As a highschool morality teacher, I get two very different questions from Catholics and Protestants. Catholics often ask me, “Why would you study thay?” Protestants have asked, “What is it, anyway?” Most Catholics assume that this area of theology is an outdated, irrelevant, dry-as-dust subject of study. Most Protestants think that morality is pretty simple – just follow the Bible. Both groups tend to misunderstand what true study of morality is. This article will help to clarify that for you.

The cultural shift in perceptions of morality

That was then . . .

As a culture, our understanding of moral theology has gone through some drastic changes over the past five decades. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, morality was understood in terms of law and obedience. This attitude toward morality made sense at this time in history. Religious affiliation was bolstered by cultural practices in most countries. Religion was a cultural duty, and seen as a civic virtue. However, despite the nostalgic idealism many people hold for this time period, faith was often not internalized any more back then than it is today.

The result of the myopic focus on law and obedience was that morality became harsh and legalistic. Our task is not to ask why, but to obey. We obeyed or we got punished by an angry God who seemed always out to catch us doing wrong. This kind of morality has a great effect on behavior – people for the most part followed the moral law – but it does little to change people’s hearts – the law failed to draw people into deeper love.

The dichotomy between the external practice and the internal faith gave rise to such complexities as the murdering mob boss who could commit murder on Friday but wouldn’t dream of missing Mass on Sunday, and will even invite the priest to dinner Sunday evening. This separation between faith and everyday life was one of the many issues tackled by the Second Vatican Council.

. . . This is Now

Unfortunately, Vatican II’s call for a “renewal of moral theology” was interpreted by Catholics and theologians as an abolition of law and obedience altogether. A fully developed corrective to legalism was slow in coming, and in its absence an over-corrective attitude toward morality developed. Theories of morality developed that taught people that the true source of morality was their subjective conscience. “Follow your conscience” came to mean “Do whatever you judge to be right given your circumstances.” Unfortunately, this moral philosophy led to moral relativism and it did nothing to bridge the gap between faith and everyday life. Instead, it created the “cafeteria Catholic,” whose motto is, “I can believe that abortion or contraception or homosexuality or euthanasia is ok and still be a good Catholic.”

The true intentions of the Second Vatican Council’s call to revise the direction of moral theology were answered by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Veritatis Splendor. In this encyclical, the pope re-introduced the vision of morality developed by the Catholic intellectual tradition, especially by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Pope John Paul II taught that the moral law comes from God, not as a set of requirements alien to our lives, but as a personal invitation to each human being to participate in His plan for human life – to be what God intended human beings to be at Creation, and to become what He wants us to be in Christ.

This beautiful truth about the moral life integrates seamlessly into what we believe about salvation and the spiritual life. When we choose to do good, we participate in God’s goodness. God calls us through the moral law to love.

It is unfortunate that this beautiful truth about morality has not been widely taught in the Church. That is why From the Abbey has taken it on as its flagship project.

OK, great, but what is moral theology?

Theology

Let’s talk about what theology is first. The best definition of theology I have ever heard is “faith seeking understanding.” God reveals Himself to us through Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. However, since God is infinite and we are not, there is an infinite opportunity for us to grow deeper in our understanding of who God is and what God does. Theology is the attempt to grow deeper in this understanding.

Why bother? What does all of this head knowledge have to do with having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Isn’t it enough to put our faith in Jesus and to believe what the Bible teaches about Him? Granted, theological knowledge is not the core of a relationship with Jesus. On the other hand, as St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us, we cannot love what we do not know. Take any human relationship as an example. Isn’t getting to know someone a necessary part of growing in love and trust and friendship? Knowledge leads to trust, which in turn leads to deeper love. We call this deeper knowledge of another person “intimacy.” So, theology can be understood as the quest to grow in deeper intimacy with God.

Morality

So then what is morality? Morality has to do with making choices, most specifically choices that shape who we become. Since the reason for our very existence is to live in a loving relationship with God (which we will later define as a covenant), morality can also be understood as having to do with the choices that affect our relationship with God.

Participating in our relationship with God begins by becoming who He created us to be. In other words, morality first deals with choices that develop our character. This is what it means to live out the natural law.

• Becoming fully human by integrating our intellect and will (spirit) with our senses and appetites (body).
• Developing our character by growing in virtue (habits of choosing and doing what is right and good).
• Discerning and developing our vocation – how God is calling us to serve Him and His Church in this world.
• Forming just and loving relationships with each other.

Learning how to have a relationship with God is not something that human beings can come to naturally. God has to reveal it to us through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. The part of morality that teaches us specifically about having a relationship with God by teaching us how to love is called divine law. Divine law helps us to . . .

• Realize the evil of sin
• Turn to grace to conquer sin and to give us a share in the divine nature
• Deepen our relationship with God by cooperating with divine grace
• Build up the new divine nature that grace instills in our souls by developing supernatural virtue and by cooperating with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Participate in the Divine Life –by cooperating with grace to love more completely

Morality is intimately tied to our relationship with God. It is about following God’s plan for our lives so that we can be what He created us to be – fully human and in a relationship of love with Him. So, moral theology is neither irrelevant and dry nor outside of the Bible. It is the attempt to know God’s plan for us more fully and to truly appreciate the truth about who we are.

Join me on the adventure of learning how we live out this amazing gift that God has given us in His moral law. From the Abbey‘s “Power of Virtue” online spirituality program helps you discover the power of Catholic morality and to apply it to your life. Learn how to cooperate with grace in order to transform your heart and grow in holiness! I want to invite you to take your next step with From the Abbey. Learn your faith with online courses or live your faith more deeply with online spirituality programs. Please consider the opportunity below to rebuild your Inner Abbey and take your next step in holiness.

Visit Him often in this interior tabernacle, offering Him your homage, and the sentiments of gratitude with which divine love will inspire you. Preserve carefully the sentiments of love with which you are filled after Communion. – St Paul of the Cross

Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.