Monday, May 25, 2009

1Pet 3, 14 Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them

(1Pet 3, 14) Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them
[14] But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them,
(CCC 1836) Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due. (CCC 1953) The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for only he teaches and bestows the justice of God: "For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified" (Rom 10:4). (CCC 1757 The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the three "sources" of the morality of human acts. (CCC 1758) The object chosen morally specifies the act of willing accordingly as reason recognizes and judges it good or evil. (CCC 1759) "An evil action cannot be justified by reference to a good intention" (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Dec. praec. 6). The end does not justify the means. (CCC 1760) A morally good act requires the goodness of its object, of its end, and of its circumstances together. (CCC 1761) There are concrete acts that it is always wrong to choose, because their choice entails a disorder of the will, i.e., a moral evil. One may not do evil so that good may result from it. (CCC 1755) A morally good act requires the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together. An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself (such as praying and fasting "in order to be seen by men"). The object of the choice can by itself vitiate an act in its entirety. There are some concrete acts - such as fornication - that it is always wrong to choose, because choosing them entails a disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil. (CCC 1756) It is therefore an error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the intention that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress or emergency, etc.) which supply their context. There are acts which, in and of themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions, are always gravely illicit by reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury, murder and adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.

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