LAWThe Objective Norm

of Morality

LAW is …

an ordinance of reason

promulgated

by competent authority

for the sake of the

common good

St. Thomas Aquinas

Ordinance of reason

Obligatory force & not merely as recommendation or suggestion.

ORDINANCE or Decree

• Law is prudent and with purpose, not a capricious whim.

• Law must be based on the insights of reason into what is truly good.

Promulgated

Law is communicated w/ sufficient notice to its subjects while respecting their rights and dutiesThe official publication of a LAW so that it can come to the knowledge of the subjects is known as promulgationThis is necessary in order that a law becomes obligatory.

Competent authority

Means those who have the legitimate power to do so

For the common goodLaw is for the social betterment of its subjects

Laws can only be enacted for the common good & not for the private good of a few citizens.

For the common good

Law is for the social betterment of its subjects

Laws can only be enacted for the common good & not for the private good of a few citizens.

Functions of Moral Law: (CFC, 805)

1. They provide criteria for judging who we are and how we should act.

By explicating the moral memory and value-experience of the community, moral norms give us a broader basis for judging than our limited experience.

2. They help our moral development, especially in the formation of our conscience, by expressing typical patterns of moral behavior and human values.

3. They provide stability and consistency in our lives by acting as a constant and reliable point of reference

4. They challenge us by stretching us in view of an ideal, or correcting us by illuminating our faults.

KINDS OF MORAL LAW:

ETERNAL LAW

NATURAL LAW

REVEALED LAW Old Law

New Law or Law of the Gospel

HUMAN LAW

ETERNAL LAW

God is the author of the laws governing the universe. He designed all the laws of the universe in His own infinite mind.

Eternal law is the plan of God in creating the universe & in assigning to each creature their specific nature.

It is the universal law whereby God directs and governs the universe and the ways of human community according to his plan of wisdom & love.

“Eternal law is the plan flowing from God’s wisdom which directs all actions and movements.”

St. Thomas Aquinas

“Eternal law is the divine reason and/or the will of God Himself commanding the preservation of natural law and forbidding its disturbance.”

St. Augustine

Eternal Law….

A type of DIVINE WISDOM

The Creator, therefore, has in Himself the “type” of what creatures are to do to attain their END & PURPOSE. Each being tends towards a particular end that reveals the will of God which contains the divine blue prints that bring order into the universe by directing all of creation, living or nonliving, to their respective end-goals

They are laws based on or learned from the state of things in nature as well as human nature.

People discover these laws in - physical laws, which rule both nonrational and

rational creatures- biological laws, which govern the development of

living things- mathematical laws, which govern abstract quality- natural law which is the participation of the

eternal law in rational creature

All laws that govern the universe are independent of humanity.

Why learn these?

By learning these laws we gain freedom

But freedom is always tied up with obedience to the law of God, and there is no such thing as “freedom from these laws.” Instead there is freedom within these laws.

Each new law learned increases our freedom.

Ex. the laws of gravity

the laws of our body

NATURAL LAW

It is the law written and engraved in the soul of each and every man because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin (CCC 1954)

Pertains to the moral insights people are capable of knowing by means of their reason, and independently of the verbal revelation of God

The medium of cognition is reason alone

Natural law is a participation in God’s wisdom and goodness by man formed in the image of his Creator (CCC, 1978)

The basic precept:

“DO GOOD, AVOID EVIL.”

Natural Law (moral law of nature, natural moral law, natural ethics and natural morality)

Three essential characteristics

1. Natural law is universal (Universality).

2. Natural law is one and the same for all (Unity

and Invariability).

3. Natural law is immutable (Immutability)

Man knows naturally, by the light of his understanding, that there are some things evil in themselves, & some things which are necessarily good.

The inclinations of human nature & the Natural Law:

1. The inclination to the good

2. The inclination to self-preservation

3. The inclination to sexual union & rearing of offspring

4. The inclination to knowledge of the truth

5. The inclination to live in society

The Old Law is the first stage of revealed law. Its moral prescriptions are summed in the Ten Commandments. (CCC 1980)

The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel. (CCC, 1981)

It is overflowing with wisdom

REVEALED LAW of the Old Testament and the New Testament

THE LAW OF THE LORD

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.

The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes. .

The ordinances of the Lord are true, and all of them just.

(Ps 19;8-10)

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS1. I am the Lord, your God. You shall

have no strange gods before me.2. You shall not use the name of the of the Lord in

vain.3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day.4. Honor your father and mother.5. You shall not kill.6. You shall not commit adultery7. You shall not steal.8. You shall not bear false witness against your

neighbors. 9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.10.You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit received by faith in Christ, operating through charity. It finds expression above all in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount. (CCC, 1983)

The Law of the Gospel fulfills and surpasses the Old Law and brings it to perfection: its promises, through the Beatitudes of the Kingdom of heaven; its commandments, by reforming the heart, the root of human acts.

(CCC, 1984)

Revealed Law of the Old Testament and the New Testament

The Greatest Commandments

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbors as yourself. The whole of the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Mt 22:37

New Law or the Law of the Gospel

The New Law is a law of love, a law of grace, a law of freedom (CCC, 1985)

law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear

a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments

a law of freedom because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity (CCC, 1972)

HUMAN LAWContains regulations promulgated by legitimate human authority.Intended to preserve peace & harmonyDirecting each members of the society to work towards the common good.Divisions:STATE - Civil Laws – the application of

natural law in given societies CHURCH – Ecclesiastical Laws – the

application of divine law to the Christian Community

Properties of Human Law

It is enforceable

It is concerned with external conduct only

It is limited to particular groups

It is historically conditioned

It has presumptive obligatory force

It is fallible

Human Laws must:

Conform with Divine Laws

Promote the common good

Just & not discriminatory

Dynamic

Practicable