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 soul, 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 Ten Commandments 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 Lust wife.” “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s 10 > Avoid Greed 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 times 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 ​ ​ anger or surprise, coupled with profanity, etc. ● Saying prayers 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, prayer 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 time 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 virtue 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 gratification ​ ​ ● 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 virtues of honesty and integrity ● Seeking true wisdom, which is a gift