I. The Commandments and Happiness
a. As human beings we are primarily concerned with being happy, with becoming happy if we are not and with staying happy if we are
b. The Church shares our concern, and so she gives us the moral law. The moral law is an instruction in becoming and staying happy, both in this life and in the next
c. While situations arise that may result in short-term unhappiness, we must always make moral decisions in light of our ultimate happiness in heaven
d. Thus the first moral question is not, “What am I supposed to do?”, or even “What does God command?”–the first moral question is, “What will make me happiest?”
e. Moral decisions are choices between competing goods, and not just between a good and an evil. Even an evil that is tempting us has some good to it that we are drawn to; but in making a moral decision, we reject the evil and choose the greater good that is God’s law.
f. While the Ten Commandments are typically remembered as a series of prohibitions, the important thing to understand is that in following them, we are choosing the highest good possible that will lead to the greatest happiness
II. Keeping the Commandments
a. Matthew 19:16-19. We keep the commandments because Jesus said to in order to “enter into life.”
b. Like everything we do as Christians, the commandments are to be kept wholeheartedly, in a spirit of obedience, and not grudgingly or with grumbling.
c. It is possible to sin in the heart while not sinning physically.
d. The Commandments will be completed in the New Testament by the Beatitudes of the New Covenant (next week).
e. Read the Commandments, Exodus 20:2-17
III. “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve”
a. We are to have no doubts about God’s existence, power, or goodness
b. We are not to despair or presume upon God
c. We are to be grateful to God, to care about our relationship with Him, and to be fervent in our service toward him
d. We are not to make creatures into idols, placing them above God in our hearts; these idols can be things like money, sex, power, work, etc.
IV. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”
a. Obviously this prohibits behaviors like cursing or swearing
b. But this commandment is also about remembering the holiness of God, and therefore not using his name lightly. How many times have we said “Jesus” or “God” when we really just meant to express surprise, frustration, or some other emotion?
c. It is virtuous to learn to be mindful of our speech, so that we do not sin even in small ways by the tongue
V. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
a. This is one of only two “positive” commandments in the Decalogue; it does not prohibit bad behavior outright, instead it affirms good behavior.
b. Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is obligatory for Catholics, unless there is a grave reason or if Mass must be missed through no fault of your own (a grave reason, like a blizzard that makes it dangerous to go outside, or through no fault of your own, like you’re visiting a relative and he or she refuses to take you to Mass even though you’ve asked and witnessed to its importance).
c. Besides missing Mass outright, it is possible to show disrespect for God by arriving late for Mass through your own fault, or by leaving early, or even in your heart by becoming impatient when the choir sings an extra verse at the end. You can also disrespect God in your heart by allowing yourself to become distracted or bored during Mass.
d. Sundays are reserved for rest and re-creation; for family activities, the pursuit of hobbies, silence, prayer, spiritual reading, special meals, and the like; treating Sunday like any other day to be used for shopping, chores, etc., is a sin against this commandment
e. Sunday is my favorite day of the week because I get to spend it with Jesus in a special way; it’s his day, in a way that other days are not.
VI. “Honor your father and your mother.”
a. This is the other “positive” commandment. It commands us to honor not only our parents but also the civil authorities, and to see to our civic duties like voting.
b. We are to honor our parents (as adults) and to obey them (as children, but also to relate to them in a spirit of obedience as adults); we are also to care for our parents in their old age (this was the original meaning of the commandment).
c. We are to obey lawful authority in civil society.
d. We are to hold our family relationships in their proper place in our lives and see to the duties we have to our family. This includes, for example, insuring proper religious education for our children.
e. Divorce is a huge issue in the Church; and while God states flatly “I hate divorce” (Malachi 2:16), there are situations that can make divorce tolerable. If you find yourself in such a predicament, please consult a reliable priest before doing anything that cannot be undone. This is a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier; God may be calling you to stay in a bad marriage for the sake of your ultimate happiness.
VII. “You shall not kill.”
a. This prohibits not only intentional murder, but also procuring abortion, cooperating with or encouraging someone’s abortion, mutilation (vasectomy, tubal ligation) for the sake of sterilization, and cooperating with someone’s assisted suicide (euthanasia).
b. The Freedom of Choice Act and our duty as Catholic citizens. It is possible to cooperate in abortion, however remotely, by voting for politicians who are likely to support legalized abortion while in office. It is incumbent upon all Catholics to oppose all anti-life laws in the public forum and, in the ominous words of Pope John Paul II, to “pray that we succeed.”
c. The Church has always recognized that soldiers have an honorable and even a noble calling, and that killing in a war as an act of defense of one’s person or one’s fellow citizens does not violate this commandment.
d. Again, you don’t even have to lift a finger to violate this commandment. Nursing anger or hatred is a violation of this commandment, as is seeking vengeance. “Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment” (Matthew 5:22). Peace is to be upheld as much as possible in society, and peace starts in our own hearts.
VIII. “You shall not commit adultery.”
a. Besides overtly violating the marriage covenant through adulterous acts, sins such as impure glances, immodesty in dress, reading impure books or magazines, masturbation, and fornication (sex outside of marriage) are violations of this commandment.
b. The use of artificial birth control is also a violation of this commandment. The method of Natural Family Planning is the ONLY method approved by the church for regulating births. Every sexual act between a husband and a wife must be open to new life; this is the purpose for which we were given human sexuality, and anything less than total openness to life says to your partner, “I give my whole self to you… Almost.”
IX. “You shall not steal.”
a. Again, besides stealing itself, there are other ways to violate this commandment.
b. We are to be good stewards of the resources that God has given us; we are to be generous as God is generous to us. This means we are not stingy, either with others or with ourselves (generosity begins at home); we pay our debts on time; we make good use of our time (a resource that we steward for God); we tithe and support the Church; and we live in a spirit of poverty and detachment from worldly possession.
c. A few words on tithing and detachment.
X. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
a. This commandment forbids behaviors such as lying, gossiping, conducting whisper campaigns, insincerity, divulging secrets, or being critical or overly negative toward others.
b. In all things we treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated.
XI. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.”
a. These last two commandments concern sins that are solely within the heart of the individual. The important thing to remember about sin, though, is that because we are social beings, our actions always have consequences for other people. By sinning in our hearts against others, we are introducing disorder into the relationship we have with them. This is why these sins matter just as much as sins against other commandments.
b. This commandment expressed in positive form is about seeking purity of heart. There is a connection between this commandment and the Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). (More on that next week.)
c. We seek purity of heart by practicing the virtues of chastity and temperance. We seek to “find and to fulfill God’s will in everything” (CCC, 2520).
d. We seek purity by practicing purity: through prayer, through avoiding consent to impure thoughts, by watching what we read, by remembering that everything we say and do is teaching our children.
XII. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.”
a. Again, these are sins of the heart. We avoid greed, jealousy, envy, deliberate moodiness or gloominess, and idle and self-indulgent thoughts.
b. We seek poverty of heart, that is, a detachment from earthly goods and a focus on the things of Heaven. “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:21).
c. We will end with a Beatitude, in anticipation of next week’s lesson: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
d. The commandments are all about getting to heaven; they’re like a roadmap to eternity. Following them will secure our happiness in this life and in the next. When we were children, we were given a set of written instructions; now that we have become adults, Jesus shows us, without setting aside the Commandments or abrogating them, an even better way to follow him in the Beatitudes.
