Some of the adults that saw me grow up say that I was always a pretty good boy. I was mostly obedient, nice, well behaved. I never cursed, never got into a fight. However, deep down, I know that much of it was superficial and not very good.
Yes, it is true that many times my behavior satisfied the objective demands placed upon me. I would help clean the house when asked to. I did my homework as I was supposed to. However, many times I did all these things more out of a desire to receive praise or out of fear of being scolded.
In our Catholic tradition we have come to understand the morality of our actions as good or evil depending on three elements. The failure of one of the three is enough to make the entire action evil. The three elements are: the object, the intention and the circumstances.
The object of the act has to do with the objective demands that a specific situation places on us. For example: As I walk along the park I see a beggar. The beggar asks me for some help. As I assess the situation I realize that this person really needs my help. I do have some money that I could give this person. However, I decide not to share. This is evil.
Evil always has to do with the privation of a good that should be there. A classic example is that it would be evil for a man to be blind because by nature he should see. However, it is not evil for a man not to fly by flipping his arms because by nature he is not meant to fly like birds. Hence, in the case of the beggar, he is due some help. I was the person Divine Providence had placed there to provide for some help. However, I decided not to help.
We may remember the parable of the Good Samaritan…
The second element that can make the action evil is the intention. This is where I failed as a child. Most of the good I did then was very self-centered. I did it for me. We could say that this is understandable in an immature boy. I would have to grow up and mature so as to purify my intentions and learn to act out of love for God and the good of others.
Finally, the third element that qualifies our acts as good or evil are the circumstances around the action. They all should be ordered so as to really satisfy the perceived need.
A lot of honesty is required so as to avoid justifying our evil acts. I could ignore the objectivity of the need before me. I could excuse myself that I had good intentions. On the other hand, I could perform good actions with evil intentions. It is very easy to deceive ourselves and rationalize our behavior so as to avoid an accusatory judgement. This type of self-imposed blindness is the worst evil that we could commit. We make it very difficult to amend our ways.
This is sin. When the object of the action (objective demands placed on us) is grave and when there is the deliberate intention to commit this action, the sin destroys the life of grace in our lives. It is called mortal sin. It would be self-deception to believe that we could be at peace with God. We have already rejected him. We are risking eternal damnation.
Next time we will explore the three enemies of the soul: the world, the devil and the flesh. What are these enemies and how do they influence us to commit moral evil? Stay tuned for the next insight…
Questions for pondering:
1. Do you assess your sins from the point of view of unfulfilled acts of love that you should have performed?
2. Have you ever thought that maybe your salvation could be at risk?
Fr Lino Otero, LC: Originally from Nicaragua, my family moved to Miami, Florida when I was a teenager. Soon afterwards I experienced the call to serve God without reservations. Since then, I have had experience in hospital ministry, working as a middle school teacher, leading a parish school, organizing soccer tournaments for kids, starting a radio station, training priests in leadership formation, organizing a parish community from maintenance to mission, and much more. I love spiritual direction and preaching. Years of philosophy, psychology and theological training have enriched my personal life and have shaped my message of hope. For more go to linootero.me