The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that: the ten commandments must be understood as a path of life. Thus, the ten commandments are norms that aim at the experience of freedom for the children of God, “they indicate the conditions of a life freed from the slavery of sin” (n. 2057).
They serve to teach us “the true humanity of man”, in addition, “they illuminate the essential duties and, therefore, indirectly, the fundamental human rights, inherent in the nature of the human person” (Catechism, n. 2070).
What is the use of the ten commandments?
They are useful in the lives of each one of us, because sin left the light of our reason obscured and also generated a deviation of the will. This is what the Catechism (n. 2071) states, citing Saint Bonaventure, who was a Franciscan monk from the 13th century.
Are they current?
Yes, the ten commandments are current, the Catechism states that “they are serious obligations” (n. 2072). Therefore, carelessness in these experiences presents us with matters that need to be confessed when we do our thing.
What are the commandments regarding relationship with God?
The basis of the 10 commandments is the biblical text of Exodus 20, 2-17 and Deuteronomy 5,6-21. The Church, in the period when people had less access to written texts, because they were expensive, formulated them in a catechetical way, and this is the way we will use them in our summary, the basis is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The 10 commandments are:
1 – because God loved us first we must respond by loving Him in return. Love for God implies rejection of false gods. And renunciation of all types of idolatry and superstition. But also unbelief, heresy, apostasy and schism, sacrilege and agnosticism. You can delve deeper into numbers 2083 to 2139 of the Catechism.
2 – : “the gift of the name belongs to the order of trust and intimacy” (n. 2143). Respect for the name of God is the respect due to Himself. Here we must also pay attention to the precautions regarding blasphemy, which is “uttering against God – internally or externally – words of hatred, censorship, defiance, saying bad things about God, disrespecting Him in conversations, abusing the name of Him” (n. 2148). Also avoid making a false oath using the name of God.
3 – : “Sunday fully realizes, in the Passover of Christ, the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces the eternal rest of man, in God” (n. 2175). The Catechism states that “the Sunday Eucharist grounds and sanctions all Christian practice. This is why the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on holy days, unless they are justified for a serious reason. Those who deliberately fail to comply with this obligation commit a grave sin” (n. 2181).
What are the commandments regarding relationships with others?
4 – : “God wanted us, after Him, to honor our parents, to whom we owe our lives and who transmitted the knowledge of God to us. We have an obligation to honor and respect all those whom God, for our good, has clothed with his authority” (n. 2197). It is a commandment addressed directly to children in their relationships with their parents. But it also has its consequences that can be seen in the Catechism, following the numbers mentioned above.
5 –: In addition to respect for life, which is sacred, as stated in the Catechism (n. 2258), this commandment also implies other acts, including: abortion, including those who collaborate; Euthanasia; o Suicide, given that “serious psychological disturbances, anguish or serious fear of an ordeal, suffering, torture, are circumstances that can diminish the responsibility of the suicidal person” (n. 2282). “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of people who have committed suicide. God can, in ways that only He knows, offer them the opportunity for a healthy repentance.
The Church prays for people who have attempted their own lives” (n. 2283). “The virtue of temperance leads to avoiding all kinds of excesses, such as drinking, tobacco and medicines. Those who, in a state of intoxication or through an immoderate taste for speed, endanger the safety of others and their own, on the roads, at sea or in the air, become seriously guilty” (n. 2290). You can still find out more about this commandment following the number previously mentioned.
What is the commandment related to sexuality and affectivity?
6 –: Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person, in the unity of their body and their soul. It particularly concerns affectivity, the ability to love and procreate, and, more generally, the ability to create bonds of communion with others. It is up to each person, man and woman, to recognize and accept their sexual identity. Physical, moral and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented towards the goods of marriage and the progress of family life” (n. 2332-2333). Chastity means the integration of sexuality within the person, that is, their inner, bodily and spiritual unity.
Sexuality becomes personal and truly human, when integrated into the person-to-person relationship, in the total and temporally unlimited mutual gift of man and woman. The virtue of chastity encompasses the integrity of the person and the completeness of the donation (cf. n. 2337). It involves learning to master oneself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states that “chastity knows laws of growth and goes through phases marked by imperfection, often even by sin” (n. 2343). Chastity is offended by the sins of , which are the unruly experience of pleasures, masturbation, fornication, pornography and prostitution. In addition to others that you can also check, following the numbers mentioned above.
Which commandments preserve material, spiritual and personal goods and the dignity of others?
7 – : This commandment “prohibits unjustly taking or withholding the good of another and harming him in his property, in any way. It prescribes justice and charity in the management of earthly goods and the fruits of men’s work” (n. 2401).
8 – : “The eighth commandment prohibits falsifying the truth in relationships with others. This moral prescription arises from the vocation of the holy people, to be witnesses of their God, who is and desires the truth. Offenses against the truth express, in words or actions, the refusal to commit to moral rectitude: they are serious infidelities towards God and, in this sense, undermine the foundations of the Covenant” (n. 2464).
Which commandment preserves the experience of purity, human dignity and respect for the marital vocation?
9 – : “The heart is the seat of the moral personality: ‘Out of the heart come evil intentions, murders, adulteries, fornications’ (Mt 15, 19). The fight against carnal lust involves purifying the heart and practicing temperance” (n. 2517). It confers on those who receive it the grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized person must continue to fight against the lust of the flesh and disordered desires. With the grace of God, through virtue and the gift of chastity one can grow in purity, therefore, chastity allows one to love with a right heart, through purity of intention, which consists of having in view the true end of man. With a simple look, try to discover and fulfill God’s will in everything; for the purity of the look, exterior and interior; by the discipline of the senses and imagination; by rejecting complacency in impure thoughts, which would lead him to stray from the path of divine commandments and by prayer. Purity requires modesty.
Modesty is an integral part of temperance. Modesty preserves a person’s privacy. It designates the refusal to show what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity and proves its delicacy. Guides views and attitudes in accordance with people’s dignity and the union that exists between them. Modesty protects the mystery of the person and their love. It invites patience and moderation in loving relationships, and demands that the conditions of the gift and definitive commitment of man and woman to each other be met. Modesty is modesty. It inspires the choice of clothing, maintains silence or modesty, where one can sense the danger of unhealthy curiosity. Modesty is discretion.
What commandment protects man from idolatry and lust?
10 –: The tenth commandment unfolds and completes the ninth, which has as its object the lust of the flesh. It prohibits coveting the good of others, the root from which theft and fraud, prohibited by the seventh commandment, originate. The “lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:16) leads to injustice, prohibited by the fifth commandment. Covetousness, as well as fornication, has its origin in idolatry, prohibited in the first three commandments of the Law. The tenth commandment focuses on the intention of the heart and summarizes, with the ninth, all the precepts of the Law.
Read more:
For a good examination of conscience
So, in short, we have material to work on in our diary. Every day before going to sleep you can try thinking about your day. Ask yourself questions: “Where did I get it right? Where did I go wrong? What do I need to improve? What step can I take”?
You can exercise daily to grow in contrition. Therefore, I suggest that you pray every day after your examination of conscience the act of contrition with the proposal to go to confession as soon as possible. You can pray the act of contrition in the following way:
My God, I repent, with all my heart, of all my sins and I detest them, because, by sinning, I not only deserved the punishments that You justly established, but, mainly, because I offended You, the greatest good and worthy of being loved above all. things. Therefore, I firmly propose, with the help of your grace, to sin no more and to flee from upcoming occasions of sin. Amen
God bless you!