meditations in honor of the fifteenth anniversary of John Paul II's encyclical
letter
A few times a week, I'll be posting a new reflection
on a section of this encyclical on my blog, The
Weight of Glory. This page will serve as a "table
of contents" for the blog posts. Please join the discussion by adding
your comments and insights.
August 2008
Introduction (8/6/08)
Jesus
Christ, the True Light that Enlightens Everyone (8/10/08)
The
Purpose of the Present Encyclical (8/14/08)
Chapter I: "Teacher, What Good Must I Do...?" (Mt
19:16)
Christ
and the Answer to the Question About Morality
"Someone came to him...." (Mt
19:16) (8/16/08)
"Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" (Mt 19:16) (8/18/08)
"There
is only one who is good" (Mt 19:17) (8/20/08)
"If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Mt
19:17)
"If you wish to be perfect" (Mt 19:21)
"Come, follow me" (Mt 19:21)
"With God all things are possible" (Mt 19:26)
"Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20)
Chapter II: "Do Not Be Conformed to This World" (Rom 12:2)
The Church and the Discernment of Certain Tendencies in Present-Day
Moral Theology
Teaching what befits sound doctrine (cf. Tit 2:1)
"You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free"
(Jn 8:32)
I. Freedom and Law
"Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat" (Gen 2:17)
"God left man in the power of his own counsel" (Sir 15:14)
Blessed is the man who takes delight in the law of the Lord
(cf. Ps 1:1-2)
"What the law requires is written on their hearts" (Rom 2:15)
"From the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19:8)
II. Conscience and Truth
Man's sanctuary
The judgment of conscience
Seeking what is true and good
III. Fundamental Choice and Specific Kinds of Behavior
"Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh"
(Gal 5:13)
Mortal and venial sin
IV. The Moral Act
Teleology and teleologism
The object of the deliberate act
"Intrinsic evil": it is not licit to do evil that good may
come of it (cf. Rom 3:8)
Chapter III: "Lest the Cross of Christ Be Emptied of Its Power" (1 Cor 1:17)
Moral Good for the Life of the Church and of the World
"For freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1)
Walking in the light (cf. 1 Jn 1:7)
Martyrdom, the exaltation of the inviolable holiness of God's
law
Universal and unchanging moral norms at the service of the
person and of society
Morality and the renewal of social and political life
Grace and obedience to God's law
Morality and new evangelization
The service of moral theologians
Our own responsibilities as Pastors
Conclusion