Dear Parishioners,

This Lent we continue to reflect on “the many faces of forgiveness.” Here are my “ten commandments” of forgiveness. I Forgiveness is not easy; II Forgiveness is not forgetting; III Forgiveness does not overlook evil; IV Forgiveness is not destructive (where there is harm continuing it does not simply return to business as usual); V Forgiveness is not the same thing as approval; VI Forgiveness is based on recognizing and admitting that people are always larger and more than their faults and mistakes; VII Forgiveness is willing to allow a person who has offended us to start over again; VIII Forgiveness rediscovers the humanity of the person who wronged us and admits our own humanity, shortcomings and contribution to what went wrong; IX Forgiveness surrenders the right to get even; X Forgiveness means we wish that person or group well.

Last weekend I proposed “the primacy of conscience” as one of the major teachings of Vatican II. Here’s a little more about conscience, which is not “doing whatever I please” or “following my personal preference”. Conscience is the whole self trying to make judgments about who we ought to be and what we ought to do. It is our “most secret core and sanctuary, where one is alone with God” (Vatican II). Sometimes called “the subjective norm of morality”, it is our final or supreme referee of right and wrong. Conscience must be followed (as well as carefully and seriously formed) because it represents convictions and values that set the bounds to our integrity. To say “my conscience tells me” means I hold this conviction to be true and must live by it or betray my truest self. The freedom to follow our conscience is not just freedom of choice (I can do whatever I want to do!); but presupposes that we have sincerely and diligently searched for the truth. At the same time our Catholic tradition teaches not only that conscience can be mistaken without losing its dignity, but also that one must follow even an erring conscience once we have taken reasonable care to inform it. Following my conscience does not guarantee that I’m always doing the right thing (so seeking information, consultation, prayer and study is always in order); it only insures that we act with integrity and according to what we best understand to be right. Following our conscience requires us to search for truth, listen well, discern what is right and good, and then act according to what we understand the truth to be.

Your Pastor,
Brian T. Joyce