1. 1.Moral Character results from a mature and responsible exercise of freedom and conscience.
1.1. focuses primarily on the person-in-relationship and in-community and therefore on the moral subject
1.2. manifests itself through one's action and refers to who one is as a human being
1.3. One's moral identity as a person
1.3.1. Consists of a very specific and personal configuration or arrangement of virtues and vices, affections, intentions, dispositions, beliefs, values, and properties
1.3.2. The character one has built represents the characteristic way one has of determining what is appropriate for one to do in any particular situation
1.3.3. One's character gives one a particular direction or orientation in and to life so that one acts in a consistent way
1.3.4. refers to the predictability of his actions or response to some circumstances
1.3.4.1. predictability of one's actions in terms of one's morality is one's moral character
2. 5. Good moral character has a direct connection to being a good Christian.
2.1. For conscience to develop properly, it must be rooted in Christ and the Holy Spirit, nourished by prayer and the Church's Sacramental life
2.2. The church is a powerful shaper of our moral character
2.2.1. through
2.2.1.1. beliefs
2.2.1.2. stories
2.2.1.3. traditions
2.2.1.4. images
2.2.1.5. rituals
2.2.1.6. moral ideals
2.2.1.7. values
2.2.1.8. principles
2.2.1.9. virtues
2.3. Each one will respond to these influences in his or her own way and thus will make his/her choices and form his/her character in a manner that is uniquely personal
2.4. Particularly important
2.4.1. The Bible
2.4.2. life and teaching of the Church itself
2.4.3. the example of Christ
3. 6. Good moral decisions leading to good moral character is a result of a faith life, a life of prayer, and mature knowledge.
3.1. highlights the importance of interior life
3.2. spiritual exercises attempt to develop the ability to cultivate the life of faith or the spiritual journey
3.2.1. enable individuals to explore and grow in their understanding of how God is present in their lives, of how they might come to know God in a deeper way through reflection on their own personal experience and of how to make choices in the light of God's presence
3.3. How can we say that a person has good moral character?
3.3.1. being fully human
3.3.2. Being a virtuous person
3.3.3. being a loving person
3.3.4. being a morally mature person
4. 7. Contrary to negative tradition, emotions have a place in the formation of moral character.
4.1. Central element of emotional maturity: knowing emotions as they occur
4.2. They don't always lead us into trouble
4.3. They have an intelligence of their own which when properly understood and deployed, leads to attitudes, choices, and actions that are not less but more intelligent and human
4.4. our emotions and passions have real wisdom when integrated and exercised
4.5. The level of our emotional maturity and intelligence directly affects our morality
4.5.1. One prone to angry outbursts will very likely not have a great deal of self-control, will get into many conflicts and damage his or her relationships
4.5.2. A person who has poor impulse control will tend to satisfy his or her needs or wants and thus act selfishly
4.5.3. one who is deficient in empathy will be insensitive to needs and difficulties of others
4.5.4. One's level of empathy has a strong connection with one's level of caring, compassion, and altruism
4.6. Thus, emotions need to be managed intelligently instead of our being controlled by them.
4.7. Central element of emotional maturity: knowing emotions as they occur
5. 2. It is concerned with making choices but more importantly, with becoming the persons we ought to become.
5.1. our moral character is built by the choices we make and the actions we perform
5.2. these choices spring from our goodness
5.3. two choices
5.3.1. our moral choices shape our moral character
5.3.2. our moral character gives rise to and conditions our moral choices
5.4. our choices make us who we are as persons
5.5. Choices do not just have an impact on the directly affected situation but on who we are and what we shape our lives to be
5.6. our choices build up or damage our moral character
5.7. the sum of our moral character doesn't happen overnight
6. 3. Forming moral character is not a result of happenstance or genetic engineering.
6.1. our moral character becomes what it is and will be at the end of life only by a long and complex process of formation, both formal and informal
6.1.1. formation is lifelong and always ongoing
6.1.2. we must always aim to become good and virtuous people, morally or humanly mature
6.2. Our choices form our moral character -- our choices are based on objective moral norms
6.2.1. formation of our moral character depends on our consistent choice of what is morally good
6.2.1.1. Concience: our capacity to discern what specific acts are good or evil
6.2.1.2. refers to our capacity to discern what the moral thing to do is
6.2.1.3. since no moral law applies itself, conscience has to evaluate and apply this to the actual act, intention, and circumstances
6.2.1.4. our conscience has objective and subjective dimensions
6.2.1.4.1. objective -- based on objective moral norms
6.2.1.4.2. subjective -- it is ours, and we are responsible for how we decide
6.2.1.5. formation of conscience is not static 00 a dynamic process formed by innumerable persons and events, affected by family upbringing and social environment, and informed as it interacts with other consciences
7. 4. It is a result of the interplay of factors involving family, church, society, school, etc.
7.1. conditioning factors
7.1.1. knowledge
7.1.1.1. evaluative/experiential knowledge of moral values and disvalues
7.1.2. freedom
7.1.2.1. knowlege/awareness of oneself (awareness of one's values, attitudes, dispositions, intentions, feelings, needs, weeknesses, blind spots, limitations, and level of moral development
7.1.2.2. formation of character requires true personal freedom in each person so we can take fuller responsibility for our choices
7.1.2.3. the greater our freedom from internal and external obstacles, the greater the quality of our individual choices and the greater our ability to form ourselves as moral persons
7.1.2.4. called basic freedom and is exercised in fundamental option or basic choices
7.1.3. emotions
7.1.3.1. a person's morality/moral sense has roots in his or her feelings
7.1.3.2. the springs of marility are in the heart
7.1.3.3. morality gets its nourishment and power to shape our character and our choices from our feelings
7.2. church, society, school
7.2.1. we are deeply influenced by the groups we belong to
7.2.2. while people make groups and communities, groups and communities also make people
7.2.3. we are influenced by the beliefs, values, virtues, and attitudes of the groups of which we are members
7.2.3.1. example: indoctrination, cults, cult-like businesses