“Only God can answer the question about the good, because he is the
Good. But God has already given an answer to this question: he did so by creating man and ordering him with wisdom and love to his final end, through the law which is inscribed in his heart (cf. Rom 2:15), the ‘natural law’. The latter ‘is nothing other than the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided. God gave this light and this law to man at creation’.” (John Paul II quoting Aquinas in Veritas Splendor, # 12)
Purpose
This session helps participants understand the “origin” of Natural Law and its role in living a Gospel life. This session is designed for high school youth and will work with groups from 10-60 participants.
Component: Catechesis
Correlation to the U.S. Bishops’ Adaptation: Course 6 B: God Teaches us How to Live
our Lives in Christ (Catechism of the Catholic Church #’s 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959,
1960, 1979, 1713)
Session at a Glance
7:00 p.m. Welcome, Introduction, Prayer
7:10 p.m. Focusing Activity | Naming Life Experience: Choices, Choices,
Choices: Making Them, Reflecting on Them
Extend the Session: Movies Offer Moral Choices (add 20 minutes)
7:25 p.m. Sharing the Faith Message: What’s It All about? Law, Conscience, and Reason
8:00 p.m. Integrating the Faith Message: Reflection
8:05 p.m. Living the Faith Message: Closing Prayer
8:20 p.m. Announcements and Refreshments
8:30 p.m. Good Night!
Materials Needed
 Nametags, if needed, one for each participant
 Small table covered with a nice cloth, candle, cross or crucifix as focal point,
Bible, matches or lighter
 Masking tape or string to mark off the room for the Focusing Activity as well as two extra chairs
 Resource 1, CCC References, copy for the session leader
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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 Handout 1, Closing Prayer, one for each participant
Extend the Session: Movies Offer Moral Choices
 Resource 2, Movies Offer Moral Choices
 Movie DVD (select from Resource 2)
 DVD player (or computer) and LCD projector, speakers/sound system
Prepare in Advance
1.
As part of the introduction to the session, consider preparing a brief (one to two minute) story to share with the participants about an early experience of recognizing right from wrong. This simply allows the youth to realize that they are not the first to have these experiences…they are not alone or unique in that way.
2.
Consider inviting a participant to be the prayer leader for the opening and closing prayer. Invite a participant to proclaim the Scripture reading in the opening prayer.
3.
Prepare the prayer space using the materials mentioned above.
4.
In the front of the room, place two empty chairs at opposite ends from each other. Dividing the space between them, mark of a spot with masking tape that is the center of the two ends. Divide each of the “halves” in two again with one marking near the chairs at each end and one between that mark and the center marking.
5.
Set up tables and chairs for small group work. Set up tables for refreshments and sign-in. Have one or two people at the sign-in table with a check-in sheet and nametags. Hospitality is important: As the leader, do not use the gathering time before the session begins to take care of last-minute preparations. Spend the time moving among the participants, greeting and speaking with them.
(Optional) Extend the Session
6.
There are films worth watching for their serious and inspiring treatment of moral themes, or because characters face moral challenges and rise above them. Using
Resource 2, Movies Offer Moral Choices, choose one or more of these movies or another/others more familiar to your group. Having made your choices and watched them beforehand, set up the scenes for them where the moral choice is set out or is about to be made. Set up the DVD player or computer, LCD projector, and sound system. Cue the movie to the scene you will use.
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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Welcome and Introduction and Prayer (10 minutes)
Welcome the participants and provide this introduction for the beginning of tonight’s session:
Take a moment and go back into your memory to a time when you were a small child. (Pause) Now think of a time when you thought of doing something, or did something that you knew was wrong. (Pause) Right now, it doesn’t matter if you did or did not do the thing that was “wrong.”
Now, answer this question for yourself: How did I “know” that it was wrong? Even if my mother or father told me it was wrong, did I know it anyway for myself? How?
(Pause)
Most of us, from early on in our lives, know what’s right and wrong. (Consider sharing a brief story at this point.)
The HOW of our knowing something is right or wrong from an early age is what we’re going to talk about tonight.
