15 July 2022

"Introduction to Each of the 10 Commandments" [Homily #209]

 

 Homily #209a: Introduction to Each of the 10 Commandments 

by Deacon Dennis Purificacion
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time 
July 10, 2022 
12pm & 5pm Masses 

 Whenever we play or watch a sport, we love the athletic excellence of the game. A big part of this is because all the players and referees follow a set of rules. If the players don’t play by the rules, then they and we don’t get to enjoy the game. 

 It’s ironic or paradoxical. By following the rules and laws of the earthly game, we become happy. So too if we follow God’s law in the heavenly game of life we will become happy in our souls with a properly formed conscience. 

 In this homily, I’m going to explain not sports rules but God’s rules called the 10 Commandments. Jesus summarized the 10 Commandments in two lines: Love God & love neighbor. Let’s focus on not just the “do not” part but also the “do” part. In other words, in the Christian way of following the 10 Commandments, every Commandment has a “do this” part but also a “don’t do that” part. “Go and do likewise, as Jesus said explaining the Good Samaritan. 

 Love the Lord your God is specified in Commandments ##1, 2 and 3, while love neighbor is in Commandments ##4-10. 

The 1st Commandment is “I am the Lord your God. You shall not have any strange gods before me.” 

 One way to keep this Commandment is to have faith, hope and love for God. These 3 theological virtues were planted like a seed in the garden of our immortal souls through baptism. At the Gloria, we pray: We bless You, we praise You, we adore You, we glorify You, we give you thanks, O God. We adore the Triune God alone. When someone says, “Praise the Lord” or “Thank you, God” they are honoring the 1st Commandment. 

 Now, some ways to violate the 1st Commandment include worshiping other material things, superstition practices, and divination where one consults horoscopes, astrology, or palm readings instead of relying on God’s providential care. Or participating in secret societies, like Freemasonry, violates this Commandment or even using crystals and those dreamcatchers that people hang on their cars. All these can actually open the doors to demons. We’re also noticing a rise in the New Age Movement and even Satanism. 

 The 2nd Commandment is “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” 

 When I was teaching religion at the local Catholic high school in my 20s, I remember attending the local movie theater. Before the movie started, someone in the audience used God’s name in vain really loud. I immediately blurted out loudly, “Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain!” …and then I sank in my seat and realized that I had just corrected him in public. [Thankfully, the guy said, “I got God right here” which was perhaps his way to apologize.] 

 We honor and use God’s name respectfully. It’s unfortunate that in many Hollywood movies God’s name is mainly used as a cuss word. Misusing God’s name is called blasphemy. But respecting God’s name and anything holy, like the saints and holy things, in our speech in sacred matters is what we are commanded to do. Saying “Blessed be God’s name!” when some blasphemes is a way to make reparation. 

The 3rd Commandment is “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day.” 

 We rest from – and here’s the important word – unnecessary servile work and spend time in prayer on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. 

 So, 3 Commandments specify the first of two parts in Jesus’s teaching: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. 

The second of two parts of Jesus’s teaching is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” These are Commandments 4 through 10. 

The 4th Commandment is “Honor your father and your mother.” 

 It shows us the order of love. After God first, we should then honor our parents next “to whom we owe life and who have handed on to us the knowledge of God” (CCC 2197). I know this can be difficult for many in broken family life situations, but trust in the graces of the Sacraments to follow where Christ is leading us to help heal any hurts or divisions in family life. 

 The 5th Comm is “You shall not kill” or better translated “You shall not murder.” 

 All human life is sacred. I never told you why I chose St. Catherine’s Church as my parish. I attended the other Catholic parishes in Vallejo in the late 1990s, and at that Mass the pastor here gave a homily on defending innocent human life. He was one of those Irish Catholic priests. I immediately said that this is my parish because if someone can defend life, they will protect you. And for those who have deliberately terminated their pregnancies for whatever reason, Project Rachel is an excellent ministry to help women who have had abortions heal and reconcile with the Church. 

 The 6th Commandment is “You shall not commit adultery,” and it goes together with the 9th Commandment “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” 

 They apply to both married and unmarried people. In the beginning, God created the human race in His own image…male and female he created them.” Everyone is called to practice chastity in thoughts and actions. For unmarried people, this means waiting until marriage before giving one’s body to another person. For married people, this means following the Church’s moral teaching especially on regulating birth. If there is a divorce and remarriage where one person is Catholic, there should be an annulment process before receiving Holy Communion. Also, not sure if you are aware of this but the pornography business is linked with human trafficking which is a modern form of slavery, so pornography hurts women and society. All are called to love but each has a different mission on how that love is lived out in relationships. 

 The 7th Commandment is “You shall not steal,” and it goes together with the 10th Commandment “You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.” These two commandments form the basis for Catholic social doctrine. On the one hand, we have the right to private ownership but on the other hand the earth has resources for the just distribution of the world’s goods, especially for the poor. Justice means giving what is due to the person. The Church has always rejected communism and socialism (cf. Catechism 2425), as well as rejecting democracy and capitalism without virtue. [If time, explain: solidarity and subsidiarity] Democracy and capitalism must have virtue. A representative democracy needs a virtuous people; otherwise, it will not work [and you have a mob instead]. 

 Finally, the 8th Commandment is “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  In other words, do not lie.

 Since God is the source of all truth, we too but bear witness to the truth, beauty and goodness. It means standing up for the Christian faith, even when it is difficult. It means respecting others’ reputation in speech or writing. 

 Commandments 9 and 10 teach us to order desires and material things toward God’s service and toward our neighbor. As John Paul II wrote in “The Splendor of Truth,” the Commandments are the starting point of freedom (cf. Veritatis Splendor 13). 

 [If time allows, speak from the heart about brief experience as a Police Chaplain and the role of the 10 Commandments in society.] 

 In closing, dear brothers and sisters, Jesus taught us to love God and love neighbor. Commandments 1-3 specify love of God, and Commandments 4-10. 

 [As Moses taught in the Book of Deuteronomy from our First Reading today, it is not “too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky. No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” ]

 The Two Great Commandments to love God and our neighbor will set us free. Let us be like the Good Samaritan who loved God by loving our neighbor. 

 “Go," Jesus said, "and do likewise.”


A.M.D.G.

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