Thursday, March 5, 2009

Conscience

Man is distinguished from the rest of creation by his intelligence and his freedom. He matures in his manhood by growing in wisdom and by gaining a more prudent and effective command of his own moral activity. Character and maturity are therefore measured by the clarity and discretion of our moral conscience. Conscience is the summary of the whole man, although a man is much more than an animated conscience. Conscience is the indication of hidden things, of imperceptible acts and tendencies that are much more important than itself. It is the mirror of man’s depths. The reality of a person is a deep and hidden thing, buried not only in the invisible recesses of man’s own metaphysical secrecy but in the secrecy of God Himself.

Conscience is the face of the soul. Its changing expressions manifest more precisely the moral action of the soul than the changes of man’s countenance manifest the emotions within him. Even the outward face of man is only a reflection of his conscience. True, only a very little of what is in a man’s soul ever shines out in his face: but the little that is there is enough to speak eloquently of the conscience within.
---Thomas Merton "No Man Is An Island"
Shawie

7 Grateful Heart's Words:

Jackie said...

How very beautiful and so true Shawie!! I am so glad I found your blog!!

Jackie

Unknown said...

I really enjoy your blog and try to stop by every day.

I have given you the Lemonade Award. Please stop by my blog to pick it up!!!

Keep up the great work!!!

JT Locke
The Frugal Housewife
www.thefrugalhousewife.com

Anonymous said...

i agree sha.

nice entry.:)

Rick said...

How true...
Really nice blog you have here too.

Anonymous said...

Hi Shawie,
Thanks for sharing these beautiful thoughts! I visit here and always feel uplifted!

I've given you the Life is Grand award. Please visit my blog: Life Over the Edge at http://livingwithchronicillness.today.com to pick it up. I wrote a short review of your blog, along with a link back.

Thanks for sharing here!

Have a great weekend,
Sher :0)

Paul Eilers said...

I enjoyed this post. Conscience is indeed, what separates us from every other form of life.

Paul

Eat Well. Live Well.
PurpleGreenPops.com

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