrete situations.
Extension: The moral law is not always self-evident, and applying it to his or
her own life often requires knowledge, discernment, and prudence.
Why is a conscience wrong if it advises something apart from what the
Church teaches?
The Magisterium of the Catholic Church enjoys the gift of infallibility in
matters of Faith and morals; an individual conscience does not. Therefore the
teachings of the Church are more trustworthy than an individual conscience.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Of the seven ways to form a conscience listed in the text, the first three
are relatively obvious. Choose one of the final four and free write about
why that method is important to form conscience.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Perform a focused reading on Veritatis Splendor, no. 32 (p. 391), using the
following question:
 Why is conscience subordinate to the truth?
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What two major forces incline a person to act?
They are the intellect and passions.
Why does a person often act according to passion instead of
intellect?
Original Sin has disordered the passions, so he or she can choose to be
overwhelmed by them.
What should be the final determiner of every action?
The will should obey the intellect.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What are some examples of passions?
They include love, anger, hatred, and fear. Extension: The love referred
to here is either romantic or sensual love, not the theological virtue of
charity.
What is the moral quality of the passions?
In themselves, the passions are neither good nor evil, but they can
influence a moral choice for good or evil.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Must a person obey his or her conscience?
Yes. Extension: Everyone is obligated to obey a certain conscience, that
is, a course of action that he or she has a high degree of certainty is
morally right.
Should a person follow his or her certain conscience even if it is
objectively wrong?
Yes.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
When is a person’s conscience fully formed?
It is never fully formed. He or she must seek to form the conscience
throughout life.
What is the result of continually ignoring the conscience?
It is the eventual loss of the ability to make correct moral choices.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Complete the following table to organize the states of a conscience.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT




Study Questions 8-10 (p. 402)
Practical Exercises 3, 5 (p. 403)
Workbook Questions 16-29
Read “The Moral Act” through “Conclusion” (pp. 394-398)
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
CLOSURE
Write a paragraph summarizing the ideas about conscience
explicated in this lesson.
2. Conscience (pp. 388-394)
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
In Mark Twain’s classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck
decides to try to help his friend, the runaway slave, Jim, escape captivity,
even though he believes this act is morally wrong and will send his soul to
Hell.
Based on the material in this chapter, free write to develop a moral
evaluation of Huck’s decision.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
ANTICIPATORY SET
Brainstorm to list as many virtues as possible.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
BASIC QUESTIONS
 What are the conditions for a moral act to be good?
 What are virtues in general and the Cardinal Virtues in particular?
KEY IDEAS
 For a moral act to be good, the act, the intention, and the
circumstances must all be good.
 A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good; the Cardinal
Virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance are the bases of
all the natural virtues and are necessary to exercise the theological
virtues.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What are the three elements of a moral act?
They are the objective act, the intention, and the circumstances.
For an act to be good, which of the elements must also be good?
All three of the elements must be good for the act to be good.
What does objective act mean?
The objective act refers to the action in itself.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Are all acts always either good or evil?
No; some acts are morally good or morally evil depending upon a person’s
intention or the circumstances. Extension: Killing an attacking terrorist
to protect oneself and others is morally good. Killing a witness who could
testify to a crime a person has committed is morally evil.
What does it mean to say an act is intrinsically evil?
This describes an act that, in itself, is always morally wrong.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTION
What are some intrinsically evil acts?
One intrinsically evil act is murder: directly killing an innocent person,
including abortion. Another is extramarital sex. Both are always in
themselves wrong acts regardless of the intention of the actor.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Work with a partner to come up with an example for each relationship
between intention and act, including an evaluation of how the intention
affects the good or evil of the act.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What does intention mean?
Intention is the end, or motive, for which a person acts.
How do act and intention interrelate?
Ideally, a good act is performed for a good reason, but a good act can also
be done for a bad reason. A bad act, moreover, can be done both for a
good reason or for a bad reason. Each intention affects the moral value
of the act.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What are circumstances?
Circumstances are factors that occur with the act and contribute to its morality.
What is an example of circumstances affecting an act?
Telling a lie out of fear makes the lie less blameworthy, but the lie is still wrong.
Telling the truth despite fear could, by contrast, make the act more
praiseworthy.
What does it mean to say that the end does not justify the means?
This statement means that a good intention does not make an evil action good.
Nobody may do evil so good might come of it.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is a virtue?
A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good.
Do virtues suppress emotions and passions?
No; virtues order emotions and passions according to the mind of Christ
and reason.
What effect do virtues have on a person?
Virtues lead to a sense of peace and joy based on the mastery of oneself.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What are the Cardinal Virtues?
The Cardinal Virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
What is the meaning of the word “cardinal”?
It comes from the Latin cardo, which means “hinge.” All the other virtues
hinge, or depend, on the Cardinal Virtues for their success.
How does a person acquire the Cardinal Virtues?
He or she does so through instruction, perseverance in struggle, regular
choices to act morally, and God’s grace.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is prudence?
Prudence is the habit of examining every action in light of its capacity to
bring a person closer to God.
How should a person employ prudence to overcome a particular
sin?
He or she should make a serious self-examination to determine whether
he or she is in danger of temptation to sin by the places he or she goes,
the type of entertainment preferred, or the company kept.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Who is the best ally to acquire prudence?
The Holy Spirit is the best ally.
What ascetic practice helps a person to become prudent?
A regular examination of moral choices both before and after a particular
act helps.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is justice?
Justice is the moral virtue that enables a person steadfastly to will what is right
with regard to what is due to God and neighbor.
Is justice a matter of feelings?
No; it is an impersonal measure regulated by nature, law, or prior agreement.
What is the basis of Christian social justice?
The basis of Christian social justice is the common good. By the Christian
vocation, everyone wants to perfect the “city of man” so it is more like the
“city of God.”
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
GUIDED EXERCISE
Complete the following table to get a better grasp of the Cardinal Virtues.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is fortitude?
Fortitude is the virtue that enables a person to control the passion of fear
and endure the dangers and difficulties of life.
What is temperance?
Temperance is moderation of sensual pleasures.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Are sensual pleasures evil in themselves?
No.
When do sensual pleasures become evil?
Sensual pleasures become evil when they are not subject to reason.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Are the Cardinal Virtues only for Christians?
No; all human beings are called to exercise the Cardinal Virtues.
How do the Cardinal Virtues relate to the theological virtues?
One needs to exercise the Cardinal Virtues to be able to exercise the
theological virtues.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
 Study Questions 11-15 (p. 402)
 Practical Exercises 1-2 (p. 403)
 Workbook Questions 30-42
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
CLOSURE
Write a paragraph explaining how act, intention, and
circumstances affect the quality of a moral act.
3. The Moral Act (pp. 394-398)
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Work with a partner to explore what it means to say that a person
needs to exercise the Cardinal Virtues to be able to exercise the
theological virtues.
THE END