Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” —Luke 12:15

The Second Commandment

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

The Second Commandment calls us to the virtue of reverence for God, which trains us to know and to preserve the difference between the Creator and the creature. Respect for God’s name keeps us from reducing him to a mere fact, or even a thing that we can control or manipulate. At the same time, a gracious God desires to be intimate with us, even becoming incarnate in Jesus Christ and dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit. … Habitual disrespect for God, displayed in cursing and even in the use of vulgar language, can create an attitude that erodes our relation- ship with the Lord.

Saint of the Week Third Century St. Lawrence Feast Date: August 10

ne of seven Roman deacons, Lawrence distributed alms to the poor. The dea- Ocons and Pope Sixtus II were arrested Aug. 6, 258, during the persecution of Valerian. All but Lawrence were martyred by the next day. When Rome’s prefect demanded church funds from Lawrence, the deacon assembled the poor and said, “This is the treasury of the church.” On August 10, the prefect began roasting Lawrence on a gridiron, thinking it would break him. But, according to legend, he asked to be turned and roasted on the other side.

Saints Lawrence, Christopher, Sebastian, and a Bishop Saint. Image: The Walters Art Museum

Catholic Second Commandment text is an excerpt from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2006) 353-354. Copyright © 2006, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington DC. All rights reserved. Current Saint of the Week: Copyright © 2019, Catholic News Service–United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington DC. All rights reserved.