Moral Action

I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose
life. Deuteronomy 30:19

What is a Moral Action? Moral Battle and Victory

What is sin? What is the great battle?

Mortal and venial sin The world, the flesh and the devil

How can we do what is good? The victory of Christ

What is a Moral Action?

The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden by

Michaelangelo
What is a Moral Action?

A moral action is any

action that proceeds
from our deliberate
will. We have
responsibility for such
actions, all of which are
KEY DEFINITION
either good or evil.
What is a Moral Action?

One of the unique abilities of a human

being is to be a master of his or her acts.
We are free to choose our actions;
we are not simply determined by
instinct.
This freedom enables us to be creative
and to choose from among many
possible good actions.
“You may freely eat of every tree of the
The Garden of Eden garden.”
by Jacob de Backer
Gen 2:16
What is a Moral Action?

Unfortunately, this freedom also

enables us to choose things that are
evil, that is, contrary to what is good
for us and to what God commands.

“But of the tree of the knowledge of

good and evil you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
Gen 2:16
What is a Moral Action?

God greatly desires us to choose

only what is good for us, because
he has created us out of love to be
his adopted children, free, holy and
happy with him forever.
God does not, however, force us to
do good. As long as we are alive
here, we remain free to choose
between good and evil acts. The
effects of both kinds of choice are
evident in human society.
 The serpent (devil)
appears in alluring and
attractive colours to
show how temptation
The woman appears under the
reaches to take the guise of good.
forbidden fruit.

Adam and Eve succumbing to the temptation of the

devil and making a free choice that was evil.
What is sin?

Detail from The Paschal Mystery by Fra Angelico

The kiss and betrayal of Christ by Judas remind us that
all sin is a betrayal of God.
What is sin?

A sin is an evil
moral (or ‘immoral’)
act: a thought, word,
deed or omission
contrary to God’s
will.
KEY DEFINITION
What is sin?

All sins are acts contrary to

the will of God. They either
pervert some aspect of our
human nature that he has
created (such as greedy,
slothful or lustful acts) or
contravene some explicit
command that he has given
us – such as the prohibition
against eating the fruit of the
tree of knowledge (Gen 2:17).
What is sin?

The root of all sin is

pride, the attempt to
make oneself into one’s
own ‘god’ independent of
the order of nature and
the obedience we owe to
God.
Mortal and venial sin

The Seven Deadly Sins by Bosch

This depicts the principal kinds of sinful
action.
Mortal and venial sin

Although all sin is evil, not all sin is

equally evil. A sin is mortal if all
the following conditions are
present.
What we do, that is, our chosen course of
Grave matter action, is gravely wrong.
We know, or should know, that this action is
Knowledge seriously evil.
We freely consent to this action and could
Full consent clearly have done otherwise.
Mortal and venial sin

Such sin is ‘mortal’ because it

kills the divine life of the soul
and deprives the sinner of
heaven. The normal remedy for
this sin is the sacrament of
Confession.
All other sins are venial. They
do not kill the divine life of the
soul but they do damage and
weaken us. Venial sins may be
forgiven through Confession, in
the Mass or through personal
prayers of repentance.
How can we do what is good?

Christ Carrying His Cross by Stanley Spencer

This carrying of the cross reminds us of the challenge of
doing what is good in this world.
How can we do what is good?

One of the consequences of

Original Sin is that it is not easy
for us to do what is good.
We tend to desire sinful things, a
condition called concupiscence.
How can we do what is good?

A good conscience, formed through

study of the moral law and good
example, helps us to judge what is
right.
Establishing good habits in a well-
ordered life and avoiding temptations
also help us.
However, it is only with God’s grace,
through the sacraments and prayer,
that we can achieve final victory over
sin.
Summary

• A moral action is any action that

proceeds from our deliberate will. We
have responsibility for such actions, all
of which are either good or evil.
• A sin is an evil moral (or ‘immoral’)
act: a thought, word, deed or omission
contrary to God’s will. Sins are either
mortal or venial.
• A good conscience, good habits in a
well-ordered life, avoiding temptations
and, above all, sacraments and prayer,
help us achieve final victory over sin.

Activities Menu Presentation Part II

Questions to reinforce key points

What are the three conditions of mortal sin?

Grave1matter

2
Knowledge

3
Full consent

Activities Menu Presentation Part II

Discussion questions

Select one or more of the following:

• Discuss why grave matter,

knowledge and full consent are all
necessary for a sin to be mortal.

• Discuss some of the ways in which

we can encourage good moral action
in ourselves and others.

Activities Menu Presentation Part II

Practical activities

Select one or more of the following:

• Read Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-

24 and note how human beings
are tempted and fall from grace.

