a ppt on making Moral Decisions in Christian Life

1. Making Moral Decisions

2. • A moral decision is a choice made based
on a person's ethics, manners,
character and what they believe is
proper behavior. These decisions tend to
not only affect your well-being, but also the
well-being of others. The concept of
morality can be influenced by cultural
beliefs.

3. • Every moral choice we make reveals the
kind of person we are and forms the kind
of person we will become. In the end, our
little “yeses” and “nos” to others and to
God will reveal if our life has been one big
“YES” or one big “NO” to others, to God,
and to ourselves.

4. How do I make good decisions?
 There are occasions, however, when we need
to make moral decisions more carefully.
 During such times, what we need is the
courage to actually choose what is good.
 We need to educate or form our conscience
so we can rightly judge the nature of the act,
the intentions involved, and the
circumstances at hand.

5. Different ways people make moral
decisions.
Let us learn from the story of St. Ignatius of
Loyola

6. Christ, our companion at life’s
crossroads
• Authentic Christian decision making is not
merely following a series of steps or
principles.It is making moral decision in
relation to a person – Jesus Christ.

7. Jesus in the Garden

8. Learning from Jesus ‘s examples:
Jesus confronted the certainty of His suffering
and death with much agony.
Despite feelings of loneliness and anguish,
however, Jesus prayed to the Father,
embraced what was good, and lovingly trusted
Himself to the Father’s will so that His life may
be offered “ as a ransom for many”.

9. • Jesus, as a human being like us except
sin, experienced a crossroad. Christ’s own
crossroads were not easy. Luke 22:39-
46.Even in the most difficult moments of
His life, Jesus remained the perfect
example of courage, faithfulness, and love.

10. • In similar way, we may be faced with difficult
crossroads everyday. We look to Christ’s
example and His indwelling Spirit to guide us
In facing our own dilemmas. We are called to
make decisions as per-in community in the
context of our loving relationship with God.

12. • As Christians, we believe that Christ, who
knows suffering , pain, and death, but more
importantly love, is our companion at our
crossroads.

13. IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN MAKING
MORAL DECISIONS
• A.Investigate the facts of the moral act –
when making moral decisions, our
conscience judges the moral goodness
or evil of the three dimensions of every
moral act:

14. • 1. The object or nature of the act concerns
the fundamental question” What is the act
involved?”
• 2. One’s intention for doing the act is its
interior, subjective aspect. It is important to
ask “ Why are you doing the act”
• 3. The circumstances surrounding the act-
We ask the question” What are the other
important factors involved in the act”

15. • Take note:
 That the voluntariness of action comes from the integrity of heart
that freely acts and guided by the Spirit of truth.
 That human act is a deliberate and wilful act of a person with
integrity of heart, therefore, he/she has to be wise to justify the
rightness and wrongness of the act in so far as doing the will of
the Father in heaven.
 Let us be reminded that the integrity of personal actions and
provide justification on its rightness and wrongness to the good
and beatitude.
 As persons created in the image of God we show our capabilities
in taking good what God has entrusted to us in finding the truth,
to love and serve and to take propercare all that God has created.
• Study each of these: on pages 125 - 130

16. B.INQUIRE about the
moral norms affecting
your act
• Seeking the guidance of others does not
take the place of our own effort at deciding
responsibly.
• Passing on the task of making a correct
decision to our families and friends is
simply avoiding the responsibility
• for our free choices. ( See page 125 of
your textbook.)

17. C.IMAGINE alternatives
and consequences
• When we are confronted with a difficult
decision, we need to ask, “What can
happen if I choose to do this act? What
alternative can I choose given the
limitations of my situation?” (See page 126
of your textbook.)

18. D. INTROSPECT
Listen to your emotions
• We recognize that emotions can help us
grasp the full reality of the actions intended.
They can actually help us be more objective
and responsible. Clearly,as Christ’s
followers, we are called to develop our
emotions and affectivity in the likeness of
Jesus. Please read: Jn 11:35,Jn 2:13-17,
Lk 22: 39-46)

19. E. IMPLORE God’s help in prayer ( Please read
pages 128 – 131 of your textbook.)
 Reading and praying using the Bible
 Visiting the Blessed
Sacrament
 Exercising the
Examen of
Consciousness
 Journaling
• Reflecting on our experiences and putting
our insights and feelings in writing allow us to
discover new things about ourselves and the
way we relate to God and others.

20. • Growing in Virtue, Growing in Christ
(pages 131-134).
• Try to learn and reflect
the cardinal and
theological virtues.
a.Prudence ; b. Fortitude c.Justice
d. Temperance e. Faith f. Hope g. Love

21. Please reflect:
• Why is moral decision making, in a way,
a synthesis of the topics of freedom,
conscience and law?
• At the crossroads, we need to pray
fervently like Jesus for us to be guided on
what decision we are going to take.

22. • As Christians, we are called to make
moral decisions based not merely on a set
of abstract principles but on the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ. In His love and
through the Holy Spirit, we are graced with
the moral strength to do what is good.