Intrinsic Evil

The reason we follow certain moral teachings is not because this is what the Church says, but rather we follow them and the Church teaches them because they are true.

Morality is universal – what is good for one person to do is good for all people, and what is bad for one person to do is bad for all people. It does not matter who the person is or what the situation is.

Many people have a faulty and populist understanding of what good and evil are. Good is defined as “that which is pleasant” or “that which saves lives”. However, the correct definition of good is “acting in accord with the nature of a thing” or “that which perfects or completes a thing’s being”.

For a human to be morally good is to act in accord with the nature of humanity. We are made in the image and likeness of God and should therefore act as He would have us act. We are made to love and serve God, and to be morally good is to act in accordance with that. Evil is defined as the absence or lacking of a good – thus, a moral evil is to act against the wishes of God.

Intrinsic evil refers to actions that are morally evil in such a way that is essentially opposed to the will of God or proper human fulfillment. The key consideration here is that intrinsically evil actions are judged to be so solely by their object, independently of the intention that inspires them or the circumstances that surround them. “Intrinsic” has nothing to do with how heinous the act is although all heinous acts are intrinsically evil, but rather that the act is wrong no matter what its circumstances.

Good in Every Evil

Today let us remember the victims of calamities, accidents, deaths through abortions and euthanasia. Let us remember the oppressed by those who have power and wealth, especially those who don’t have the resources and the strength to fight and protect their selves. And every time we look around and see the chaos of this world, we ask – where is God in all these? But for the one who have faith sees that every time God allows evil to happen or even prosper, He is always able to bring out something good out of it - a goodness that surpasses that very same evil.

When we come to think about the fate of the victims of these circumstances in the standards of the world, let us remember that while they may have suffered evil in this world - there is a God that loves them and they have been rewarded an eternal bliss which God has prepared for them. And so when He said, “the last will be first and the first will be last”(Mt. 20:16) we will come to fully understand what this really means when in our turn enter the eternal bliss and meet the poor and the oppressed of our world and see how more blessed are they than us.

Abba Father, help us to remember that you loved us first and in this same love we put our trust and faith in you. May our will conform to yours, may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We pray this in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.