Library
Moral Principle of Subsidiarity
Definition: Decision making power and responsibility should reside at the lowest possible level of social organization. Higher levels of social organization should give as much help as necessary to help lower levels perform their tasks, but should not take the power & responsibility away from them. Explanation: Levels of social organization begin with the family,…
Read MoreMoral Principal of Scandal
Definition Leading other people into sin, either by bad example, poor teaching, or the appearance of sin. Explanation Within the human family, and even moreso the Catholic family, we are responsible for one another’s spiritual welfare. Our sins affect every other person in some way. Leading someone to sin is a grave evil because it…
Read MoreSenses and Appetites
In Common with Animals Because we are living physical creatures, we have all of the qualities that animals have. Human beings are defined by the addition of spiritual faculties, which govern and elevate our physical faculties and animal qualities. So, when psychology “discovered” due to Darwinism that we can learn a lot about human behavior…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Hope and Heaven
Is Your Hope Manly or Wimpy? The theological virtues are infused into our souls at the time of our baptism. In other words, if you are baptized, you have the virtue of hope. Hope is a supernatural virtue, which means that through God’s grace it strengthens our ability to have a relationship with God and…
Read MoreMoral Principle the Golden Rule
Definition Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Explanation In the classic (Greek) understanding of love, there are actually five types of love. The highest level of love in Greek culture was philios, brother love. Philios can be defined as “willing the good of the other.” When you love someone with…
Read MoreAddressing Materialism with Students: Levels of Happiness
The Attraction of Materialism Perhaps one reason that materialism is so attractive to young people is that they tend not to discriminate between levels of goods. In fact, especially in a culture that encourages the sense appetite and discourages the nurture of the intellect and the will, they tend to judge what is good based…
Read MoreHuman Community
Most of the time we talk about what makes us human, or when we talk about the qualities that constitute our individual personalities, we talk about individual attributes. However, no discussion about the human person is complete without talking about relationships. Human beings are not meant to be independent and solitary. Nor are we happy…
Read MoreMoral Principle of Double Effect
Definition An action that has both good and evil effects can be performed if the following conditions are met: The act itself is morally good or at least morally neutral Only the good effect is intended, the evil effect is only tolerated The good effect does not come about as the result of the evil…
Read MoreOriginal Sin
In the Beginning, it was Good. No, it was Good-Good (the way the Hebrew people said very good). Not only was earth a paradise, but humanity enjoyed all possible sources of happiness. Happiness came most of all from their relationships. Primarily, their relationship with God provided them with the eternal and perfect source of happiness. …
Read MoreThe Seven Days of Creation
Debates surrounding the Creation story typically focus on whether or not the Biblical account of creation coincides with a scientific understanding of the origins of the world. Such a focus loses the point of the first stories of Genesis. These stories are not written as scientific accounts, and were never understood as such even by…
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