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Friday, April 30, 2010

Preparing for First Reconciliation

One of my kids is preparing for First Reconciliation, and I'm using a book from Catholic Answers, Today I Made my First Reconciliation. It is a good resource, using the story of two children who are preparing for that sacrament and finding themselves in a moral dilemma. There are Scriptural references at the back as well as other useful materials such as a guide to examine one's conscience. One of the things I was taught while attending an Opus Dei center in college was to examine my conscience every night at bedtime.

Some folks might actually be bringing up their kids to make decisions based entirely on amoral consequences. Well if one does not believe in God, then there is no basis for an objective moral code. No basis for a conscience either -- what on earth can that tiny voice say about anything if there is no objective moral code?

One's conscience can either be honed with reasonable attention or dulled with disuse. It can be informed with education or atrophy with neglect (life's too busy, no shortage of engaging pursuits). I'd prefer the former. The latter sounds more like what happened to those folks recently captured on video walking on by while a man lay dying on the sidewalk. Some might say that it was no big deal, it wasn't illegal to mind your own business. What, you actually need someone explaining this, and do you need legislation to tell you that you ought to call 911?

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