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Session #6--Morality |
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A. |
What does living a
moral life mean to you?(Go around the room) |
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B. |
Definition: |
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Morality is the practice of
morally good and appropriate actions in our efforts to become ever more truly and fully
human and live accordingly. In short, living a moral life is the expression of our
desire to live life fully and authentically as human beings. |
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C. |
Canon Law #747
paragraph 2. |
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To the Church belongs the right
always and everywhere to announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the
social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are
required by the fundamental rights of the human person or the salvation of souls. |
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D. |
Stages of
Development--Erik Erickson. |
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1. |
Infancy and early
childhood(birth to 5 years old). It is at this stage of development that we
develop our sense of trust with parents, siblings, and relatives. We discover our
own sense of autonomy and experiment with it in our world. Our lessons of right and
wrong are being learned at this stage of development. |
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2. |
Childhood(6-10 years
old). This stage of development is when we become explorers of our world.
We must know what's out there. And what's out there is found to be both good and
bad. Sometimes the bad are the hard lessons of life. |
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3. |
Pre-adolescence and
puberty(10-13 years old). This stage of development is about doing things.
Helping in the kitchen, raking the leaves, helping dad fix the car, helping mom with the
garbage and taking care of the dog. Our independence in the world is maturing and we
are making good and bad decisions for ourselves(and we know it.) |
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4. |
Adolescence(14-17
years old). This stage of development is when we gain our own sense of identity.
We are becoming our own person. It is that time in our lives when through our
own independence we begin making serious choices for ourselves that are both good and bad.
It is that time in our lives when we know it all! |
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5. |
Early adulthood(18-35
years old). This stage of development is when we become intimate with
others. It is this stage when moral values we have learned are put to the test and
put into practice, whether for good or evil. It is that time in our lives when we
learn by our mistakes. |
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6. |
Older adulthood (
36-65 years old). This is the stage of development when we are less focused on
ourselves and more focused on guiding and teaching the younger generation about avoiding
our mistakes. Doing what is morally right is very important to this stage of growth.
We want to know that our children will be a safe world. |
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7. |
Twilight of Life
(65-death). This is the stage of development when we look back over our
entire life and hopefully have integrated the joys and sorrows of life into making us
whole human persons truly authentic in every way in this world. |
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E. |
Morality--in the end,
it's what God has written on our hearts and we know automatically what is right and what
is wrong. We don't need anyone, including the Church to tell us( but it's nice to
know someone has articulated it). |
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F. |
Close with prayer. |
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