From the Scriptures and early theologians who contemplated them, from ancient philosophers and early civilizations, we know “in our hearts” what is right and wrong for us to do. And, as Christians, we believe this is so, because God put the law in our hearts. We are going to learn more about this “natural law” tonight, how we come to know it and to exercise it.
Now let us focus our attention on our prayer environment, taking a few deep cleansing breaths calling on the Holy Spirit to calm our minds and bodies and begin our prayer.
Prayer Leader: (begin with the Sign of the Cross)
Loving God,
You always help your people find the right way.
Open our hearts and
Guide us to listen so that we may know you better.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let us listen carefully to a Proclamation from Paul’s Letter to the Romans. In this small piece from Romans, we get a sense of what the Jewish people and the early
Christians already knew about the “law in their hearts.”
Invite the reader to proclaim Romans 2:3, 12-16. Allow a few moments of quiet reflection.
Respond
Ask each person to think of a word or phrase that stood out for them in the reading; invite them to say that word aloud. When all have finished, continue with the closing prayer.
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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Go Forth
Prayer Leader:
Gracious God,
You have given us the gift of making choices and decisions about our lives. Tonight we come to learn more about how our choices reflect our relationship with you. Help us make the connection between good living and strong relationship with you and others. In your name, we pray. Amen.
Focusing Activity and Naming Life Experience: Choices, Choices, Choices (15 minutes)
Invite the participants to stand and gather/cluster around the masking tape marking the center of the area blocked off in the front of the room. Then say:
In this activity, we are going to experience making moral choices. While I know it is tempting to follow your peers as they decide, I am asking that you make your own choices.
I am going to give you a scenario, and when I have finished reading it, I want you to decide if the action taken was right or wrong. If the action is right, move towards your right; if wrong, move towards your left. You can move as far as you wish in either direction, depending on how right or wrong you think the action was [or how strongly you feel about your decision], or you can stay in the center if you are undecided or unsure, but I encourage you to make a choice.
If someone has something to say concerning his/her choice, she may move to the
“talking chair” at either end of the spectrum. Because of time constraints, no more than two people per scenario will be allowed to speak. I am going to ask you to move immediately after I finish speaking.
Scenario 1: Two friends (or acquaintances) have confided to you that they found a very expensive media system with surround sound, 64” HD TV, BlueRay player, MP3 player docking system, etc. and knowing you’ve been saving your money for just such a thing, offer it to you for $100.
Wait while the participants move to the right or left. If a few participants risk the
“talking chairs,” after they have expressed their opinions, open it to the group for one or two minutes to respond. If no one has shared anything, invite them to go back to their seats and ask them open-ended questions such as:
 Why were you sure your decision was right or wrong?
 If you didn’t go all the way to either end of the spectrum (really right or really wrong), why weren’t you sure enough to do so?
 What did you base your decision on? What did you take in to consideration in making your decision?
 Can anyone share one scenario, perhaps not so “clear” of something that someone your age would have to make a decision about just as part of his/her daily life?
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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Continue this process for the remaining scenarios.
(Re-gather in the Center) Scenario 2: The situation remains the same, but they tell you they have taken it from the home of someone in their neighborhood who just purchased it.
(Re-gather in the Center) Scenario 3: The situation remains the same except for this: They took it from a VERY wealthy home, and knowing you’ve been saving your money for just such a thing, offer it to you at less than half of what you would have to pay for it retail.
(Optional) Movies Offer Moral Choices (20 minutes)
Have the movie cued up to play. Give a brief introduction to the movie so that the participants understand the scene they will watch.
When the scene is finished, ask the participants to form groups of three and ask to share on the following, giving them one question at a time:


 Have you seen this movie before? Even if you haven’t seen the movie, how did you FEEL when you viewed the scene/s I just played?
 What were you THINKING as the protagonist spoke?
 What CHOICE was being asked of the person/people in the scene?
 How did the character/s make the choice? That is, what was the basis on which the choice was made?
What do you think of the choice that was made or being contemplated?
What, if anything, would you have said, done, chosen differently?
