THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT:

I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GOD’S BESIDES ME.
Ex. 20:2

HERE ARE SOME OF THE SINS OR VIOLATIONS THAT GO SPECIFICALLY AGAINST

 Idolatry
- worshipping someone else or something other than God.
 Divination and Magic
- putting our faith and in trust in spiritual powers that do not belong to God. This includes putting
faith in fortune-tellers or others who claim to have special magic powers.
 Tempting God
- putting God's goodness and power to the test.
 Sacrilege
- the act of treating holy objects/places with disrespect.
 Simony
- buying or selling the things that God offers.
 Atheism
- refusing to believe in God.
 Agnosticism
- not sure about God or indifferent to God.
 Syncretism
- joining two opposing beliefs into one belief.
 Heresy
- is a belief or action at odds with what is accepted, especially when the behavior is contrary to
religious doctrine or belief. For example, a Catholic who says God does not exist.
 Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it.


Clarification on the Meaning of the word idols, and the difference between worship and
veneration Idols that God prohibits in the context of the first commandment refer to anything like
image/statue or even animals, person, or object which people worship as a god. Worship is adoring or
praising. The Catholic practice of respecting sacred/holy place, sacred things like the Bible or sacred
images/statue is called veneration.
The Catholic faithful do not worship these sacred things or sacred place or images, but they only
respect them. They do it by touching, even kissing which are culturally based. If you observe the priests
during Holy Mass, there are only two things that he will venerate by kissing. These are the altar since it
symbolizes the Body of Christ and the Bible after he proclaimed the Gospel; the Bible of course symbolizes
the Word of God.
Some might say that this practice of veneration is not found in the Bible and there is no other thing
which is holy except God. Anything that God uses as His instrument is holy; like things, place and others.
What did God tell Moses at the burning bush? “Do not come closer and remove your sandals since the
ground where you stand is holy”. (Exodus 3:5) So here, even the ground where God appeared to Moses
became holy. Another good example of this is, when Jesus got angry with the people at the Temple in
Jerusalem since they did not respect the Temple which is a holy place for the Israelites. (Matthew 21:12-
13).
Another question that some people are asking is whether having stature or image is a sin? They
will again claim that there are no statues in the Bible. Well, if you really read your Bible carefully, we can
give you three examples of statues that God made or asked the people to do. One is in Genesis 3:24,
where God put a cherubim (statue of an angel) to guard the Garden of Eden. The other good example is in
Exodus 25:10- 22, when God asked the Israelites to make the ark of the Covenant (something like a box)
where He will command them to keep the Ten Commandments and put two statues of angels on top of it.
So, the Ten Commandments are guarded by two statues of angels. With these, I hope it is now clear
to us that the Church's practice of having sacred images or statues of Jesus and the saints is not a
violation of the First Commandment. The only strong reminder for all of us is, as long as you do not worship
them as gods! I hope it is also clear that veneration which is clearly a biblical practice is not the same
with worship or adoration. The Catholic faithful are not worshipping the images of Christ and the saints but
only venerating them.
Commands: Adoration prayer, sacrifice, honoring promises, vows Practices: regular prayer time,
offering day to God, inviting God to work in our lives, being faithful to our vows and promises to God,
helping our faith to grow by participating in the Eucharistic and other sacraments, reading, guarding
religious liberty in civil law.

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
Name as we all know stands for one identity. This is why when your peers are making fun of your
name, you feel insulted since it is not your name, but you are the one whom they are mocking. The name
really stands for the person's identity and even one's dignity. So, when you use the name of God in vain,
then you are really insulting God Himself. The Second Commandment teaches us that we love God by
always using His name with great reverence/respect. We should not use God's name in an improper way.

