Hi everyone,

This week sees us moving on from looking at the basics of our faith, especially our belief in God, the Father, The Son and Holy Spirit. We have also looked at our place in the church and the importance of community.

Today we begin two sessions which focus on love of God and love of Neighbour. We will be thinking, this month, about how we might go about making decisions – what will we need in our tool box and what are the most important considerations when it comes to living the Christian Life?

There is no specific chapter on this in your YouCat Confirmation Book, but the following videos will give you a flavour of our theme…

A 1 minute video on what human dignity is…

Kai and Libby at Catholic Central describe what our conscience is and how to form it

This months session is all about living the Christian Life. Living out our faith can be a real challenge in today’s world. We spoke about how, as a universal church, it’s a messy church – not a place exclusively for the perfect and sinless! However, our joint task is to strive for holiness. We don’t leave people in the mess! We should help and encourage each other to become the best of who God created us to be.

When it comes to good and right decision-making, we talked about the importance of filling our tool-box with the resources that will most help us. Our starting point should be love of God and love of Neighbour (the two commandments that sum up and should motivate us in our christian life), as well as human dignity, as our guiding principle – that is, the idea that we are each created uniquely by God and, being made in God’s image, we have an innate worth and dignity, which should be upheld. Forming our conscience, as well as building the confidence within us to make good decisions are also very important: Reading the Bible, prayer and reading the Catechism (a book which outlines church teaching) are some “tools”. As well as that, using other books, websites and podcasts which can encourage us in living the faith, as well as leaning on friends & family who can support us in our decision-making is really important. Finally, listening out for the promptings of the Holy Spirit is vital in good decision-making.

But the basis of our decision-making should rest in the truth that each of us has dignity, given to us by God. If only we approached all situations knowing that our role is to uphold and protect that dignity, how wonderful it would be. In an increasingly selfish world, where the message seems to be “do what you want” and “be who you want”, without any connection to God, we can be a real voice of hope!

In all our choices, our aim should be to do the good, to show a love for our neighbour – who is created in God’s image – and to showing respect for the God who made us. We can do all this by developing the virtues (good habits) within us, avoiding sin and staying close to God by nourishing ourselves through prayer, Mass and the Sacraments. If we do all this, and are intentional about the decisions we make, we can’t go too far wrong!

Please watch the two videos below, to get you thinking about what we should consider when making decisions…

Chris Stefanick introduces the issue of Moral Relativism, another consideration when looking at the beliefs we hold and how we act on them

For those who were absent and missed our our in-person guest in February, here she is answering a few questions for me in lock down, at the tail-end of the pandemic. Here, she shares her own experiences and how she balances her Catholic faith with her role as a doctor.

Morality is defined as “a doctrine or system of moral conduct”, where morals are “the principles of right or wrong in behaviour”. When we think about living the Christian life, it helps to have a framework to assist us. By basing our decision-making on Love of God and Love of neighbour, we have our rules of engagement. The question “what would Jesus do?” can act as a good guiding principle to ensure that our morality is lead us on a path that is life-giving.

Questions to consider:

• Think about one or two decisions you have made, or are currently making now. Apply the question “What would Jesus do?”. Does it help to clarify your thinking?
• Now try this reflective exercise: Choose one moral issue or decision that you are regularly faced with. Make a list of all the reasons for and against a particular action. Of the things you write down, decide which ones would bring about what is “true, good and beautiful” and in line with the principle of “What would Jesus do?” and of what upholds human dignity the most.

“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”