Confirmation Class Guided Notes: Teacher Copy

10 Commandments

Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

[Jesus] said to him: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all ​ your , and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ​

Matthew 22:34-40

What do the teach us?

● The Ten Commandments show us our need for God’s mercy. ​ ​ ● The Ten Commandments show us how to live a life of love. ​ ​ ● The Ten Commandments show us how to grow in holiness. ​ ​

How can the Ten Commandments be divided?

● Commandments 1-3 > Love God ​

● Commandments 4-10 > Love Neighbor ​

Love God Commandments 1-3

“I am the Lord thy God, thou shall not 1 > Respect God have any gods before Me.” “Thou shall not take the name of the 2 > Respect God’s name Lord thy God in vain.” “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath 3 > Respect God’s day day.”

Love Neighbor Commandments 4-10

4 “Honor thy father and mother.” > Respect Authority

5 “Thou shall not kill.” > Respect Life

6 “Thou shall not commit adultery.” > Respect Marriage

7 “Thou shall not steal.” > Respect Property

“Thou shall not bear false witness 8 > Respect Truth against thy neighbor.” “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s 9 > Avoid wife.” “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s 10 > Avoid goods.”

1st Commandment: Respect God “I am the Lord thy God, thou shall not have any gods before Me.”

I am the Lord ● God is our Creator - we are his creatures ● Our lives must be lived in submission to God if we are to discover meaning, purpose and happiness in life ● Our highest goal should be to serve God and do His will ​ ​

No other gods before Me ● All forms of idol worship are condemned ● Idol = an object, person, or desire that we value above God ○ In ancient days people would carve wooden statues and pray to it, offer sacrifices, and worship it as a deity ○ In modern we are more likely to make idols of money, power, popularity, sex/romance, entertainment, possessions ​ ​

You keep this commandment by… ● Humbling yourself before God and acknowledging His authority ​ ● Practicing your faith, trusting in God, and seeking to do His will

You break this commandment by… ● Allowing anything in life to become more important to you than God ● Practicing any superstitious activity (astrology, fortune-telling) ● Practicing any false religion or holding beliefs contrary to the faith 2nd Commandment: Respect God’s name “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”

The name of the Lord ● When Moses asked God His name, God said: “I AM” ● The Jewish people have long avoided ever speaking the name of God revealed in the Old Testament (“Yahweh”) ● Any name for God (God, Lord, Father, Jesus Christ, etc.) is deserving ​ ​ of our highest reverence and respect

“In vain” ● “In vain” = in the wrong way, in an inappropriate way

You keep this commandment by… ● Ensuring that any words you speak about God are made with the highest care and respect ​ ● Showing similar respect for the name of the Virgin Mary and the names of the saints

You break this commandment by… ● Using the name of God or Jesus Christ in a careless way, as a sign of ​ ​ or surprise, coupled with profanity, etc. ● Saying to God thoughtlessly or without reverence

3rd Commandment: Respect God’s day “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work.”

The Sabbath Day ● In the creation account in Genesis, God created the world in six “days” and rested on the seventh (“Sabbath” = rest) ○ Jews celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday (7th day) ○ Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday in honor of Christ’s resurrection - also called the “Lord’s Day” ● The “Sabbath” is a sign of our dependence on God ● On the Sabbath we stop our routine work and turn our attention more ​ ​ fully to God through worship, and rest ● I like to think of it as God requiring us to take one vacation day every week.

You keep this commandment by… ● Participating in Mass every Sunday (or Saturday vigil) ​ ​ ● Avoiding unnecessary work on Sunday ● Taking to rest, enjoy leisure with your family or community

You break this commandment by… ● Skipping Mass on Sunday ● Engaging in unnecessary work that keeps you from worship, rest and ​ ​ leisure with your family/community 4th Commandment: Respect Authority “Honor thy father and mother.”

Father and Mother ● The commandment recognizes the fact that God has put legitimate authorities in our lives - first and foremost, our parents ​ ● The Christian family (“Domestic Church”) is called to be a community of faith, with parents as the leaders of that community

Honor... ● This commandment sets expectations for both parents and children ​ ​ ● Children must be respectful, obedient1, and show gratitude toward their parents for the care that they provide ● Parents must assume the responsibility of caring for their children and leading the family with diligence, love and patience

You keep this commandment by… ● Speaking respectfully to your parents (and about your parents) ​ ​ ● Following any instructions given to you by your parents ● Offering the same respect and obedience to any legitimate authority: other family members, teachers, coaches, police, government, etc.

You break this commandment by… ● Showing disrespect or disobedience to a person in authority ​

1 Our obedience to God comes before our obedience to parents. If a parent commanded us to sin, we must refuse (if possible) out of obedience to God. The same is true for any earthly authority.

5th Commandment: Respect Life “Thou shall not kill.”

