Do I Have a Good Conscience?

00:11:42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5uUqpA3jqY

概要

TLDRIn this video, Father Mike Schmitz reflects on the challenges faced during Lent, particularly with fasting and abstinence. He notes that the difficulty often arises not from the acts themselves, but from feeling commanded by external authority. He emphasizes that a well-formed conscience is guided not just by personal freedom, but by the teachings of the Church and Scripture. Conscience should not be mistaken for personal preference; instead, it should align with God's will and involve a transformation of one's desires. He underscores the importance of following the Church’s teachings for true moral guidance, cautioning against ignoring them based on personal interpretation of conscience.

収穫

  • 🙏 Fasting during Lent can challenge our ego due to external authority.
  • 📜 A well-formed conscience reflects God's voice, shaped by Church teachings.
  • 🚫 Conscience is not personal preference; it requires deeper formation.
  • 🔍 A lively conscience often convicts us towards repentance.
  • 💬 G.K. Chesterton reminds us of the Church’s role in addressing our wrongs.

タイムライン

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Father Mike Schmitz discusses the challenges of fasting during Lent and how it can feel more difficult when it is mandated by the Church compared to personal choices. He reflects on the struggle against authority and our natural resistance to being told what to do, emphasizing that this resistance highlights our ego and pride. Conscience, a critical topic in this discussion, must be well-formed and cannot just be a personal preference or opinion; it should align with Church teachings and Scripture, urging us towards truth rather than just affirmation of our actions.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:11:42

    As he delves deeper into the nature of conscience, Father Mike explains that a well-formed conscience requires a transformation of self in relationship with God, including the necessity of surrendering our desires and thoughts to Him. He warns against viewing conscience as a means to escape moral obligations. Instead, he stresses that true conscience seeks to answer what God wants, often highlighting our duties over personal rights. In closing, he warns against following misguidance from authority figures and reinforces the importance of aligning one's conscience with the structure of the Church.

マインドマップ

ビデオQ&A

  • Why do people find fasting on Lent difficult?

    Fasting can be tough because it involves external authority dictating actions, which can grate on individual pride.

  • What does the Church say about conscience?

    The Church values conscience, stating it is the voice of God in individuals, but it must be well-formed through prayer and understanding.

  • How should conscience be formed?

    A well-formed conscience involves prayer, reflection on Scripture, and alignment with Church teachings, requiring a personal transformation.

  • What is a common misconception about conscience?

    Conscience is often mistaken for personal opinion or preference, but it's a moral guide that should align with God's will.

  • What does G.K. Chesterton suggest about Church authority?

    Chesterton highlights the need for a Church that is right where individuals are wrong, rather than just affirming personal correctness.