 Was the choice made, do you think, one that you could say was based on the teaching of Jesus, whether or not “Jesus” language was used?
Sharing the Faith Message: What’s It All About? Law, Conscience, and
Reason (35 minutes)
God’s Law in Us
From the exercise that we just completed and the discussion we had, seemingly human beings have an innate sense of right and wrong, an innate sense of the way they ought to behave. This sense is called the natural (moral) law. It is God’s law literally written on our hearts, woven into the very fabric of who we are, as we just heard in the proclamation from Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (Romans 3:20). Paul maintains that this law is so clearly evident in the universe that humanity has no excuse for wrongdoing.
Was this just something Paul thought up? Was this idea of a “natural law” that aids us in living a moral life just part of the Jewish thought and faith he was formed in?
No, the idea that there were immutable laws that govern our actions and that these laws are “in our bones” goes much farther back than Paul. We can even go back to
Ancient Rome and Greece to see that that is so.
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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 The Roman thinker Cicero gives us the classic description of natural moral law: “True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting we need not look outside ourselves for an expounder or interpreter of it.”
 Socrates believed that the concept of law is an objective standard to be discovered (rather than created) by lawmakers.
 Plato believed that all humans can discern what is good/right/true by using reason.
 Aristotle believed that humans are rational beings and that the law is in us as a requirement of reason.
The Old and New Testaments, the writings of Christian theologians, and documents of the Church, however, tell us that this law is integrated into our humanity by our
Creator God, and thus, it is of divine origin. It is the basis of our right relationships, our actions, and our service. It has the force of “law” because it comes from God. For example:
 St. Augustine says “Natural law is the light of understanding placed in us by
God through which we know what we must do and what we must avoid.”
 St. Thomas Aquinas, in his writings, tells us that natural law is an objective, eternal moral order of Divine origin. It is “nothing else than the rational
 creature’s participation in the eternal law” (Summa).
Quoting St. Thomas, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical, Veritas Splendor , defined Natural Law as “the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided.”
We believe, and can see, that the natural divine law is the basis of the Ten
Commandments (CCC 1955). If we look carefully at these statutes set out for us in the Book of Exodus, we can see that they name actions to avoid that are harmful to individuals and to the community. Before we even “learned” the Ten Commandments by heart, we would be able to know that murder, lying, stealing, disobedience, envy, etc. are all wrong and contrary to our living a life that will lead us to God.
Affirming that, we can sum up some of what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about natural law in this way in #1954: The divine law is engraved in our hearts by God and, because of that, we are able to participate “in the wisdom of God and in the goodness of God.” (We are, after all, created in the image of God!) If we participate to this extent in the nature of God, then it is perhaps easier to see that we have what is needed from within us to choose good and avoid evil.
The Part Played by Reason and Conscience
Reason, then, is the “faculty” of our humanity that enables us to know the natural law—to do good and avoid evil (CCC 1713). We are beings created by God with the ability to use our rational nature to understand the world around us and make decisions concerning it.
St. Thomas tells us that, created in God’s image, and with God’s law written in our hearts, we share in God’s eternal wisdom. Therefore, when the need arises for us to choose to do right or choose to do evil, we are able to draw on the wisdom of God and use our innate reason to figure out what to do.
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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How, then, do we “check” our reason so that we know whether or not we are following God’s law in our hearts? We use another gift from God to us—our conscience.
Turn to a neighbor and share your answers around these questions:
1.
What is conscience?
2.
Does everyone have a conscience?
3.
How does conscience “work”?
4.
Can our conscience fool us?
5.
What else would you like to say about conscience?
Allow about five minutes for this, and then engage the group in a general discussion of conscience. It might be helpful to write their responses (or questions) on a sheet of newsprint. After about three or four minutes of general discussion, continue.
If reason can assist us in knowing the natural law and how to act in any given situation, then we can say that conscience is the moral judge of our human actions.
Because we are God’s creation, and we are made for God, conscience is pre-disposed to God or “The Good” and we have a “natural desire” to do and reason toward good.