Killing ● Human life is sacred, from the moment of conception to the moment ​ ​ of natural death ● Human life is sacred because we are formed in God’s image, and God is sacred… we derive our infinite worth from God ● The word “kill” refers to the intentional and unjustified taking of another person’s life ● Situations such as legitimate self-defense, protection of others, or accidental (unintentional) death would not apply ● Jesus taught that hating a person is an act of murder, even if you ​ ​ don’t resort to physical violence

You keep this commandment by… ● Caring for the health of your own body ● Doing everything in your power to respect and protect the lives of others

You break this commandment by… ● Condoning or participating in the unjust killing of a human: murder, ​ ​ abortion, euthanasia, suicide, drug-abuse, unjust war, etc. ● Harboring anger and hatred toward another person in your heart

6th Commandment: Respect Marriage “Thou shall not commit adultery.”

Adultery ● God created humans in His own image as “male and female” - equal in personal dignity, yet dependent upon one another ● God designed the two sexes to be physically, morally and spiritually complementary - it is only together that a husband and wife can ​ ​ create the harmony required for a family to thrive ● The sexual union within marriage exists for the good of the spouses and for the transmission of life ● This unique bond between husband and wife is sacred and precious; any abuse of our sexuality breaks this commandment

You keep this commandment by… ● Practicing chastity - the of self-mastery in the area of sexuality ​ ​ (a virtue that requires prayer and persistence to acquire!) ● Protecting your own purity and the purity of those around you ● Living faithfully with your spouse, should you become married

You break this commandment by… ● Treating others as objects for your sexual ​ ​ ● Engaging in sexual activity outside of a lawful marriage ○ Masturbation, Fornication, Homosexuality, Adultery

7th Commandment: Respect Property “Thou shall not steal.”

Stealing ● God gave humanity the responsibility to care for and protect the land and resources of the natural world ● It is lawful for a person to own land or resources as private property; ​ ​ however the goal of ownership must always be the common good ● We have a moral obligation to respect the private property of others ● We violate this commandment through any act of theft or withholding what is rightfully due to another person

You keep this commandment by… ● Recognizing and honoring the division of property within society ● Paying workers a fair wage and providing appropriate benefits ● Providing care and assistance to those in poverty ​ ● Caring for the environment and natural resources of the world

You break this commandment by… ● Taking the property of others without permission ● Failing to return borrowed property ● Intentionally failing to meet the expectations of an employer ​ ● Misusing or abusing the environment or natural resources which are a common possession of all humanity 8th Commandment: Respect Truth “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

Bearing false witness ● “False witness” = lying ● Respect for the truth is fundamental to our faith; we live in a world ​ ​ where people refuse to believe the truth about God, which is the only source of purpose and happiness in life ● We have a God-given responsibility to speak the truth, live the truth, and share the truth in all aspects of life ● Satan is described as the “father of lies” - to tell lies and live out lies is to align yourself with Satan and to reject God

You keep this commandment by… ● Always seeking to communicate the truth in your words and actions ● Developing the of honesty and integrity ● Seeking true wisdom, which is a gift from God ​ ​

You break this commandment by… ● Speaking, writing or sharing lies in any form ​ ​ ● Spreading rumors about others ● Making unjust judgements about others (without knowing the facts) ● Using social media in a way that misrepresents who you are, who others are, or to spread inaccurate information (!) ● Engaging in dishonest speech (boasting, flattery, etc.) 9th Commandment: Avoid Lust “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”

Covet ● “Covet” = intense desire ● Humans are a “composite” being - both spirit and body ● Because we are weakened by , our physical (body) impulses and desires can easily become disordered ● We are called to strive for purity of heart, of body and of faith ​ ​ ● This commandment recognizes that sin begins in the mind and in the heart: in our thoughts, our desires, our imaginations ● Through the virtue of chastity we seek to master our thoughts and desires, especially in matters of sexuality and purity

You keep this commandment by… ● Having a pure intention to love people rather than use people ● Disciplining the mind to reject impure thoughts ​ ​ ● Practicing the virtue of modesty in your dress, actions and speech

You break this commandment by… ● Entertaining lustful thoughts for another person ● Treating others as sexual objects in your thoughts or conversations ● Seeking pornography or any situation or form of media that promotes immodesty and encourages lust ​ ● Dressing, acting or speaking in an immodest way 10th Commandment: Avoid Greed “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”

Covet your neighbor’s goods ● The “lust of the eyes” goes beyond sexual matters; it includes any disordered passion or desire for wealth and possession of this world ● This commandment condemns greed in all its forms, where we make ​ ​ idols of money and possessions and allow them to rule us ● Notice that this commandment is first broken in the mind and heart

You keep this commandment by… ● Desiring God above all created things ● Cultivating the virtue of poverty - where we become willing to let go of ​ ​ any personal possession (including money) out of love for God

You break this commandment by… ● Entertaining desires for someone else’s possessions ● Allowing a desire for money and possessions to fill your thoughts and ​ ​ control your actions ● Allowing thoughts of greed, jealousy and to control you ● Consider how the music you listen to relates to the 9th and 10th commandments… does it promote lust and greed? If so, then it should be avoided.

Note: Source material for this lesson is CCC 2052-2557