By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON, Jr.
Every so often we all need to be reminded of important fundamental aspects of our faith. It is easy for us to get distracted by the daily circumstances of life, and these important fundamentals of faith seem to take a backseat in our lives. One example is the Ten Commandments. How frequently do we remind ourselves of these laws of God? God gave them to us, so that we might remain focused on the path that leads heavenward. The reality of the times in which we live, have shown us that many disregard these fundamental Commandments.
Recently, the Mass readings for Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time presented us with the Exodus account of the Ten Commandments. God saw the plight that His people were enduring, and so, God gave the Ten Commandments to focus the Israelite people on a path that would lead to the promised land. Today we need to be refocused on the same path to the promised land of Heaven. Essentially, giving the “tablets” to the Israelites, was the roadmap, or the GPS, needed to live even today’s journey of life. With this in mind, I thought it might be a good opportunity to refresh our minds, and souls, on the importance of the Commandments.
The First Commandment is: I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any strange gods before Me. This Commandment forbids idolatry, the worship of false gods and goddesses, and it includes polytheism, the belief in many gods, insisting instead on monotheism, the belief in one God. This Commandment forbids making golden calves, building temples to Isis, and worshipping statues of Caesar, for example.
The Second Commandment is: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. The faithful are required to honor the name of God. It makes sense that if you’re to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you’re naturally to respect the name of God with equal passion and vigor.
The Third Commandment is: Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. The Jewish celebration of Sabbath (Shabbat) begins at sundown on Friday evening and lasts until sundown on Saturday. Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians go to church on Sunday, treating it as the Lord’s Day instead of Saturday to honor the day Christ rose from the dead.
The Fourth Commandment is: Honor thy father and mother. This Commandment obliges the faithful to show respect for their parents — as children and adults. Children must obey their parents, and adults must respect and see to the care of their parents, when they become old and infirm.
The Fifth Commandment is: Thou shalt not kill. The better translation from the Hebrew would be “Thou shalt not murder” — a subtle distinction, but an important one to the Church. Killing an innocent person is considered murder. Killing an unjust aggressor to preserve your own life, or that of another, is still killing, but it isn’t considered murder or immoral. The same is true of capital punishment or the death penalty.
The Author Of All Truth
The Sixth Commandment is: Thou shalt not commit adultery. The Sixth and Ninth Commandments honor human sexuality. This Commandment forbids the actual, physical act of having immoral sexual activity, specifically adultery, which is sex with someone else’s spouse or a spouse cheating on their partner. This Commandment also includes fornication, which is sex between unmarried people, prostitution, pornography, homosexual activity, masturbation, group sex, rape, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia. Today’s society is rampant with a plethora of these sins.
The Seventh Commandment is: “Thou shalt not steal.” The Seventh and Tenth Commandments focus on respecting and honoring the possessions of others. This Commandment forbids the act of taking someone else’s property. The Catholic Church believes that this Commandment also denounces cheating people of their money or property, depriving workers of their just wage, or not giving employers a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion, and vandalism are all considered extensions of violations of the Seventh Commandment.
The Eighth Commandment is: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
The Eighth Commandment condemns lying. Because God is regarded as the author of all truth, the Church believes that humans are obligated to honor the truth. The most obvious way to fulfill this Commandment is not to lie — intentionally deceive another by speaking a falsehood. So, a good Catholic is who you want to buy a used car from. Another way in which we fail in living this Commandment is by speeding. When we speed we fail to obey the laws of the road and the posted speed which falls under this Commandment.
The Ninth Commandment is: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. The Ninth Commandment forbids the intentional desire and longing for immoral sexuality. To sin in the heart, Jesus says, is to lust after a woman or a man in your heart with the desire and will to have immoral sex with them. Just as human life is a gift from God and needs to be respected, defended, and protected, so, too, is human sexuality. Holy Mother Church regards human sexuality as a divine gift, so it’s considered sacred in the proper context of the Sacrament of Marriage. Remember, for us as Catholics, “true marriage” is the union of a man to a woman.
Anything to the contrary does not constitute marriage.
The Tenth Commandment is: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods. The Tenth Commandment forbids the wanting or taking of someone else’s property. Along with the Seventh Commandment, this Commandment condemns theft and the feelings of envy, greed, and jealousy in reaction to what other people have.
Put God First
So as the last few weeks of summer draw to an end, I think it may be wise for us to spend some time reflecting on the Ten Commandments. We can do this by spending a few minutes each day examining our consciences and the actions of our day. We could begin by asking ourselves if we loved God with our whole heart, mind, and soul. The first Three Commandments are specifically designed to assist us in doing this. During our day did we put God first in all we did, revere His name as holy and keep Sunday Holy? Remember, the first three Commandments are the foundation of all the others. If we struggle with these, it is impossible to expect ourselves to perfect the other seven.
After having examined the first Three Commandments devoted to God alone, now we are asked to reflect on how we interacted with our spouse, parents, children, co-workers, and even those with whom we have difficulty.
The Fourth Commandment is especially difficult in today’s world. Not only do children disrespect their parents, but even society, the government, and teachers’ unions disrespect the authority parents have over their children. This is most evident in the way that transgender issues are being forced in our schools and the ability to allow these horrendous surgeries without parental authority. And as mentioned above, the other difficulty found in living the seven Commandments dedicated to love of our neighbor, is found in the Sixth Commandment regarding adultery, and all the other forms of sexual sin.
It would seem to an outsider that our ability to follow these Commandments is almost impossible. That, however, is not the case at all. Each of us has been given the ability to, not only follow the Commandments, but excel, in following them. By doing so, we become more apt in our ability to remain on the straight path that leads to Heaven.
May we use the next few days to reflect on the Ten Commandments and their important significance in our lives.
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