HERE ARE SOME SINS THAT GO SPECIFICALLY AGAINST THE SECOND COMMANDMENT:
 BLASPHEMY - Speech, thought or action that shows disrespect to God, the Church, or persons
dedicated to God.
 PERJURY - Lying under oath. If we take an oath, to tell the truth, and even use God as a witness
(a promise to God) but we do not fulfill it then that is perjury; we even include God in our foolishness. This
is a serious sin since God is always true to His promises and never lies! For this reason, false oaths and
perjury seriously offend God.
 PROFANITY/CURSING - Uttering offensive words in anger or annoyance especially when using
God's name.
COMMANDS: Respect God's name (sacred, holy, same as his word), for saints, holy objects,
confession of faith, promises, and vows that honor God
PRACTICES: Naming our children after saints, only taking oaths in grave situations (court), acting
in Jesus’ name. When we come to know God through our personal experience, we respond with
an ever-deepening reverence, awe, joy and respect for the holiness, mystery and love of God. We reflect
this relational stance through our speech and actions.
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH DAY.
Six days you may labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your
God. No work may be done then either by you or your son or daughter or your male or female slave, or
your beast or by the alien who lives with you…on the seventh day God rested… and blessed it and
made it holy. (Exodus 20: 8-11)
There are two things that this commandment is conveying to the human person -- the time for
God and the respect for the human person. How does one show this respect for God and the human
person? This is shown primarily by going to worship God as one community, as His people, and by
respecting others in providing their physical bodies a time to rest.
Aside from worshipping God and resting, what are other implications of the Third Commandment?
Is this done only in the chapel or church? Some people attend the Holy Mass but after their participation,
they go back to their usual lifestyle which is often not consistent with Christian living. So aside from
worshipping God in the church, do people also make the day of the Lord holy in their homes, in their
dealings with others, and in their dealings with nature? The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines
(PCP II) stresses that all of life is worship or the whole of life must be an act of worship as St. Paul also
pointed out in his letter to the Romans (167-168). Worship should not be separated from the totality of life.
There should be no dichotomy between the two.

VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

The teachings of Jesus Christ are clear such that anything that does not amount to honoring God and not
giving ourselves and others a time to rest is a direct of violation of this commandment. Anything that does
not glorify God and respect the dignity of others must be avoided.
THE SHIFT OF THE SABBATH DAY FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY
The Israelites observed the Sabbath day on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), which marked
the completion of God’s creation of the world. For us Christians, we celebrate the Lord’s Day on Sunday,
the first day of the week since it was on that day that Jesus rose from the dead. This is why we call it the
Lord’s Day. It reminds us of His Resurrection, and how He created the whole world new! This
practice of worshipping on the first day of the week was started by the Apostles (Acts 20:7) which we
followed. This is why, one of the names/titles of our Church is Apostolic. Another implication of this is, we
also give God the first day of our week. For the Israelites9 symbolism, seven (7) is a perfect number, that is
why they give it to God.
COMMANDS: observing Sunday as a day set aside for God, as a day of rest, day of prayer, Mass on
Sunday and holy days of obligation.
PRACTICES: attending mass on Sunday, spending time with family, in reading, prayer, or works of charity
As spiritual beings, we need time to feed and replenish our minds, hearts and spirits. Even in the Middle
Ages, the harsh lot of the serfs in the fields was mitigated by observance of the Church’s many holy days
and feasts, sacred times when they did not have to work. In our insomniac, workaholic, 24-7 society,
maybe one of the greatest ways we can evangelize others is to simply keep holy the Sabbath.

IMPLICATION OF THE FIRST THREE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

These first three commandments of the Decalogue call us to right relationship with God as the source and
foundation of right relationship with others, expressed in the following seven commandments. When we
truly desire and attempt to love God with every fiber of our being, life becomes full for us and we discover
joy, love and peace. God’s rules exist only to make us happy and bring us to the glory of eternal life. The
Ten Commandments serve as an infallible road map to the Kingdom of God. But all the commandments
are intertwined. For instance, you cannot love God without loving His children, our fellow human beings.
The next seven commandments act as signposts to guide our treatment of our neighbor.