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  • 00:00:00
    [Music]
  • 00:00:04
    hi my name is father Mike Schmitz and
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    this is ascension presents so I always
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    think about this how strange it is when
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    we have our fast days and we have like
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    our days of the standing from me
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    particularly during Lent that how many
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    people have trouble with it like how
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    many of us like I'm not as those people
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    like how many of us like this is tough
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    this is a tough day no think about this
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    yep standing for me on Fridays during
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    Lent is not that difficult fasting on
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    the too fast days we have an entire
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    church here is not difficult I mean you
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    know what the church rules for fasting
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    are are what you can eat two small meals
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    and one regular sized meal that it's the
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    quantity of the food you take in is does
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    not exceed the two smaller meals
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    combined it's the foot it's not you can
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    eat a lot but in fact I think that what
  • 00:00:49
    what you would be alike allowed it to
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    eat on a fast day as least as Americans
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    could potentially be more than 99
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    percent of the rest of the world eats on
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    a feast day so so here's the interesting
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    thing it's not difficult but it's often
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    difficult right so it's not difficult to
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    how many days that we probably go in our
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    lives without eating meat and don't give
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    it a second thought
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    on Fridays during Lent oh my gosh it's
  • 00:01:15
    so tough our same kind of thing with Ash
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    Wednesday Good Friday like no just the
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    lighter meal day it's not even that it's
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    not challenging it's not painful why is
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    it so hard
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    here's why I think it's so hard at times
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    because those other days I am not eating
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    meat because I don't want to eat meat on
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    those other days I'm just eating less
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    because I chose to eat less on Ash
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    Wednesday Good Friday on the Fridays
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    during Lent it's hard to do those things
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    because someone else is telling us we
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    have to do that that's the key it's only
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    difficult because someone else is
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    telling us we have to do it on that day
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    the church comes in and says if this is
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    if you're Catholic this is what you have
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    to do there's not an option you must do
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    this and that just grates on our ego
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    writing grates on our pride because why
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    because you and I are the same we'd like
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    to do what we like to do I want to do
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    what I want to do and here comes the
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    church and says no listen you have to do
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    what I say mmm is tough so if if I was
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    given an escape clause right if I was
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    given a way to get out from underneath
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    the authority of
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    scripture or the authority of scripture
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    sacred tradition the authority of the
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    church then I would be we would probably
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    be probably be really tempted to take
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    that escape clause now into this
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    situation enter the term conscience
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    right because I'm sure we've all heard
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    the idea of like you know you must
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    follow your conscience you have to obey
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    your conscience in fact if you're kind
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    of in I can informed Catholic you would
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    realize that the Catholic Church puts a
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    high value on conscience John Henry
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    Cardinal Newman he's oh sorry Blessed
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    John Henry Cardinal Newman he called
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    conscience the Aboriginal Vicar of
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    Christ which means that the original the
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    Aboriginal voice of God in the person in
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    the individual and so we take that I bet
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    one phrase that Cardinal Newman gave and
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    we run with it right my gosh well it
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    conscience is the voice of God himself
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    then I must obey my conscience because
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    that's God talking to me now
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    here's the here's that here's the table
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    of troubling thing or the difficult
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    thing is that Cardinal Newman went on to
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    say a bunch more stuff about well
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    forming your conscience about what it is
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    to have a conscience that actually bends
