Sins of Commission and Omission Exodus 20:1-17 (Sins of Commission (from the Confiteor: what I have done ) o The Ten Commandments AKA Decalogue

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1 Sins of Commission and Omission Exodus 20:1-17 (Sins of Commission (from the Confiteor: what I have done ) o The Ten Commandments AKA Decalogue Decalogue ten words the ten laws, given to Moses on two stone tablets on Mount Sinai, inscribed by God s own finger (Ex 31:18) o Why are the Ten Commandments so important, even more important (traditionally and historically) than other laws in the Old Testament? Jesus Himself emphasizes their importance (Mt 19:16ff) If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments, and then, Jesus proceeds to list some of the Ten Commandments The ten words are indicative of the conditions of a life freed from slavery to sin (symbolized by Israel s slavery in Egypt) They belong to God s revelation At the same time, they reveal the true humanity of man and therefore belong also to natural law o They highlight the essential duties of man; thus, indirectly, they indicate the fundamental rights inherent in the very nature of the human person o They contained a privileged expression of natural law; Saint Irenaeus in his greatest writing, Against Heresies: from the beginning, God implanted in the heart of man the precepts of the natural law; then [God] was content to remind him of them. This was the Decalogue. o Structure of the Ten Commandments Four-and-six or three-and-seven? Four-and-six (Anglican, Greek, and Reformed traditions) Three-and-seven (Catholic and Lutheran traditions) Why three-and-seven for Catholics Three symbolic number for God (e.g. Holy Trinity ) Seven symbolic number for perfection (e.g. seven-fold Spirit ) Jesus (Mt 22:36ff), in answer to a question about what is the greatest commandment, says, You shall love the Lord, your God and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. o Three Commandments regulate our relationship with God o Seven Commandments regulate our relationships with others o vv. 2-6 Powerful assertion that God is the only deity (for Israel, and overall) Monotheism in history of world religions only began with Judaism Carved idols (forbidden) versus depictions, icons, statues, etc. (allowed in the Christian context) In the ancient Near East, they were the ordinary means of encounter between a deity and a worshiper

2 For ancient Israel, God forbidding carved idols indicates a new and uniquely privileged relationship that a people can enjoy with God: direct face-to-face interaction This direct face-to-face interaction is even more radicalized and taken to even greater heights with the Incarnation Permitted use of images, despite this prohibition o Even elsewhere in the Old Testament, God commanded or permitted images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word (e.g. the bronze serpent; the ark of the covenant; the cherubim) o The Council of Nicaea (787) justified the veneration of icons and other images on account of the Incarnation: becoming incarnate, the Son introduced a new economy of images o Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the First Commandment; rather, the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype, such that whoever venerates an image venerates actually the person portrayed in that image A jealous God A better translation perhaps would be impassioned God God expresses personal, passionate commitment to Israel These five verses contain the traditional Catholic First Commandment, the two-fold prohibition of false worship By God, what is named is a constant, unchangeable, immutable being, always the same, always faithful and just, and without evil It follows, therefore, that man necessarily accept God s word and have complete trust in the Lord, acknowledging is sole authority The First Commandment embraces faith, hope, and charity o Faith Saint Paul speaks of obedience of faith (Rom 1:5) He teaches that ignorance of God is the principle and explanation of all moral deviation (cf. Rom 1:18-32) We are required to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, to reject all that opposes it Sins against faith Voluntary doubt Willful/deliberate ignorance Incredulity (neglect of revealed truth) o Heresy o Apostasy o Schism o Hope Confident expectation of divine blessing and aid and the Beatific Vision of God Fear of offending God s love, of incurring holy wrath Sins against hope Despair

3 Presumption o Charity The First Commandment requires love for the Lord above all other loves and then after that, love for all creatures for the Lord as well as because of the Lord Sins against God s love Indifference Ingratitude Lukewarmness Acedia (spiritual sloth) Hatred of God Superstition; idolatry; divination and magic; irreligion and atheism; agnosticism The First Commandment requires us to render unto God what we as God s creatures owe God in all justice; this divine debt and acting upon it accordingly is the virtue of religion: adoration; prayer; sacrifice; promises and vows; social justice/outreach for others o v. 7 The Second Commandment This prohibition seems to be against the false use of an oath in legal proceedings rather than a general lack of reverence for the Name of God In the Christian context, the spirit of this prohibition was expanded to include the general lack of reverence for the Name of God, expanded even further perhaps to include the overall prohibition of profanity altogether The power of the Name What it means to allow another to know one s name What the name meant in the ancient world (destiny; vocation; personal powers; etc.) Sins against the Second Commandment: blasphemy; false oaths; perjury o vv The Third Commandment The Sabbath is a peculiarly unique institution to Israel No satisfactory parallel in other ancient cultures has yet been discovered Sanctifying the Sabbath Setting it apart Avoiding work proper to the weekday (other work that is, work proper to the Sabbath, such as worship is done on the Sabbath) The Christian Sabbath Sunday The first day of the week The eighth day Sins against the Third Commandment: avoiding the Sunday obligation and other Holy Days of Obligation; neglecting to refrain from weekday activity and work that hinder one s worship of and devotion to God o v. 12

