And conscience struggles for a long time with a deceived mind, strengthened by a sin-loving will.

Conscience is a natural law [875].

Conscience guided man before the Written Law. Fallen mankind gradually adopted a wrong way of thinking about God, about good and evil: a falsely named reason communicated its wrongness of conscience. The written Law became a necessity for guidance to the true knowledge of God and to God-pleasing activity.

The teaching of Christ, sealed by Holy Baptism, heals the conscience from the deceit with which sin has infected it [876]. The correct action of conscience returned to us is supported and exalted by following the teaching of Christ.

A sound state and the correct action of conscience are possible only in the bosom of the Orthodox Church, because any wrong thought that is accepted has an impact on the conscience: it deviates it from the right action.

They darken, dull, drown out, lull the conscience to sleep — voluntary sins.

Any sin that is not cleansed by repentance leaves a harmful impression on the conscience.

A constant and voluntary sinful life kills it, as it were.

It is impossible to mortify one's conscience. She will accompany a person to the Last Judgment of Christ: there she will denounce her disobedient.

According to the explanation of the Holy Fathers, the rival of man mentioned in the Gospel is conscience [877].

Exactly: she is a rival! because he resists every unlawful undertaking of ours.

Keep peace with this rival on your way to heaven, during your earthly life, so that he does not become your libeler while your eternal fate is being decided.

The Scripture says: "A faithful witness shall deliver the soul from the wicked" [878]. A faithful witness is an immaculate conscience: it will deliver the soul that hearkens to its counsel from sins until death and from eternal torment after death.