Could your conscience actually be the Holy Ghost?

Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.

Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil. It bears witness to the authority of truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.

Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law.

It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection.

The dignity of the human person implies and requires uprightness of moral conscience. Conscience includes the perception of the principles of morality (synderesis); their application in the given circumstances by practical discernment of reasons and goods; and finally judgment about concrete acts yet to be performed or already performed. The truth about the moral good, stated in the law of reason, is recognized practically and concretely by the prudent judgment of conscience. We call that man prudent who chooses in conformity with this judgment.

Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed. If man commits evil, the just judgment of conscience can remain within him as the witness to the universal truth of the good, at the same time as the evil of his particular choice. The verdict of the judgment of conscience remains a pledge of hope and mercy. In attesting to the fault committed, it calls to mind the forgiveness that must be asked, the good that must still be practiced, and the virtue that must be constantly cultivated with the grace of God.

Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.

The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. From the earliest years, it awakens the child to the knowledge and practice of the interior law recognized by conscience. Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear, selfishness and pride, resentment arising from guilt, and feelings of complacency, born of human weakness and faults. The education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart.

In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord's Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.

I don't think that conscience is the holy ghost. But what I feel is that our conscience is the part of us which is most sensitive to the holy ghost, thats the part of us which always seeks to do What god wants, the righteous part. It can be noticed that as and when we sin continously the conscience becomes hardened and it starts accussing lesser and lesser till it stops. Now if it were the holy spirit, it would not have stopped, because he is always against doing wrong. And besides when we sin countinously we harden our hearts and close the doors of our heart/consience to the holy spirit, so he fails to touch them again. And the conscience is more active and seeks to do God's will more in the case of a believer. That is why you feel your conscience pricking when you are about to do a wrong thing in the eyes of the Lord.

I think we are all given a conscience, even thieves have respect among thieves. Everyone has some kind of moral standard theyve developed either from what they accept as right and wrong or what their religion or God accepts.

I do not think our conscience is the Holy Ghost. But I do think that He uses our conscience and makes it in His likeness when we submit our will to His. If our conscience was the Spirit, there would not be so much sin. All men have some kind of conscience, they condition it and tell it whats okay to do and what not to do.

Dont you ever wonder why some people have not guilt for their sin? Its because theyve trained themselves to accept more and more. You cant do that with the Spirit. But I do believe the Spirit operates very much like and through our consciences.

God bless you search for wisdom. May you find what you are looking for.

Sisters in Christ.

Your conscience is not the Holy Ghost. We have a conscience that is tainted by sin. Yes, the Holy Ghost does work through your conscience though. Yes, I do believe the Spirit will let us know when we are starting to wander.

The main problem with our conscience and the Spirit being one is that my conscience will get dull to sin the more and more I wander from the Bible or attending church.

So, If I am in my word, my conscience will quickly tell me when I'm wrong. If I have not been keeping up with my "Christian disciplines" then I can wander and get into sin...and unfortunately, be Okay with it.

As a Christian, I've wandered very far...I knew I was wrong. My conscience told me to stop...but after repeated sin...your conscience changes from a loud scream to a very, very quiet whisper.

Your conscience IS the Holy Ghost...

If you understand what the true nature of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the comforter, sent to be Christ's presence, once he had ascended to be with the Father. The Holy Spirit is not ncessarily our conscience, per se, but is often the pricking of it, when we most need it (as well as that kick in the pants too...)

Your thoughts come from your heart (spiritual center) not your mind... but... your spirit makes your thoughts known to you in your mind. The Spirit of Jesus also speaks from your heart.

You maybe confusing your own conscience with the Spirit. This is not something that some else can really answer for you.

Understand that… the Spirit bears witness with your conscience. Pray to God that you want to know his whole Person better, that you desire his guidance and counsel.

The human being is very complex. Because you are soul, body, and spirit. No one can know your own thoughts but your spirit within you. You must do some soul-seeking yourself... praying too... in order to find out.

There is usually a battle waged in the mind… because your have own thoughts… evil spirits tempt and put things in your mind for you to think about… and the Spirit desires to guide and counsel you… for he desires what is contrary to the sinful nature. It can get extremely confusing. Thus, you have to seek deeply within… praying… and seeking guidance from God. May God help you.

I believe your conscience is actually your subconscious self, perhaps part of your higher self. That little voice that we don't usually listen to that knows when to do or not to do something.

I don't believe that it has anything to do with a god or anything holy. If we interpret it as having anything to do with morals, scruples or ethics that is only because that is what we have learned, we have been taught that it is bad to do certain things and it is good to do certain things and that will, of course, color our interpretation of that little voice.

that woud depend on if you are saved or not. If you are then certainly its God I mean you did ask for the Holy Spirit to live within you right. Just remeber God convicts Satan condems. There is a big dif.

Oh most definately. If it leads you to God, it is always the Holy Spirit. And even if it isn't the Holy Spirit talking directly, I am positive that the Lord is just "quickening" your spirit.

WOW! I totally agree.

This is at the base of my personal belief system... (www.xanga.com/lousms - look back a few pages to see where I talk about this some more.)

I think it's like the reason God's not hanging around on Earth... he doesn't need to. I think God left us everything we need in our conscience. We don't need to DEPEND on him for EVERYTHING. Sure, he'll guide us, but we have to take care of OURSELVES!