We are all called to be saints! This is why God made us! The path of holiness is the path to happiness. Life in Christ, a life lived according to the will of God, is the only way to live out our dignity and to experience the true freedom every heart desires. This book sheds light on the glorious calling we have received to become saints. A life of sin leads to death and despair, a life of grace and moral uprightness leads to happiness. This is a simple truth that we must all discover and live.
In the first volume of this series, we looked at what we believe, especially as presented in the Creed we profess at Mass every Sunday. The second volume of this series presented our life of prayer and worship, with a focus on the Sacraments. The Sacraments were explained as real and personal actions through which we encounter the Living God, who enters and transforms our lives through those seven saving actions. This volume completes our reflections on our Catholic life by examining how we are called to live, focusing on how coming to believe in our Creed leads us to surrender to God through a life of prayer, worship and the Sacraments. True faith and worship lead to a life lived in Christ. And a life lived in Christ leads to a life of Christian morality.
Catholic morality is often seen in a negative way. We often think morality is about “what I can’t do.” It’s true that Christ’s teachings on the moral life limit us from engaging in actions contrary to His will and contrary to our dignity. But morality is so much more than just a list of restrictions. Morality is about positive choices, not negative ones! It’s about living in the freedom that our Triune God has in store for us! Conversely, sin is slavery. And when we succumb to sin, especially serious and habitual sin, we lose our dignity and the freedom in which God wants us to live our lives.
Morality is also about living a life of virtue. Virtues are spiritual habits that strengthen us to live good and morally upright lives. Just as sin is a bad habit, virtue is a good habit. It’s not just good actions that make us saints. It’s good habits. Therefore, this book will delve into some of the most important virtues that can help us become saints.
Lastly, morality is about living even beyond virtue. It’s a calling to live in beatitude. “Beatitude” is a supernatural way of living that only makes sense in Christ. We need His wisdom and His grace to live holy lives embracing the Beatitudes He taught.
This book will be divided into two main parts. The first part will focus on what we call the moral principles. Learning about these moral principles will provide us with a foundation to understand the particulars of a life lived in Christ. We’ll learn about moral decision making, the moral law of God, grace, the conscience, sin, mercy, our connection to others and much more.
The second part of this book will carefully go through each of the Ten Commandments. Some of these are “Thou shall not…(s)” But we will also look at each of the Commandments from a positive perspective. This means that each Commandment will be examined in light of the ways we are called to happiness and fulfillment through the moral law of God.
Hopefully, this book will give us all a deeper understanding of the way God calls us to live as well as an understanding of why He calls us to live that way. May the Holy Spirit accompany you as you dive into My Catholic Morals!
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