Lesson of the Week: An Examination of Conscience

Fr. Albertus Herwanta, O.Carm

While her husband's business was difficult, one of my former students got to work because she needed money for her family. She was just hired to work at a drugstore. She found a lot of manipulations there. The owner and the employees cheated on their customers for money. This disturbed her conscience, and she was deeply concerned. However, she could not leave the job.

She faced a dilemma of consci-ence: earning money for her family by practicing what is morally wrong or leaving the job that causes her family to suffer. After examining her conscience, she decided to stay for the time being. Once she gets a new job, though, she will immediately leave.

The story illustrates that our lives stand between bad and good, right and wrong, sin or holiness. The Fifth Sunday's readings basically discuss this: the contrast between man's way and God's way.

In Jeremiah 17:5-8, it is des-cribed that those who trust in human strength and turn away from God are like a bush in the desert, which suffers in times of drought and struggles to survive (Jeremiah 17:5). However, those who trust in the Lord are like a tree planted by water, flourishing and bearing fruit even during times of adversity (Jeremiah 17:8).

In contrast, in Luke 6:17,20-26, Jesus declares blessings on the poor, hungry, and persecuted while warning of woes to the rich, well-fed, and praised by others. This teaches that the values of God, such as humility, compassion, and faith, are often contrary to the values of the world, which prioritize wealth, comfort, and status.

Overall, the contrast between God's and man's ways is that God's way leads to lasting fulfil-ment and blessings while following man's ways can lead to spiritual emptiness and destruction.

Have you personally experi-enced that contrast? How should you deal with it? We must remember that God has given us the ability to discern between the two and live out virtues. We live in a world filled with cultures against our Christian values and virtues.

This should make us realize that being a complete and commit-ted Christian is more than knowing what is right or wrong and understanding values. Rather, we need to practice virtues. Why so?

Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches the importance of virtues for several reasons. First, virtues enable us to develop good habits and characteristics that help us make wise decisions, act morally, and cultivate a strong character.

Second, virtues help us achieve happiness. By cultivating virtues, we can develop a deep sense of fulfillment, joy, and contentment from living a morally good life. Third, virtues are essential for moral development. Practicing virtues can develop our moral character, make us more compassionate, and strengthen our sense of justice.

Fourth, by cultivating virtues, we can become more like God, the ultimate source of all goodness and perfection. Finally, virtues are necessary for salvation. By living a virtuous life, we can develop the habits and characteristics necessary for eternal life with God. (*)