Because conscience passes judgment on our actions or on actions we are contemplating, we have a responsibility to see that our consciences are rightly formed. We “hear” the natural law in our conscience. As we know, because of the presence of sin and evil in our world, we can be tempted away from the good.
Therefore, it is very important that our consciences are well formed.
How do well-formed consciences come into being? Perhaps you’ve heard people speak about the Magisterium of the Church. By Magisterium, we mean the teaching office of the Church. It consists of the Pope and Bishops. Christ promised to protect the teaching of the Church, and so we have confidence that what we are taught through Scripture, Tradition, our sacramental life, and the doctrines of the Church are true. By faithfully living as we are guided by Scripture and the Church, we can be sure that our conscience is well-formed, and we can trust our own judgment in following God’s law in our hearts. A person is a good person to the extent that s/he fulfills his/her true nature and doing what is right fulfills our human nature which is made for God.
(If you wish, you may share this from Vatican II) Here is what the Fathers of the
Church said about “conscience” at Vatican II in the Declaration on Religious Freedom
(#3): “On his part, man perceives and acknowledges the imperatives of the divine law through the mediation of conscience. In all his activity, a person is bound to follow his/her conscience in order that s/he may come to God, the end and purpose of life. It follows that he is not to be forced to act in manner contrary to his
1 conscience.”
1 If you have access to Decrees and Declarations (Vatican II in Plain English) by Bill Huebsch, you will find this paraphrased translation easier to understand.
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Some Closing Thoughts
Ask if anyone is familiar with C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, particularly the last book in the series (chronologically), The Last Battle. If there is a positive response, ask if someone would like to sum up the story in a few sentences.
Whether or not there is familiarity, continue:
In the final book of Narnia, The Last Battle (1956), C.S. Lewis introduces a young man named Emeth who had grown up in an oppressive country where people worship an evil god named Tash. Despite his upbringing, Emeth is an honorable and honest man who seeks to do good. He dies worshiping Tash but finds himself in
Aslan’s presence. He responds with reverence and delight. Everything he thought he was doing for Tash was counted as service to Aslan instead. Because he liked the likable and hated the hateful, Emeth was Aslan’s friend long before he knew Aslan.
Likewise, the natural law is available to everyone everywhere in all times and places; it is not different for one set of people or cultures than for another. (CCC 1956,
1957, 1958)
We can quote that old Roman, Cicero, again here: “This true law is diffused among all men, is immutable and eternal. To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege.”
It is “inbred” in each person, not because they are “Christian,” but because they are human and created by God. So, just as Emeth who did not know Aslan, was faithful in living what he believed the God, Tash, asked of him and was rewarded with life
Integrating the Faith Message: Reflection (7 minutes) with Aslan and his Father, the Emperor Across the Sea, so each person who strives to do the good as they understand it, and lives faithfully, will rejoice with Jesus, his
Father, and their Spirit in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us end our time together tonight by thinking of another of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia , The Magician’s Nephew .
The Magician’s Nephew (1955), is the tale of Narnia’s creation, and portrays two characters, Jadis and Uncle Andrew Ketterly, who exemplify those whose consciences are not well formed, and who do not make the slightest attempt to follow the natural law. Both actually claim to be above natural law; they have “a high and lonely destiny.” Jadis is a monarch, and Uncle Andrew is a magician: Each believes that common rules are fine for common people, but that singularly great people must be free—to experiment without limits in search of knowledge, and to seize power and wealth. The result was cruelty and destruction. Polly and Digory, on the other hand, the heroic protagonists of the story, strive always to do what is right, for the most part out of love and friendship, and, even though there are times when they give in to the evil around them, they triumph in the end because they strive mightily for the good as they know it.
Let us take a few moments of silence now, to focus on how we can embrace God’s natural law, written in our hearts, in our daily lives:
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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1.
Think ahead to your day tomorrow. (Pause) Where are you most likely to encounter temptations that will lead you to evil (wrongdoing) rather than good?
(Pause)
2.
Plan now how you will respond to those temptations. (Pause)
3.
Is there someone you can count on to support you in your decisions tomorrow?
