Page 138 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 10

instead of being directed towards God, can be conscience will lead to a progressive apprecia-
a slave to the self. This ego-reference distorts tion of the intrinsic goodness and beauty of any
conscience with subsequent self-condemnati- object without defensive maneuvers of pride.
on and false guilt. It is the immersion in one- To end up the author describes deification of
self instead of communication and unity with conscience. It is based on the conscience of
God which leads to difficulty in differentiating being indwelled by the Absolute Reality and
contemporary and infantile relationships, and living it with absolute priority. It goes beyond
what’s more severe, interferes with the capacity abstraction, ethical improvement or an exter-
to receive God´s love in the present. nal imitation, and commits our life to Christ.
Through this brilliant article the authors return
The author finishes the article pointing out the to the original meaning of conscience, which
importance of the Christian pastoral care he- come from the Latin word conscientia, fomed
aling this neurotic conscience since it offers by the verb scire (to know) and the preposition
hope beyond the sources of secular psycholo- cum. Etymologically it could mean ‘to know
gy. The cross of Christ offers a new perspective with,’ and it is found in union with Christ when
about one’s own life, which is then reevaluated we exist, act and know in accordance with the
with humility. Then we are able to assume and most pleasurable feeling, that of being pleasing
embrace our psychic and moral state with its li- to God.
mitations and all kinds of privation. When we
face our need for forgiveness as actual guilt, the
real transformation is possible. At this point

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