• Read the Compendium of the

Catechism questions 391-400.

Activities Menu Presentation Part II

Moral Battle and Victory

The Temptation of Christ by Duccio di

Buoninsegna
What is the great battle?
What is the great battle?

The great battle is the struggle

between good and evil which
takes place daily in our lives.
Our opponents are the world,
the flesh and the devil. These
conspire to intimidate us and
tempt us away from following
Jesus Christ. Our ultimate
happiness depends on
achieving victory over them.
KEY DEFINITION
What is the great battle?
What is the great battle?

Christ
dismisses the
devil.

The devil
offers the kingdoms of the world if Christ will worship him.
The wings of the devil symbolise his angelic nature: his
darkness and distorted features symbolise his sin.

Christ’s authoritative dismissal of the devil

after having been tempted in the desert.
The world, the flesh and the devil

The Agony in the Garden by Giovanni Bellini

Christ’s agony in the garden and the way that the world, the
flesh and the devil conspire against the salvation of the world.
The world, the flesh and the devil

The world
There are two senses in which
Christians understand ‘the world’.
In the first sense it is good in that it is
created by God.
However, there are now evil influences
in the world opposed to God’s will and
our good actions. These evil influences
are collectively also referred to as ‘the
world’.
The Mystical Mocking of Christ In this second sense the world is our
by Fra Angelico
enemy because it encourages evil and
discourages good.
The world, the flesh and the devil

Temptations Examples
Ideas and “You only live
slogans once!”
Empty Rich and selfish
pleasures living
Evil Immoral public
examples figures
Intimidations
Mental Peer pressure and
persecutions ridicule
Physical Unjust laws,
persecutions physical harm
The world, the flesh and the devil

The flesh
The flesh is an enemy because of
concupiscence. Pleasures are good
things created by God. However, a
disordered and unrestrained
pursuit of pleasure in our fallen
condition risks dominating our
lives and enslaving us to sin.
In addition, the fear of pain may
prevent us from doing the good
that we should do.
The world, the flesh and the devil

Temptations Examples

Eating disorders,
Disordered desires
sex or drug
for certain things
addictions

Intimidations

The fear of effort,

Disordered fears
hostile reactions or
of certain things
sacrifice
The world, the flesh and the devil

The devil
The devil and his fallen angels are
our spiritual enemies because of their
hatred of God and their desire to
deprive us of eternal happiness.
These creatures also have intellects
that they use in a perverted way
against us. As well as acting directly,
they also use the world and the flesh
against us.
For this reason, the attacks against
Christians often seem to be organised
in a strategic way.
The world, the flesh and the devil

Temptations Examples
“If you will, then,
worship me, it shall
Empty promises
all be yours” (Lk 4:7)

Lies “You will not die”

(Gen 3:4)

Intimidations

Threats State terror

(1 Macc 1)

Confusion Evil prophets

(Mt 13:22)
The victory of Christ
The victory of Christ

All Christians face

temptations and
intimidations in
following Jesus
Christ.
However, Christ
himself has
conquered the world,
the flesh and the
devil.
The victory of Christ

If we call on his help

and use the aids he has
given us in Scripture
and the Church, we shall
have all we need to fight
and win the great battle.
“In the world you face
persecution. But take
courage; I have conquered
the world.”
Jn 16:33
Summary

• The great battle is the struggle between

good and evil which takes place daily in
our lives. Our opponents are the world,
the flesh and the devil.

• The world, the flesh and the devil tempt

us in various ways to do evil and
discourage us from doing good.
• Although all Christians face temptations
and intimidations, we can be victorious if
we call on Christ’s help and use the aids
he has given us in Scripture and the
Church.
Activities Menu Concluding Prayer
Questions to reinforce key points

What are our opponents in the great moral battle?

The 1
world

The2flesh

The3devil

Activities Menu Concluding Prayer

Discussion questions

Select one or more of the

following:
• Discuss some of the
ways in which
Christians today are
tempted or intimidated
by the world, the flesh
and the devil.
• Discuss some personal
experiences of being
faced with moral
challenges and what was
Activities Menu
helpful Concluding
in meeting them.
Prayer
Practical activities

Select one or more of the

following:

• Read some articles from

recent newspapers and
note down any
influences of the world,
the flesh and the devil.

• Read the account of

Christ’s temptation in the
wilderness in Luke 4:1-
13 and Matthew 4:1-11.
Activities Menu Concluding Prayer
Final Prayer

Prayer of St Michael
Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of
battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and
snares of the enemy, may God rebuke him, we humbly
pray. And do Thou, prince of the heavenly host, by the
power of God, cast down to hell Satan, and all evil spirits,
who wonder through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen.