THE TEN CMMANDMENTS

1
THE TEN CMMANDMENTS

• THE EIGHT
• BEATITUDES

2

• Are these ancient codes of moral conduct still
  relevant guides for life in the modern world?
• How do the Ten Commandments guide us in forming
  and fulfilling the dictates of conscience?

3
John 14 15

• If you love me keep my commandments

4
The Ten Commandments

• Who were they given to?
• Moses / Israelites
• Where were they given to him?
• Mount Sinai
• When were they Given?
• At the time of exodus from Egypt

5
The First Commandment

• I. I am the Lord your God, you shall not have
  strange gods before me.

6
Why Does God Give This Command?

• What was the culture of this period?
• Polytheistic
• Henotheistic
• Monotheistic
• The precept of the first commandment demands the
  proper monotheism

7

• Without an awareness of God, we are confined to
  an existence that lacks meaning
• Gods intention is to save people from their sin.
  We cannot remain passive before his Holy Spirit,
  but must respond appropriately. The response must
  be to believe in him, to trust in his aid, and to
  love him. When this threefold intention is
  maintained before God, we are exercising the
  three theological virtues
• Faith, Hope, Charity

8
Faith

• The theological virtue by which we believe in God
  and believe all that he has said and revealed to
  us
• Faith widens the capacity of human knowledge. It
  enables the recipient to accept all the truths
  revealed by God even though they cannot be proven
• Believing is a free human act, consciously done
  in accordance with human dignity

9
Mt 10 32-33

• 32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will
  also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.
  33But whoever disowns me before men, I will deny
  him before my Father in heaven.
• What is Jesus telling us in this statement?

10
How Do We Deny the First Commandment By Lack Of
Faith?

• Voluntary doubt refuse to hold what God has
  revealed as true
• Involuntary doubt hesitant in belief connected
  with the faith and fails to attempt to dispel
  them
• Atheism refusal to accept Gods existence
• Apostasy Total repudiation of the Christian faith

11
Hope

• Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire
  the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our
  happiness, placing our trust in Christs promises
  and relying not on our own strength, but on the
  help and grace of the Holy Spirit
• It keeps us from discouragement sustains us
  during times of abandonment

12

• The first commandment infers that the Christian
  should have trust in God and foster hope in
  eternal life. That hope also includes the hope of
  salvation for all.
• A sin against this commandment can occur either
  by defect or excess

13
Charity

• Charity is the theological virtue by which we
  love God above all things for his own sake, and
  our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God
• We ought to love God because he is our Creator,
  our Father, and our Savior
• Our love for God should reflect Gods love for us

14
How Do We Sin Against Gods Love?

• Indifference
• Refusing to reflect on the prior goodness and
  power of divine charity
• Ingratitude
• Refusal to acknowledge or return Gods love
• Lukewarm
• Failure/hesitation to respond to divine love
  also refuse to obey the prompting of charity

15

• Acedia
• To refuse the joy God gives. It is a form of
  depression that leads to discouragement
• Hatred of God
• Opposes the love of God it denies his
  goodness. It is a result of pride

16

• Because our bodies, as well as our souls, were
  created for eternal glory, this commandment asks
  that we care for both

17

• It is a great insult when a person turns from God
  to creatures and pleasures of limited value

18
Do I Have False Gods in My Life?

• Power, Money
• Success
• T.V., Radio
• Food, Drugs, Alcohol
• Sex, Sleep, Privacy
• Popularity, Winning
• Appearance, Music, etc.

19
The Second Commandment

• II. You shall not take the name of the Lord
  your God in vein.

20
Whats In A Name?

• That which we call a rose by any other name
  would smell as sweet.
• - Shakespeare
• These words are only half true. A name gathers
  many emotional overtones by constant use. It
  ceases to be a group of letters taken from the
  alphabet a name comes to represent the person of
  thing which bears the name.

21

• Emotions are aroused in us by the use of words
• A young man in love, only has to hear his
  sweethearts name mentioned to make his pulse
  rate rise
• A man who has suffered great injury at the hands
  of a person named George will have great distaste
  for the name George
• Men have killed and been killed in defense of
  their good name

22

• Families have grieved because some member of the
  family brought disgrace on the family name
• In short, a name stands for the one who bears the
  name and our attitude towards the name reflects
  our attitude toward the person whose name it is

23

• Why does Moses ask God for his name?
• Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the
  Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your
  fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me,
  'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?
  Exodus 313
• A persons name was part of their
  personality/character
• To know someone's name inferred a relationship
  with that person

24

• This serves to recall to mind why it is a sin to
  misuse Gods name to use it carelessly or
  irreverently.
• If we love God, we love his name
• Indeed, our love for Gods name extends to those
  of his mother, and his friends and saints, and to
  all things which belong to God.
• God gave us the second commandment so we may
  never forget this aspect of our love for him

25
Blasphemy

• Blasphemy Speaking contemptuously of God or his
  perfections
• The Jews try to stone Jesus , not for" no good
  works but for blasphemy (Jn 10 33)
• Blasphemy extends to make use of Gods name to
  cover up criminal practices, to reduce people to
  servitude, to torture persons or put them to
  death

26
Do I Use Profanity?

• Do I make a habit of using profanity?
• Do I swear oaths?
• Do I swear in front of children or parents?
• Do I swear in public places that may offend
  strangers?
• Do I swear to gain acceptance?
• Do I simply not have command of the English
  language?
• Stories on pp 200-01 L-i-C book

27
The Third Commandment

• III. Remember to keep holy the Lords Day
  (Sabbath).

28

• When is the Jewish Sabbath?
• Friday sunset to Saturday sunset
• Why do they not worship on Sunday?
• It is the first day of the weekGod rested on
  the seventh day
• Why do Christians use Sunday as their day of
  worship?
• Christ rose on Sunday

29

• By a tradition handed down from the apostles,
  which took its origin from the very day of
  Christs resurrection, the Church celebrates the
  paschal mystery every seventh day. On this day
  Christs faithful are bound to come together into
  one place. They listen to the word of God and
  take part in the Eucharist, calling to mind the
  passion, resurrection, and glory of the Lord
  Jesus.

30
Why Go To Church?

• One cannot avoid this moral duty and go on
  unaffected. When one stops participating in
  Sunday service
• He loses the gifts of the Holy Spirit
• His conscience soon becomes deadened
• This leads to a deterioration in attitudes and
  conduct

31

• Do I go to mass (church) on Sundays and holy days
  / to Temple on the Sabbath?
• Am I involved in my Church / Temple/ Mosque
  community?
• Do I take time out to devote strictly to God with
  the community in which I live?

32

• The first three commandments deal with our
  relationship to God. Commandments number 4-10
  deal with our relationship to our fellow man

33
The Fourth Commandment

• IV. Honor your Father and Mother.

34

• God intended that life begin in a family. The
  fourth commandment regulates the moral link in
  family life
• This commandment includes the relationship
  between husband and wife, parents and children,
  and children and their siblings.
• It also includes duties to grandparents, and
  other relatives, as well as other relationships

35
Love The Foundation Of The Family

• Love is demanding. Love is the firm foundation of
  the family, a foundation able to endure all
  things
• Good moral conduct between parents and children
  (and vice versa) and among brothers and sisters
  is absolutely required
• Christian morality is a morality of charity
  (love). This love begins and grows in the family
  life

36

• It is reflected in the most intimate bonds of
  matrimony
• The love between a husband and wife gives origin
  to children, and also joins brothers and sisters
  together
• The family should live in such a way that its
  members care and take responsibility for the
  young, old, sick, handicapped, and poor

37
Ephesians 6 1-3

• Children, obey your parents in the Lord for it
  is right. Honor your father and mother (this is
  the first commandment with a promise), that it
  may be well with you and that you may live long
  on the earth

38
The Families Influence On Society

• The success of all societies is based on the
  success of the family.
• As each organ of the body is crucial to the
  functioning of the whole body, so does the health
  of particular families contribute to the
  functioning of the body of society.
• By promoting the well being of the family, we are
  promoting the well being of the society.

39

• Do I give love and honor to my parents?
• Am I disrespectful?
• Do I obey, help out?
• Do I shame them by my actions?
• Am I a reflection of what they want me to be?

40
The Fifth Commandment

• V. You shall not kill.