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    in is is shaped by God himself and by
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    the church so there's all these other
  • 00:03:31
    pieces here so I can't just pull out the
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    term conscience and say well if my
  • 00:03:35
    conscience tells me that this is okay
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    then it's okay because that's not how
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    conscience works and that's also not
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    what conscience is so what is conscience
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    and what is conscience not what is not
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    conscious what is what is it what is it
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    not okay here here's what it's not a cop
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    my conscience you're our conscience
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    isn't our personal preference right our
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    conscience isn't our opinion like so we
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    look at this thing and say why I know
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    the church says that that's wrong but I
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    don't I don't I don't see anything wrong
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    with it no this is very important
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    because that happens a lot well the
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    church says the ex is wrong but I don't
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    see anything wrong with it I don't see
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    why therefore I can do X that is not one
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    that's not following one's own
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    conscience that is doing what one wants
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    to do that is very very very clear very
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    important to understand this in fact a
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    well-formed conscience will more often
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    convict a person of their sin and more
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    often I guess we might say like compel a
  • 00:04:28
    person toward repentance
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    and affirm them and what their actions
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    are right so this is important a lively
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    conscience will more often convict you
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    of what's wrong and call you on to do
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    what's right then we'll just kind of
  • 00:04:41
    affirm you in doing like oh yeah this
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    seems this seems right
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    in fact even more the voices voices
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    inside of us right like is that is that
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    my conscious is that the original
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    Aboriginal Vicar of Christ it also could
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    be the voice of the flesh which is my
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    fallen human nature it also could be the
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    voice of the Evil One the liar
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    it can be the voice of the world that's
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    influenced me so to such a degree that
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    yet the world says this this thing is
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    not a sin so clearly it's not a sin I
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    have no problem with that
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    if the our conscience is gonna be the
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    aboriginal Vicar of Christ it's me the
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    void voice of God living inside of us
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    that necessitates a couple things
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    well one Ignis that states we understand
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    who we are and who we are is we were
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    born out of relationship with God I bet
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    this is it
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    this is well we're gonna talk some
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    original sin here we're none of us are
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    born in right relationship with God it's
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    the result of the original sin or the
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    original wound that were we all inherit
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    so we're born out of right relation to
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    God we have to be brought into right
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    relationship with God we are not born
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    under the dominion of Jesus himself as
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    the Lord we have to submit ourselves and
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    surrender ourselves to Jesus in faith
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    and hope and love with him as our Lord
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    in fact even st. Paul goes so far as
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    this well Jesus cuz the scripture goes
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    so far as to say then you actually have
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    to die like the old you has to die
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    those old desires they have to be
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    converted into into new desires those
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    old ways of thinking have to be
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    transformed in fact what st. Paul says
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    he says do not conform yourself to this
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    president but be transformed by the
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    renewal of your mind now that is a
  • 00:06:14
    painful process it means I have to stop
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    thinking like myself in some ways stop
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    thinking like the world and has to start
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    thinking like God again it involves a
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    death and so if I would say like only
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    I'm like my conscience is well-formed
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    but I haven't undergone a death like I
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    haven't undergone the decision to place
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    myself my mind my actions my twill
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    everything under Jesus Christ's dominion
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    then it is very unlikely that my
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    conscience is well formed