4 The Fourth Commandment Parents are to be honored partly because they are dependent on their adult children later in life, to care for them in their old age More generally, all elders were to be honored and revered as repositories of tradition and cultural/societal wisdom In the Christian context, the Fourth Commandment in concerned with all familial ties; included also are duties of students toward teachers, workers toward employers, citizens toward country and those who govern With the Fourth Commandment, God emphasizes the societal pride of place for the marriage institution and the family unit in highlighting the importance of honor for one s father and mother The family is the original cell of social life The family is the domestic Church o v. 13 The Fifth Commandment This prohibition was limited to illegal killing (e.g. homicide) Ancient Israel did have the death penalty, and killing in war was permitted With Jesus Christ, in the Christian context (Mt 5:21-26), not only was the actual act of illegal killing forbidden, but also the general desire for wrath The Church has long understood this Commandment to include any act provoked by wrath (torture, terrorism, unjust war, vengeance, etc.) or by injustice (abortion, euthanasia, etc.) or by despair (suicide) Principle of double-effect (e.g. self-defense; just war theory; etc.) The death penalty o v. 14 The Sixth Commandment With Jesus Christ, in the Christian context (cf. Mt 5:27-30), not only was the actual act of adultery forbidden, but also the general desire for lust The Christian context also emphasizes the fecundity of conjugal love; that is, the fruitfulness (or potential fruitfulness) of marriage that marriage and all conjugal acts in marriage be open to the possibility of new human life Separation and divorce Polygamy, incest, and cohabitation Sins against the Sixth Commandment: lust; adultery; fornication; prostitution; pornography; masturbation; contraception; abortion; etc. o v. 15 The Seventh Commandment This prohibition seems to indicate kidnapping more than ordinary theft of material goods, which is more specifically prohibited by the Commandments pertaining to covetous desires This prohibition traditionally applies to all forms of theft, be it of fellow men and women, or material things, or intellection properties (copyrights, patents, etc.) In the Christian context, this Commandment is concerned with all matters of social justice issues: rights to private ownership of goods and properties; fair and equitable distribution of basic necessities; homelessness and poverty, etc.

5 o v. 16 The Eighth Commandment This prohibition seems to indicate witness given in legal proceedings In the Christian context, this prohibition is expanded to communication sins overall (outright lying, deliberately warping/misrepresenting the truth, etc.) What about boasting for humor s sake, irony, satire, jokes, fiction in general for entertainment s sake, etc.? Are these, strictly-speaking, lying? Thus, are they sins? (CCC 2482 lying consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving the intention is not to amuse or entertain but to deceive) Lying versus concealing the truth The Seal of the Confessional Doctor/patient privilege Lawyer/client privilege National Security Example: withholding truth of hiding Jews from Nazi Jew-hunters Because the Sixth Commandment pertains to Truth, and Truth is related to Goodness and Beauty (Beauty, Goodness and Truth being the three great Transcendentals of God s Divine Nature), the Sixth Commandment, by extension, pertains also to matters of Goodness and Beauty (e.g. art) Sins against the Eighth Commandment: lying; calumny; detraction; gossip; libel; slander; duplicity; hypocrisy; etc. o v. 17 The Ninth and Tenth Commandments In the Catholic and Lutheran traditions, this prohibition has traditionally been divided into two prohibitions, whereas the false-worship prohibitions have traditionally been combined into one Hence the three-and-seven Commandments structure The Ninth Commandment, like the Sixth Commandment, pertains to issues of chastity, purity, modesty, and so forth The Tenth Commandment pertains to sins of envy, jealousy, greed, avarice, and so forth Matthew 25:31-46 o The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats o Sins of Omission (from the Confiteor: what I have failed to do )

DIOCESE OF HARRISBURG SECRETARIAT FOR EDUCATION

DIOCESE OF HARRISBURG SECRETARIAT FOR EDUCATION 4800 Union Deposit Road Box 3553 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105-3553 (717) 657-4804 FAX (717) 657-3790 INTRODUCTION The Catholic Morality course outline