Who? (Pause)
4.
Say a prayer to the Holy Spirit to help you make “right” decisions tomorrow.
(Pause)
Living the Faith Message: Closing Prayer (15 minutes)
Invite the participants to gather around the prayer table. Invite a participant to light the candle. Distribute Handout 1 to each person. Follow the prayer as outlined on the handout.
Announcements and Refreshments (10 minutes)
Thank the young people for their participation. Make any needed announcements. If it is your custom, invite everyone to enjoy some refreshments.
This session was written by Leota Roesch , Director of Parish Faith Formation at
Resurrection Parish, Tempe, Arizona.
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Resource 1
In Brief
1713 Man is obliged to follow the moral law, which urges him “to do what is good and avoid what is evil” (cf GS 16). This law makes itself heard in his conscience.
1954 Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true and the good.
The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie:
The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin . . . But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted.
1955 The “divine and natural” law shows man the way to follow so as to practice the good and attain his end. The natural law states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. It hinges upon the desire for God and submission to him, who is the source and judge of all that is good, as well as upon the sense that the other is one’s equal. Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue. This law is called
“natural,” not in reference to the nature of irrational beings, but because reason which decrees it properly belongs to human nature:
Where then are these rules written, if not in the book of that light we call the truth? In it is written every just law; from it the law passes into the heart of the man who does justice, not that it migrates into it, but that it places its imprint on it, like a seal on a ring that passes onto wax, without leaving the ring.
The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid. God has given this light or law at the creation.
1956 The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties:
For there is a true law: right reason. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense
.... To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely.
1958 The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of history; it subsists under the flux of ideas and customs and supports their progress. The rules that express it remain substantially valid. Even when it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or removed from the heart of man. It always rises again in the life of individuals and societies:
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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Theft is surely punished by your law, O Lord, and by the law that is written in the human heart, the law that iniquity itself does not efface.
1959 The natural law, the Creator’s very good work, provides the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices. It also provides the indispensable moral foundation for building the human community. Finally, it provides the necessary basis for the civil law with which it is connected, whether by a reflection that draws conclusions from its principles, or by additions of a positive and juridical nature.
1960 The precepts of natural law are not perceived by everyone clearly and immediately. In the present situation sinful man needs grace and revelation so moral and religious truths may be known “by everyone with facility, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error.” The natural law provides revealed law and grace with a foundation prepared by God and in accordance with the work of the Spirit.
In Brief
1978 The natural law is a participation in God’s wisdom and goodness by man formed in the image of his Creator. It expresses the dignity of the human person and forms the basis of his fundamental rights and duties.
1979 The natural law is immutable, permanent throughout history. The rules that express it remain substantially valid. It is a necessary foundation for the erection of moral rules and civil law
See also: The Church as teacher of moral principles: (CCC 2032, 2035, 2036, 2050-2051)
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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Resource 2
A Beautiful Mind (2001, PG-13)
A true story about John Nash, a mathematical genius, who battles schizophrenia.
Alleged (2011, Not Rated)
Talented reporter Charles Anderson breaks into the big leagues when famed newspaper editor
H.L. Mencken assigns him to cover the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial.” But as Clarence Darrow defends evolution against William Jennings Bryan, Mencken pressures Charles to make moral compromises. Can his fiancée, Rose, convince him to side with truth?
Batman Begins (2005, PG-13)
This movie exceeded all expectations. You don’t fight evil with more evil.
Bruce Almighty (2003, PG-13)
Jim Carrey reminds us to be careful what we wish for in this film that shows that power isn’t worth much unless it’s used for good.
Cinderella Man (2005, PG-13)
That their dad would do almost anything to save his family is the ultimate message of
Cinderella Man, a wonderful new film starring Russell Crowe. Based on the life of legendary boxer James J. Braddock, the film is a celebration of a man who models sacrificial love for his family.
Dead Poets Society (1989, PG)
A group of high school boys at a New England prep school learn the power of friendship and loyalty through even the most tragic circumstances.
