Christian morality is faith lived. It is based on God’s limitless love and the dignity of every human being. The focus of Christian morality is not rules but relationships. The Beatitudes and commandments help our relationship with God grow and be expressed in how we treat others.

Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby we recognize the moral quality of a concrete act that we are going to perform, are performing, or have already performed. We are obliged to follow faithfully what we know to be just and right.

Virtue is "a habitual and firm disposition to do good," according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The key word is habitual. Virtues are so much a part of us that we are able to practice them naturally. We can get into the habit of doing good by being attentive to the many opportunities we have each day to respond to the needs of others, as Christians are called to do.

The theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity are the foundation of Christian moral activity. They animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all moral virtues and are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to enable them to act as children of God.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus proclaims that the forgiveness of sin, or mercy, is the priority in his mission to the world. The message that God is always ready to forgive even the worst of sins is present in many New Testament stories. The Church has developed a tradition of forgiveness and reconciliation through the sacraments, beginning with Baptism. The theology of sin, forgiveness, and reconciliation is best expressed in the sacrament of Reconciliation.

The Beatitudes speak to the attitudes and actions that are to be characteristic of our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. They challenge us to live fully; they speak to authentic happiness. Happiness is not found in things, possessions, nor even in successes, but rather in developing right relationships with family, friends, and those with whom we work and associate.

The commandments challenge us to deepen our relationship with God and to see the world around us from God’s loving and caring viewpoint. Observing God’s commandments is the first step to becoming followers of Christ, and in doing so we are thus being called to greater holiness. Each of us must love God with heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves.

When asked which commandment is the greatest, Jesus replies, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." [Matthew 22:36] The law of love Jesus preaches to his disciples provides a positive motivation for morally good behavior. As such, it goes beyond the negative motivation of fear expressed in the law of the Ten Commandments and the legislation of the priests and scribes.

The corporal and spiritual works of mercy describe for us concrete actions that are characteristic of those who are attentive to the presence of God in their lives. They direct us in our ministry to those around us, especially to the poor and less fortunate.

God calls every member of the Christian community to a particular role in the service of the Church. Although our vocation may be to serve as a priest, religious or lay person, teacher, missioner, or liturgical minister, we all derive our mission from our baptism into the Church. Our vocation is strengthened by the Holy Spirit in Confirmation and encouraged by our participation in the Eucharist. Most Catholics are called to serve in their parishes and neighborhoods and to become models of service for other parishioners, young and old alike. This vocation lived out in the parish, the workplace, and the community brings about the growth of the Church and has the effect of inspiring others to respond to their own callings as Christians. Through prayer and our experience in the Christian community, we will be able to discern God’s call to us and commit ourselves to our particular vocation in the Church.

Religious life is rooted in a personal call to follow Christ in personal service to the people of God. The public witness of women and men religious is expressed in vowed lives of service, community, and commitment as a prophetic and sacramental presence in the world. Its specific charism, or gift, for the building up of the Church identifies every religious community. Each religious community chooses to concentrate its efforts on particular ministries, such as teaching, working with the sick or the poor, preaching, prayer and contemplation, and parish work.

Priests, along with bishops and deacons, receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, which enables them to lead the community in the celebration of the sacraments. Whether they are secular priests (priests who are ordained for a diocese or religious society and do not take religious vows) or belong to one of the religious orders, all priests experience at least four years of seminary training, and most serve a kind of internship as deacons before ordination. There are priests involved in every ministry of the Church.

Find out about religious vocations. Read pages 248-252, Parish Edition; pages 373-374, School Edition in your child’s book. See paragraphs 871-945 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

By reason of our baptism, every Catholic has a vocation to actively build the Church, the Body of Christ. The increasing number of Catholic men and women, who do not belong to religious communities or are not ordained, have served as full-time professionals in every aspect of Church life. Canon lawyers, pastoral administrators, school principals and teachers, directors of religious education, directors of liturgical music, and diocesan and national administrators are as likely today to be lay people as clergy or religious. Highly trained and motivated, these ministers devote their talents to a Catholic community that is ever growing in the number and kind of opportunities for service.