Family Meeting 4: Making Moral Decisions Week 2

Sheltering Grace coming to talk about 11^th and 12^th grade service project

Quick Review:

STOP Method of Making Moral Decisions:

            Search out the facts
            Think about alternatives and consequences
            Others – consult them and consider how your actions will affect them
            Pray to the Lord for guidance

3 Parts of a Moral Decision: how to assess a moral decision/action

            Moral Object – the what of our actions, is it promoting the true good and the purposes of God
            Intention – why
            Circumstance – can change the severity of a good or bad action

Activity: Moral Decision Making (switch partners): Scenarios here

With a partner, discuss the topics then discuss as a whole. The group can vote if the decision is moral/immoral. Discuss alternatives and consequences more…

S          T          O         P

Why doesn't the end justify the means? What is being done is morally wrong. You are justifying yourself by deeming it ok to do something that we know is wrong to achieve something I want. You want something no matter the cost. Not trusting God/considering God not capable to achieve the same result without crossing moral boundaries. We're also assuming that we understand all of the repercussions of immoral acts.

Look at one example of an immoral act and make lists in small groups of all possible repercussions.

a.     Changing grades for a star player

b.     Hastening death

c.      Not paying taxes (single mom)

d.     Population control

e.     Text messages

f.       Not paying taxes (successful business)

g.      Pre-marital sex

h.     Death penalty

i.       Lots of random moral dilemmas (if time allows, pick one or two that stick out to discuss)

j.       Do you want a 5 year younger version of yourself making decisions for you today? (Not meaning we should regret our past decisions but looking at all that we've learned and God has shown us in just a short period of time especially when spent trying to grow our relationship with God)

Closing Prayer:

Each person offers a petition, just like the Prayers of the Faithful during Mass. The prayers are to help the community know what is happening in our lives and the intentions of the Church.

Additional Resources:
Ch. 2 Textbook Powerpoint
Ch. 2 Textbook Links
Ch. 2 Textbook Handouts