Groundhog Day (1993, PG)
In this comedy, Bill Murray constantly re-lives this February holiday until he learns his lesson about how to live his life.
Hotel Rwanda (2004, PG-13)
“The scope of brutality boggles the mind; the rate of killing rivaled that of the Nazis. By the time it was over, nearly one million Rwandans were dead—this, in a country of just 8.5 million people. You perhaps saw this dramatized in the gripping movie Hotel Rwanda.”
(From Another Bloody Day in Africa, 4/17/2006)
Life is Beautiful (1998, PG-13)
This World War II film emphasizes the power of love as a Jewish family endures life in a concentration camp.
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Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995, PG)
A film that celebrates the glory of teaching, and of how one person can make a difference in the lives of others. Note: Some mild obscenities.
Regarding Henry (1991, PG-13)
A lawyer experiences a change of heart when he loses and gradually regains his memory.
Schindler’s List (1993, R)
A Holocaust drama about a German businessman who helps Jews escape the death camps. The film shows what one individual can accomplish in the face of great evil. Note: Contains profanity, graphic violence, and nudity, as well as some anti-Christian references.
Seabiscuit (2003, PG-13)
A true story about three men who found hope in one down-and-out racehorse and in turn inspired a nation.
Sense and Sensibility (1995, PG)
The story of a couple willing to give up private happiness for honor. Based on the Jane Austin novel.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005, PG)
A dramatization of the final days of Sophie Scholl, one of the most famous members of the
German World War II anti-Nazi resistance movement, The White Rose.
Stand and Deliver (1988, PG-13)
Based on a true story, a new teacher in a rough urban school refuses to believe his students cannot learn and excel. Note: Rough language, violence.
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1984, PG)
What happens when a bushman sees the “treasure” of an empty bottle drop from heaven? Why the gods must be crazy to lose something like this...and he sets off on a journey to an odd place called “civilization” to return it to its rightful owners.
The Hunger Games (2012, PG-13)
This is a story filled with moral dilemmas that the young people and those close to them must face in a controlled society with an omnipresent government that dominates its citizens.
The Tree of Life (2011, PG-13)
Using vibrant images and majestic cinematography, the story begins at the moment of creation, proceeds into the Garden of Eden, and shows the human struggle to choose the good in the life of the Catholic O’Brien family in a small Texas town in the 1950s.
The Ultimate Gift (2007, PG)
Before his death, a wealthy man attempts to help a family member find redemption and purpose in life.
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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Handout 1
Gather
Gather around or focus on the prayer table. The candle is lighted.
Prayer Leader: (begin with the Sign of the Cross)
Just and merciful God,
You have placed your law of love within our hearts.
Listen
Help us to hear and share your Word in reverence.
We ask this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
We will pray Psalm 19, one side alternating with the other.
Listen to the person next to you, so that each side prays in one voice.
I. The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
II. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.
I. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The statutes of the LORD are true, all of them just;
II. More desirable than gold, than a hoard of purest gold,
Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the comb.
I. By them your servant is warned;* obeying them brings much reward.
Who can detect trespasses?
Cleanse me from my inadvertent sins.
II. Also from arrogant ones restrain your servant; let them never control me.
Then shall I be blameless, innocent of grave sin.
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All: Let the words of my mouth be acceptable, the thoughts of my heart before you,
LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Respond
Examining Our Conscience
Prayer Leader:
It is an ancient Christian practice to review one’s life at day’s end and to examine how, where, and why one transgressed God’s command during the day. Let us take several moments now in silence so that each of us can look back on our day and see if we were faithful to the law that God put in our hearts, or, if we failed in some way to follow that natural law.
After several moments of silence, we will pray the Act of Contrition together.
All: O my God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you, whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.
In his name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.
Go Forth
Prayer Leader:
Let us now go back to our homes, our families, our rooms, remembering that God has called us to avoid evil and to do what is good. This law of right action he has placed in our hearts, and we commit to cherish it, rely on it, and live by it in our lives. Peace be with all of us. Amen.
God’s Law Written on Our Hearts: Choosing Good, Avoiding Evil
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