41

• Life here is a preparation for life in the
  hereafter
• As human beings we do not have absolute dominion
  over our lives, but rather a duty of guarding our
  lives and the lives of those around us
• Every human life, from the moment of conception
  until death, is sacred

42
God, The Master Of Our Life

• Christianity, in regarding the complete
  fulfillment of human life, rejects
• AUTONOMY
• (Dependence on ones self)
• And HETERONOMY
• (Dependence on someone else)
• And accepts THEONOMY
• (Dependence on God)

43

• The human person can find the fullness of his
  being only in union with the Trinity the Father,
  Son, and Holy Spirit

44
Matthew 5 21-24

• You have heard it said to the men of old, You
  shall not kill and whoever kills shall be liable
  to judgment. But I say to you, everyone who is
  angry with his brother shall be liable to
  judgment whoever insults his brother shall be
  liable to the council.

45

• Not only are we required to respect the life of
  another, but we also must value the dignity of
  every person in such a way that any offense that
  violates a persons dignity is condemned
• The commandment of charity given to us by Jesus
  (love one another as I have loved you enriches
  the formulation of the fifth commandment of the
  Mosaic law

46
Conservation of Life

• Duty to conserve ones own life
• Only God is the absolute owner of human life.
  We are obliged to take care of life as a good
  steward whose life is on loan from God. Self
  defense is morally acceptable, however, suicide
  is not.

47

• Respect for the life of others
• If we are not the owners of our own life, we
  cannot dispose of the life of others. Kidnapping,
  torture, and terrorism fall under this category
• Abortion and rights of the unborn
  All induced abortions are gravely sinful

48

• Have I hurt others physically or mentally?
• Suicide
• Abortion
• Mutilation
• Euthanasia
• Name calling
• Abusing my body with alcohol, drugs, or food
• sloth.

49
The Sixth Commandment

• VI. You shall not commit adultery.

50

• Marriage is a fundamental and natural part of
  human life
• Ones gender describes not only ones body, but
  also ones very identity
• Sexuality effects us at the most elementary level
  of personhood.
• God created man and woman with a strong
  attraction to each other to insure the
  continuation of the race.

51
The 2 Creation Stories Gn 1 26-28 2
18-25

• Man and woman are equal in dignity. Both are
  created in Gods image
• Man and woman form a new social unit. Man leaves
  father and mother and become a new family
• The union is so intimate the two become one. They
  form one flesh
• Marriage has a procreative end. God directed his
  blessing precisely to this end

52
Purposes of Marriage

• Good of the spouses
• The sexual union fosters complete self-giving
  and deepens the love for one another. It is both
  a sign and a cause of the perfect union with one
  another which the Holy Spirit calls them

53

• Procreation
• Conjugal love is a participation in the great
  mystery that results in procreation of new life.
• The couple is cooperating with God in the
  creation of their children. This is fundamentally
  different from simple reproduction

54

• Joy
• The marital act, when done as God wills, gives
  glory to God, and is needed to achieve the
  perfect union between the souses

55
Properties of Marriage

• Matrimony is characterized by two essential
  properties
• 1. EXCLUSIVITY
• Since marriage involves a tota self giving from
  each spouse, it follows that this gift cannot be
  shared with a third party. One cannot give ones
  self totally to more than one person in the same
  way

56

• 2. INDISSOLUBILITY
• The stability of marriage is permanent. The unit
  created through the matrimonial bond cannot be
  divided.
• The totality of giving ones self to their spouse
  is not complete if it is not life long

57

• In what ways do we disregard the sixth
  commandment?
• Bestiality
• Onanism
• Fornication
• Obscene stories or gestures
• Pornography
• Masturbation
• Oral sex

58
The Seventh Commandment

• VII. You shall not steal.

59
Respect For Private Property

• Theft is taking another's goods against his
  reasonable wishes
• Doing unjust damage to property
• Spray-paint property
• Cheating
• Unfair pricing
• Charge excessive interest

60

• Copying
• Not repaying or retuning something borrowed
• Vandalism
• Wasting food and resources
• Stealing someones good name or reputation.

61
The Eighth Commandment

• VIII. You shall not bear false witness.