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    it's very unlikely that the Aboriginal
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    Vicar of Christ the voice of Christ is
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    going to be loud enough in my own heart
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    again keep this in mind a well-formed
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    conscience is not just like yeah we know
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    I know what the Catechism is I know what
  • 00:06:55
    the Bible is more or less a concha wolf
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    own conscience means that I have spent
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    time in prayer listening to God's voice
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    reading his word letting his church form
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    the way I think and look at myself look
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    at God himself look at the world I've
  • 00:07:09
    allowed this to happen and again here's
  • 00:07:11
    this key thing I have died to myself in
  • 00:07:14
    this process like I have died to myself
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    in this process that is absolutely
  • 00:07:19
    required if I haven't done that again
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    this this is kind of one of those key
  • 00:07:24
    things if I haven't done that then my
  • 00:07:27
    conscience is likely not very well
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    formed even further if my conscience or
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    what I think like what what I think
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    basically comes into conflict with what
  • 00:07:40
    the Church teaches or what Scripture
  • 00:07:42
    teaches and reveals then in those cases
  • 00:07:45
    it is very its most like likely that my
  • 00:07:49
    conscience needs the forming not the
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    church is teaching meeting changing does
  • 00:07:53
    that make sense again again this is so
  • 00:07:55
    critical our conscience more often binds
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    us to something to do something than it
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    does release us from the obligation and
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    then this is really important I said
  • 00:08:05
    that's why I guess our conscience more
  • 00:08:07
    often is concerned with our duties or
  • 00:08:10
    our responsibilities than it is with our
  • 00:08:11
    rights like I get to do this in fact a
  • 00:08:14
    well-formed conscience is more
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    preoccupied with the question what does
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    God want then with the question what do
  • 00:08:19
    I want a welcomed conscience is more
  • 00:08:21
    preoccupied with the question what does
  • 00:08:24
    God want then with the question what do
  • 00:08:26
    I want because we realize this our
  • 00:08:28
    conscience we can feign ignorance like
  • 00:08:30
    we can feign like I didn't know that's
  • 00:08:31
    what God wanted we could also have a
  • 00:08:33
    hardness a hardness of heart inside of
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    us that says well I know but I just damn
  • 00:08:37
    can't seem to bring myself to this right
  • 00:08:39
    just can't see it we all have this
  • 00:08:41
    fallen human nature we all have this
  • 00:08:42
    desire why because we all have the pride
  • 00:08:44
    we all have the ego we realize right we
  • 00:08:46
    are conscious we can feign ignorance we
  • 00:08:48
    can pretend like oh I didn't know what
  • 00:08:49
    God wanted right didn't know that was
  • 00:08:51
    that serious or we can even have
  • 00:08:52
    hardness of heart and this is that sense
  • 00:08:55
    of like well I don't think it's a big
  • 00:08:56
    I think I want to do what I want to do
  • 00:08:57
    why because we're all the same we all
  • 00:09:00
    have the same stupid ego and the same
  • 00:09:02
    stupid pride that just doesn't want
  • 00:09:04
    someone else telling us what to do
  • 00:09:07
    and so conscious is not an escape clause
  • 00:09:10
    conscience in fact is is is almost
  • 00:09:13
    giving giving us the research in
  • 00:09:16
    pointing out conscience is giving us the
  • 00:09:17
    responsibility to say actually you have
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    a duty of responsibility you know to act
  • 00:09:24
    in a certain way that is accordance with
  • 00:09:27
    how God has revealed himself in a Sacred
  • 00:09:29
    Scripture and in sacred tradition and
  • 00:09:31
    through the teaching of the church it
  • 00:09:33
    does not give us permission to make
  • 00:09:36
    ourselves the exception as we've talked
  • 00:09:38
    about in another video this all whole
  • 00:09:40
    thing reminds me of at the end of the
  • 00:09:42
    day what something G K Chesterton had
  • 00:09:44
    said he was a convert to the Catholic
  • 00:09:45
    Church a bunch of years ago and one of
  • 00:09:48
    the things he said was we don't want we
  • 00:09:52
    don't need a church that is right when
  • 00:09:56
    we're right we need a church that is
  • 00:09:59
    right where we're wrong and that's what
  • 00:10:02
    I think all of us need this whole idea
  • 00:10:04
    that like I can say like well I can
  • 00:10:05
    dismiss with this church teaching or
  • 00:10:07
    that church teaching because what my
  • 00:10:09
    conscience tells me that's okay then
  • 00:10:11
    it's just baloney also here's the other
  • 00:10:13
    thing here's a quick last thing um you
  • 00:10:14
    saw I've talked to people who say well
  • 00:10:16
    the priest told me that was fine
  • 00:10:17
    so priests told me we should go ahead
  • 00:10:19
    and do this thing and so we did the
  • 00:10:20
    thing and now here we are and it's it's
  • 00:10:22
    fine though because the priest told me
  • 00:10:23
    to do it no no just like our
  • 00:10:25
    consciousness can be malformed there a
  • 00:10:27
    priest that can be malformed and if then
  • 00:10:29
    you know what the Church teaches and
  • 00:10:31
    this priest says don't but the church
  • 00:10:32
    teaching will change in the future do
  • 00:10:34
    not listen to him
  • 00:10:35
    please please please please I know that
  • 00:10:38
    we should be able to trust the teaching
  • 00:10:40
    of our local pastors and all that kind
  • 00:10:43
    of stuff but if you ever hear either
  • 00:10:46
    your interior voice or the voice of a
  • 00:10:48
    priest or someone in authority saying in
  • 00:10:50
    this case you're the exception in this
  • 00:10:52
    case go ahead and do the thing the
  • 00:10:54
    church will change its teaching just
  • 00:10:57
    turn around walk away and get some
  • 00:11:00
    better advice
  • 00:11:01
    I'm so sorry about that because I know
  • 00:11:02
    it's that big that kind of bad advices
  • 00:11:04
    destroyed the lives of so many people
  • 00:11:07
    yeah Wow I kind of ended
  • 00:11:09
    a real sour note didn't we well we
  • 00:11:12
    certainly did but at least it's nice
  • 00:11:13
    outside and we're in the middle of Lent
  • 00:11:15
    right now or whenever you're watching
  • 00:11:17
    this video I want to invite you to like
  • 00:11:19
    or subscribe or smash the like button I
  • 00:11:22
    already said that smash like we just
  • 00:11:23
    click the like button we're always here
  • 00:11:25
    to since representative oh my gosh we're
  • 00:11:26
    all from all I can say it from all this
  • 00:11:28
    year it doesn't represents - all that
  • 00:11:30
    Mike
  • 00:11:30
    god bless oh my goodness I just don't
  • 00:11:33
    even know there's so long wasn't wasn't
  • 00:11:34
    super long my gosh tab
タグ
  • Lent
  • Fasting
  • Conscience
  • Catholic
  • Church Teaching
  • Moral Guidance
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Father Mike Schmitz
  • Authority
  • Transformation