Welcome to the Catholic Morality module for teachers and catechists. In this module you will explore the foundations of contemporary Catholic morality by exploring Jesus’ vision of the moral life and the Church’s understanding of the moral life. This module will guide you through a process of making moral decisions based on Catholic moral principles 

You will explore Catholic morality as presented in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults:

Part 1. Life in Christ

Part 2. Love God: The First, Second, and Third Commandments

Part 3. Love in the Family: The Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth Commandments

Part 4. Love the Neighbor: The Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Commandments

Before You Begin

• We have created a Downloadable Guide to Catholic Morality with the articles and worksheets you will need for this module. Download the Guide before you begin the learning program. We also provide some of the worksheets in Word files to make them easy for you to write-on during the program.

• Download this handy checklist to help you navigate through the module.
• A journal or notebook will also be helpful to record your reflections as you work through this module. 
• You will need a Bible in a print or digital version:
  • In Print: New American Bible (Revised Edition) or New Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition). Both Bibles are available from a variety of publishers. There are several excellent Catholic study bibles which provide articles, maps, and commentaries to assist you in reading the Bible. Consider the following: Little Rock Catholic Study Bible and The Catholic Bible, Third Edition (from Oxford University Press)
  • Online: Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com. Type in the Bible passage you want to read and then select which edition of the Bible from the dropdown list. Select New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) or New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE).

To learn more about Catholic morality the following two books provide an easy-to-read introduction.

• A Well Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe. Part 3 – The Moral Life. Joe Paprocki. (Loyola Press, 2008.)
• Teaching the Basics of Catholic Morality (Essential Catechist’s Bookshelf). James Phillips. (Twenty-Third Publications, 2015)

Opening Prayer

Prayer of Saint Francis

The Prayer of Saint Francis is a helpful guide to the attitudes that make for healthy moral choices.

Lord make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may seek,
not so much to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love,
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.