62

• Truthfulness is the virtue which consist in
  showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in
  words, and regarding against duplicity,
  dissimulation, and hypocrisy
• Social life would be impossible if truth is not
  respected as the foundation of social
  communication

63
LIES

• Lying is an evil in itself. it is evil by its
  very nature
• When a person lies, he betrays himself in thought
  and word.
• Therefore, a lie connotes a weakness in ones
  personality if he lies because he lacks the
  fortitude to tell the truth and the
  responsibility to assume the consequences of
  professing the truth, whatever the cost

64

• When a person lies to a neighbor, he induces
  him into error and sows doubt and suspicion in
  social relations
• A lie affects the ability to know, which is a
  condition of every judgment and decision
• Lying undermines the trust among men and tears
  apart the fabric of social relationships

65

• Do I lie?
• Habitually exaggerate?
• Break promises?
• Gossip?
• Slander? hurting anothers reputation
• Detraction?
• Lie by omission?
• Explain things non-objectively?
• Break someone's confidence?

66
The Ninth Commandment

• IX. You shall not covet your neighbors wife
  (spouse).

67
Covetousness

• To covet is a sinful desire
• A married couple has the right to enjoy
  considerations of their most intimate actions
• Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has
  already committed adultery with her in his heart
  (Mt 5 28)

68

• The struggle against carnal covetousness entails
  purifying the heart and practicing temperance

69

• How do we disregard the ninth
  commandment?
• Excessive desire for anothers spouse,
• Excessive desire for anothers friends
• or family.

70
The Tenth Commandment

• X. You shall not covet your neighbors goods.

71

• Our appetite leads us to desire things that are
  good in themselves, but excessive desire leads to
  sin
• This commandment forbids greed, avarice, and envy

72
Greed

• The desire for earthly things without limit. It
  means buying things solely to look rich and
  powerful in the eyes of your neighbor

73
Avarice

• The passionate desire for riches that leads one
  to use money to control others. They become
  hardhearted, unjust, and deceitful people.
  (Ebenezer Scroog)

74
Envy

• Unhappiness at the sight of anothers good
  fortune. It also leads to the sinful desire to
  acquire them by whatever means available

75

• Excessive desire for anothers
• possessions
• successes
• abilities / physical or mental
• popularity
• personality
• Physical appearance

76

• With the Ten Commandments we have a basic code
  of conduct. They do not offer a complete ethical
  program but are general and basic principles of
  conduct. God could only require so much from the
  Israelites because of their unsophisticated
  culture. The Commandments are enriched by the
  life and teachings of Jesus. The Sermon on the
  Mount gives us the example of how to live the
  moral life at the highest level.

77
Beatitudes

• The word beatitude comes from the Latin meaning
  blessed

78
The Beatitudes

• The beatitudes fulfill the Ten Commandments
• They present attitudes that ensure holiness when
  lived in conjunction with the Ten Commandments
• The Beatitudes allow us to go beyond the minimum
  requirements of the Commandments

79
Called to Imitate Christ

• Identifying with Christ means accepting a life of
  sacrifice for the salvation of others, just as
  Jesus did.
• We can accomplish this by living the Beatitudes.
• They take us beyond the commandments and lead to
  a life of perfection.

80
The Beatitudes from Matthews Gospel

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
  the kingdom of heaven
• Blessed are those who morn, for they shall be
  comforted
• Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
  the earth
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
  righteousness, for they will be satisfied

81

• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
  mercy
• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
  see God
• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be
  called sons of God
• Blessed are those who are persecuted for
  righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
  heaven

82

• Blessed are you when men revile you and
  persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against
  you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad,
  for your reward is great in heaven (Mt. 53-12)

83

• The Sermon on the Mount demonstrates the openness
  of the commandments and their orientation toward
  the perfection proper to the Beatitudes
• The Beatitudes are a sort of self-portrait of
  Christ
• For this reason we are invited to discipleship

84

• People of all ages should be reminded that simply
  avoiding evil and satisfying our minimal duties
  to our neighbors in a minimalistic way can never
  be acceptable is we wish to have a truly just
  society.
• This is the importance of the Beatitudes. They
  point the way to a truly free and human existence