THE CATECHIST'S CORNER
The Morality of Human Acts
What makes an action good?
(May/June 2000)

BY FATHER J.M. SULLIVAN, O.P.

WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING decisions in our lives what do we usually consider? What other people might think of me? Whether it will hurt anyone? Am I really doing this for a good reason? Often enough all of these are, in fact, good things to consider when choosing to do or not to do a particular thing but these "good things" are not enough by themselves. The Church teaches us that the morality of all actions (i.e., their ability to be chosen or rejected) rests on three independent considerations: "1) the object chosen; 2) the end in view or the intention; and 3) the circumstances of the action" (CCC, 1750). "These are the ‘sources,’ or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts" (CCC, 1751).

When considering the goodness of any one of our actions then we need to consider all three of these aspects. Probably the one part that we overlook the most but needs the greatest intention is #1 — the object chosen. The object is nothing more than the act itself. For example, the act of telling the truth is a good, in and of itself. The act of lying, on the other hand, is an evil. Good things may be chosen if the intention and the circumstances are good as well but no matter how good the intentions are or the circumstances, immoral actions may never be chosen. Here’s an example:

I come home and my sister asks me if I like her new hairstyle. I reply with the truth that it makes her looks like a squirrel! I tell her this not with the intention of sharing the truth with her (because she really does look like a squirrel) but rather to hurt her feelings. I have made the good act of telling the truth into the sinful act of insulting another. Instead, and another way to look at the whole "hairy" situation, I could have responded in a way that left small furry creatures out of it. I could have said, "I did like your last one but if you like this one, then I like it as well" or even more tactfully, "Well, it is different from your last hairstyle but it does bring out the whiteness of your teeth." In simple terms, "the object chosen is a good toward which the will deliberately directs itself. It is the matter of a human act."

The object chosen morally specifies the act of the will, insofar as reason recognizes and judges it to be or not to be in conformity with the true good" (CCC, 1751). The next time we have something to consider we first have to look at the action itself. If it is, in itself, something that is immoral then under no circumstances or even with the best of intentions can I choose to do it. The Church teaches us these truths so they we can save our time for considering even better things to do in our lives. Wasting our time deliberating actions that will only harm us is no way to live a life rooted in Christ.

But isn’t my intention all that counts?
Now that we are "out of" the Season of Lent we can look back and honestly evaluate what we did. "I will not eat between meals on Fridays." "I will go to the 7:00 a.m. Mass each morning." "I will make the Stations of the Cross on Sundays." While each of these penances are good actions to be "done" we must also consider what is "intended" when we choose them. Did we intend for all of our co-workers to know we are fasting? Did we want to be noticed at the 7:00 a.m. Mass? Did we decide to make the Stations just before the 11:00 a.m. Mass when everyone is coming into Church? Intention is an essential part of all human action. In truth, an action would not be truly "human" without it. "The intention is the movement of the will toward the end: it is concerned with the goal of the activity" (CCC, 1752). Our struggle with "intention" is that often we have many "intentions" when we decide on a particular action. Because we are sinful, we might have right next to a good intention an equally evil one which robs us of the goodness of the action. "An added bad intention (such as vainglory) makes an act evil that, in and of itself, can be good (such as almsgiving)" (CCC, 1753). The Lord gives us the Season of Lent each year to purify our intentions. Now that we have completed this past Lent, may we continue to offer Him all of our penances and all of our intentions.

All three need to be good
Today the morality of human actions seems to be determined by considering only one thing—that person’s intentions. "Well, did they hope to bring something good out of it?" "But they do really love each other." "He was providing for his family the best way he could."

While consideration of one’s intentions (or the goal one hopes to achieve by choosing a certain action) is an important part of morality, "intention" is not the end-all. "A morally good act requires the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together" (CCC, 1755). This means that the action chosen has to be a good one in and of itself. We cannot choose a morally evil act such as blasphemy, perjury, murder or adultery and hope to make it good by our intention. It is likewise true that my reason for choosing it has to be good. "An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good itself (such as praying and fasting ‘in order to be seen by men.’)" And then the circumstances which surround the action have to be good. "It is therefore an error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the intention that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress or emergency, etc.) which supply the context" (CCC, 1756). If one piece of this "three-fold goodness" is missing then the entire action itself is to be judged morally wrong and, therefore, unacceptable.

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