Q. I can remember learning six Precepts of the Church when I was young. But the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that there are only five. What happened to the sixth precept? — P.R., via e-mail.
A. You are correct that in the Baltimore Catechism, six Precepts were listed. They were: (1) To assist at Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation. (2) To fast and abstain on the days appointed. (3) To confess our sins at least once a year. (4) To receive Holy Communion during the Easter time. (5) To contribute to the support of the Church. (6) To observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.
When the Catechism of the Catholic Church came out in English in 1994, here is how it listed the Precepts (cf. nn. 2042-2043):
“The first precept (‘You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor’) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.
“The second precept (‘You shall confess your sins at least once a year’) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.
“The third precept (‘You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season’) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.
“The fourth precept (‘You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church’) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.
“The fifth precept (‘You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church’) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.”
So the precept about observing the marriage laws of the Church is missing. Why? Perhaps because the Catechism devotes a whole section (nn. 1601-1666) to the Sacrament of Matrimony, spelling out in great detail its nature and purposes. For example, n. 1660 says that “the marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children.” And n. 1664 says that “unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage.”
Q. Some years ago, you published in your column an exercise to see how well we know the books of the Bible by disguising their names in a paragraph. Can you repeat that exercise? — E.M., California.
A. Actually, we did this twice. Here is the first paragraph, which contains the names of 16 books of the Bible (Acts, Amos, Esther, Hebrews, James, Job, Judges, Kings, Lamentations, Luke, Mark, Numbers, Peter, Revelation, Ruth, and Titus), but not in alphabetical order. See if you can find them:
I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu! Kept people looking so hard for facts, and for others it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized, but the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help find them. I will quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of them, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says that she brews a cup of tea so she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen books of the Bible in this paragraph.
Here is the second paragraph, which contains the names of 18 books of the Bible (Chronicles, Daniel, Exodus, Hosea, Joel, John, Jonah, Jude, Judith, Matthew, Philemon, Proverbs, Psalms, Romans, Sirach, Timothy, Tobit, and Wisdom), but not in alphabetical order. See if you can find them:
When trying to bite into the wisdom of the Bible, Judi thought she could get a CD Rom answer program to help her. But her friend Jud explained that any exodus through the pages of Scripture required some expert help, including a chronic lesson in Bible history. He suggested that she get in touch with two experts from England — Matt Hewing and Sir Acheson. Another friend, Joe, loves to study the Bible when he’s working at the fire department after putting the hose away. Joe’s group includes his colleagues, Daniel and Timothy, who have been known to read the Bible while in the john. It’s not that they have anything against nouns, but they seem to be pro verbs when reading from Scripture. Anyway, study this paragraph well for there really are eighteen books of the Bible contained therein. If you don’t believe it, you can check with two other experts, Phil E. Montgomery and Jon A. Hennessey. P.S., almsgiving is a very important way to follow the biblical injunction to help the poor.
Q. How would the Catholic Church rule if one party to a marriage, against the wishes of the other party, does something physical to their body to keep them from having more children? Can the other party still have marital relations? If they don’t, it seems to me that they are going against their marriage vows, and the other party might look somewhere else. Seems like a no-win situation. — W.B., Kentucky.
A. We assume that you are talking about one party getting sterilized, which is a grave sin (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2399) in that it involves mutilation of a healthy bodily organ and use of an unnatural form of birth control. Assuming that the guilty party does not regret his or her sinful action, can the innocent party engage in marital relations with the other person, knowing that refusal to do so might jeopardize and possibly even end the marriage?
We know that husbands and wives are to make a free, total, sincere, and fruitful gift to each other. For one or both of them to say, “I give you all of myself, except my fertility,” is a lie and a betrayal of the self-giving love that the Creator intended in the beginning when He invented marriage. So what should the innocent party do? First of all, he or she must talk openly and sincerely about what marriage really means and how sterilization is a falsification of marriage. Second, he or she must pray that the offending partner will come to understand why sterilization is wrong. God can change hearts.
One of the goals of marriage is for husbands and wives to lead each other to Heaven; that can’t happen if they are engaging in immoral practices.
Third, the innocent party has to make clear that he or she cannot in good conscience cooperate in objectively sinful behavior, and try to persuade the other party at least to restrict intercourse to those times when the wife is infertile, much as any normal couple would do if they had a sufficient reason to avoid pregnancy. Granted, this periodic abstinence could lead to further problems, but it could also change the marriage for the better. Couples marry for better or worse, and this is the “worse” part of the covenant, but if they truly love each other, with God’s help anything is possible.
There are no easy answers to this type of question, so you ought to consult with a priest who is faithful to the teachings of the Church on sex and marriage.
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