Daily Retreat 08/28/07
2007 Aug 28 Tue:Augustine, bp, dr M
1 Thes 2:1-8/ Ps 138(139):1-3. 4-6/ Mt 23:23-26
From today’s readings: “ We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.... You have searched me and you know me, Lord.... Cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean....”
The Whys and Hows
The morality of human acts depends on:
- the object chosen;
- the end in view or the intention;
- the circumstances of the action.
The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the "sources," or
constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts. CCC§1750
Christian ethics evaluates whether an action is good or evil based on the above three criteria mentioned in The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Paul specifically addresses the issue of intention (and partially, the circumstances) in these verses from chapter two of his first letter to the Thessalonians. It is, after all, possible to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Paul says that even the noble task of spreading the Gospel can be defiled with delusion, impure motives, deception, desire to please men, flattering speech, or greed!
After reading Paul’s evaluation of his own pure and lofty motives for evangelizing, let us subject ourselves to the same scrutiny: of the things we think, say, and do, are our intentions and methods pure? If perhaps you and I find ourselves doing the right thing for the wrong reason (or in the wrong way), NOW is the time to be inspired by Paul’s example....
1 Thes 2:1-8/ Ps 138(139):1-3. 4-6/ Mt 23:23-26
From today’s readings: “ We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.... You have searched me and you know me, Lord.... Cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean....”
The Whys and Hows
The morality of human acts depends on:
- the object chosen;
- the end in view or the intention;
- the circumstances of the action.
The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the "sources," or
constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts. CCC§1750
Christian ethics evaluates whether an action is good or evil based on the above three criteria mentioned in The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Paul specifically addresses the issue of intention (and partially, the circumstances) in these verses from chapter two of his first letter to the Thessalonians. It is, after all, possible to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Paul says that even the noble task of spreading the Gospel can be defiled with delusion, impure motives, deception, desire to please men, flattering speech, or greed!
After reading Paul’s evaluation of his own pure and lofty motives for evangelizing, let us subject ourselves to the same scrutiny: of the things we think, say, and do, are our intentions and methods pure? If perhaps you and I find ourselves doing the right thing for the wrong reason (or in the wrong way), NOW is the time to be inspired by Paul’s example....
posted by FrPitstick | 8/24/2007
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