Monthly Archives: December 2016

Pope Francis is correct: contemporary culture has a difficulty with ethics. I’m less convinced it’s a generational thing. The human inclination has always been to avoid ethics. Leaders in previous generations had their blind spots, too. We’ve always had poor … Continue reading →

In developing a young person for an adult life, small steps: 271. Moral education entails asking of a child or a young person only those things that do not involve a disproportionate sacrifice, and demanding only a degree of effort … Continue reading →

Remember that this word shares a root with “disciple.” 270. It is important that discipline not lead to discouragement, but be instead a stimulus to further progress. How can discipline be best interiorized? How do we ensure that discipline is … Continue reading →

Correction seems to work better when the adult’s approach with a young person is balanced: that potential is recognized and encouraged. 269. Correction is also an incentive whenever children’s efforts are appreciated and acknowledged, and they sense their parents’ constant, … Continue reading →

Let’s look at the value of correction as an incentive, which will take us from this section through #270. Some advice when children stray: 268. It is also essential to help children and adolescents to realize that misbehavior has consequences. … Continue reading →

We conclude these five paragraphs on moral formation with a brief reflection on freedom: 267. Freedom is something magnificent, yet it can also be dissipated and lost. Moral education has to do with cultivating freedom through ideas, incentives, practical applications, … Continue reading →

I can see how this paragraph might be bothersome to some of the Holy Father’s critics, and to those who have reached some sort of limit where their expression of good manners and courtesy are concerned. 266. Good habits need … Continue reading →

This paragraph strikes me as deeply Ignatian: 265. Doing what is right means more than “judging what seems best” or knowing clearly what needs to be done, as important as this is. Often we prove inconsistent in our own convictions, … Continue reading →

This section suggests a way somewhat deeper than imparting information about good and bad. How can parents use inductive reasoning when our culture, even the Church at times, is so steeped in deduction? Pope Francis seems to be suggesting that the personal … Continue reading →

Paragraphs 263 through 267 address the ethical formation of children. We might look to other adults to teach our children math, science, foreign languages, sports, music, and dance. But beyond the education of a mind is the formation of a … Continue reading →