Today’s Epistle selection is short, but it is packed:
I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim. 18-20).
You don’t hear too much about the word “conscience” any more. When I taught moral theology, it was a topic we definitely covered. Conscience is the application of our reason to a concrete situation. It is an act of the practical reason which applies a knowledge to a particular situation. Practical reason begins with the spark of light from education and the instinctive moral law, and taking into account the concrete situation, the conscience makes a judgment about an action to be undertaken, or a judgment about an act that has already been done. Conscience is formed by habits, the virtues of wisdom, knowledge, and prudence and by supernatural virtues. Conscience is an act of reason, not of appetition, which means that conscience belongs to the order of cognition and not feeling. In a healthy person, the emotions support the judgment of conscience; the emotions are well-integrated with reason. There is an emotional aspect which supports reason, but conscience itself is a rational act. The feelings associated are secondary, though they support conscience. When we follow our conscience, we follow the judgment of reason and not our emotions. We can do the right thing even though we feel no satisfaction or even sadness. The neurotic person may feel guilty even though reason says that they haven’t done anything wrong.
So an error of conscience is an error of reason; the wrong choice can come from emotions which may blind the reason. Conscience doesn’t create the norms; rather, it interiorizes the objective norm (the right thing objectively), making it a subjective norm (adopted and carried out by a person). The Christian conscience is transformed from within by grace.
We have to work to properly form our consciences using our God given gift of reason and to listen to God’s will for us as revealed to us by Scared Scripture and tradition. We cannot allow ourselves to be controlled by pure emotion, but to use our reason to help us decide what is right and what is wrong. St. Paul knew that. He knew that when we reject our consciences, we are susceptible to shipwreck.
Let us pray: Gracious God, you have given us the gift of reason. Send Your Holy Spirit to guide our consciences and to form them into the image of Christ so that we may make Your will part of our lives. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
History Project. As discussed this Sunday, this month we celebrate Black History month. It is a time to remember the shoulders of those we stand upon who have been courageous in their fight for equality and freedom. St. Augustine's is an integral part of that history not only in the Diocese of Texas, but in the State of Texas. As a tribute to those who have come before us, and as a blessed reminder to those who will come after us, we are duty bound to capture the stories of the people who have made up St. Augustine. I would ask that you collect the stories of your families, photos and news articles so that we may record the treasures that are in our midst.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
20 February, Sunday after the 9:00 a.m. service, Bishop’s Committee Meeting.
19 February, Saturday from 1 pm to 3 pm: Jo Soske and Karen Lehr's ministry takes them to the Rio Grande Valley where they teach English to the children who live in the Colonias. You can be part of that ministry by making sock puppets for the children to use. We will have a sock puppet making day at St. Augustine's--all socks welcome (clean of course). Please join in on the fun and the reaching out!
MARDI GRAS FUN AT ST. AUGUSTINE'S: Stayed tuned for a new tradition at St. Augustine's to be inaugurated by a famous Mardi Gras King and his Queen at St. Augustine’s!
Clothing is still welcome for the people of Lord of the Streets.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially all those is nursing homes.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim. 18-20).
You don’t hear too much about the word “conscience” any more. When I taught moral theology, it was a topic we definitely covered. Conscience is the application of our reason to a concrete situation. It is an act of the practical reason which applies a knowledge to a particular situation. Practical reason begins with the spark of light from education and the instinctive moral law, and taking into account the concrete situation, the conscience makes a judgment about an action to be undertaken, or a judgment about an act that has already been done. Conscience is formed by habits, the virtues of wisdom, knowledge, and prudence and by supernatural virtues. Conscience is an act of reason, not of appetition, which means that conscience belongs to the order of cognition and not feeling. In a healthy person, the emotions support the judgment of conscience; the emotions are well-integrated with reason. There is an emotional aspect which supports reason, but conscience itself is a rational act. The feelings associated are secondary, though they support conscience. When we follow our conscience, we follow the judgment of reason and not our emotions. We can do the right thing even though we feel no satisfaction or even sadness. The neurotic person may feel guilty even though reason says that they haven’t done anything wrong.
So an error of conscience is an error of reason; the wrong choice can come from emotions which may blind the reason. Conscience doesn’t create the norms; rather, it interiorizes the objective norm (the right thing objectively), making it a subjective norm (adopted and carried out by a person). The Christian conscience is transformed from within by grace.
We have to work to properly form our consciences using our God given gift of reason and to listen to God’s will for us as revealed to us by Scared Scripture and tradition. We cannot allow ourselves to be controlled by pure emotion, but to use our reason to help us decide what is right and what is wrong. St. Paul knew that. He knew that when we reject our consciences, we are susceptible to shipwreck.
Let us pray: Gracious God, you have given us the gift of reason. Send Your Holy Spirit to guide our consciences and to form them into the image of Christ so that we may make Your will part of our lives. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
History Project. As discussed this Sunday, this month we celebrate Black History month. It is a time to remember the shoulders of those we stand upon who have been courageous in their fight for equality and freedom. St. Augustine's is an integral part of that history not only in the Diocese of Texas, but in the State of Texas. As a tribute to those who have come before us, and as a blessed reminder to those who will come after us, we are duty bound to capture the stories of the people who have made up St. Augustine. I would ask that you collect the stories of your families, photos and news articles so that we may record the treasures that are in our midst.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
20 February, Sunday after the 9:00 a.m. service, Bishop’s Committee Meeting.
19 February, Saturday from 1 pm to 3 pm: Jo Soske and Karen Lehr's ministry takes them to the Rio Grande Valley where they teach English to the children who live in the Colonias. You can be part of that ministry by making sock puppets for the children to use. We will have a sock puppet making day at St. Augustine's--all socks welcome (clean of course). Please join in on the fun and the reaching out!
MARDI GRAS FUN AT ST. AUGUSTINE'S: Stayed tuned for a new tradition at St. Augustine's to be inaugurated by a famous Mardi Gras King and his Queen at St. Augustine’s!
Clothing is still welcome for the people of Lord of the Streets.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially all those is nursing homes.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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