THE FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

In the first three commandments, we received the gifts of God’s self-revelation to humanity. We also learn
what constitutes a proper response to this self-revelation and thereby a proper relationship with God. The
final seven commandments are gifts that primarily reveal God’s will for us in our relationships with each
other.
After the first three commandments prescribing our duties toward God comes seven others laying down our
obligations toward ourselves and our fellow human beings. There is first a special commandment regarding
the important duties of children toward their parents, and of parents toward their children. This is the fourth
of the Ten Commandments. In a general way, Commandments 5th, 6th, and 7th are concerned with
actions, 8th is concerned with words and 9th and 10th are with our desires.

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives
you” (Ex. 20:12)
The fourth commandment opens the second table of the Decalogue. It shows us the order of
charity. God has willed that, after Him, we should honor our parents to whom we owe life and who have
handed on to us the knowledge of God. We are obliged to honor and respect all those whom God, for our
good, has vested with His authority. (CCC, #2197) The fourth commandment is addressed specifically to
children in their relationship with their father and mother, because this relationship is the most
foundational. It likewise concerns the ties of kinship between members of the extended family. It requires
honor, affection, and gratitude toward elders and ancestors. Finally, it extends to the duties of pupils to
teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to leaders, citizens to their country, and to those who
administer or govern it.
This commandment includes and presupposes the duties of parents, instructors, teachers,
leaders, and magistrates, those who govern, and all who exercise authority over others or over a
community of persons. (CCC, #2199)
DUTY OF CHILDREN: Respect for parents (filial piety) derives from gratitude toward those who, by the gift
of life, their love and their work, have brought their children into the world and enabled them to grow in
stature, wisdom, and grace. "With all your heart honor your father, and do not forget the birth pangs of your
mother. Remember that through your parents you were born; what can you give back to them that equals
their gift to you?" (CCC, #2215)
As long as a child lives at home with her/his parents, the child should obey her/his parents in all that they
ask of her/him when it is for her/his good or that of the family. "Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this pleases the Lord." Children should also obey the reasonable directions of their teachers and all to
whom their parents have entrusted them. But if a child is convinced in conscience that it would be morally
wrong to obey a particular order, she/he must not do so. (CCC, #2217)

SOME MORTAL SINS THAT GO SPECIFICALLY AGAINST THE 4TH COMMANDMENT:

 Serious failure to care for aged parents/Failure to carry out the last will of a deceased parent - The
commandment is very clear that we are to honor our parents. That would include taking care of them in
their time of need. Our parents nurtured us during our childhood and possibly even up to our college years
as well. It makes sense for us to take care of them, and as long as their last will is not immoral, to follow
that up for them.
 Serious disrespect for or disobedience to parents, superiors or authorities - We have to respect our
parents. We also are to respect superiors (boss, supervisors, managers, etc.) as well as authorities
(judges, police, etc.). Again, it has to be moral. Obviously, we do not have to listen if it breaks the law, and
especially if it breaks moral law.
 Wishing death or evil on parents - We are not to wish death or evil on anybody, but most importantly to
our parents.
 Abuse or serious neglect of children - This is where some people will think it goes a little different. Yes, we
are to honor our parents, but parents must also take care of their children. It is a mortal sin for
parents to abuse or seriously neglect their children since they are individuals that God has given them to
take care of. They do not belong to them forever, nor are their property. Some abuses would be beating
their own children especially treating as if they already adult ones, starving their children for lengthy period
of time. Serious neglect would also include abandonment, failure to take care of their children, and other
such parenting failures.

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT

“Thou shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13)
The fifth word of the Decalogue primarily reveals to us the sacredness of all human life. The
human person is made in the image and likeness of God and, therefore, has an inalienable dignity
and worth. However, this sacredness rests fundamentally on the fact that every human person is freely
created by God out of love in order to share eternal life in communion with God. In other words, the human
person is sacred because the human person is both made by God and made for God.
The Fifth Commandment prohibition against killing clearly forbids direct and intentional killing.
Murder is always gravely sinful, regardless of the form it takes. In a similar way, indirectly bringing
about a person’s death, when done intentionally, is also a clear violation of the commandment.

SOME MORTAL SINS THAT GO SPECIFICALLY AGAINST THE 5TH COMMANDMENT:

 Homicide - the crime of killing another person or human.
 Murder - the same with homicide but with intentions (pre-planned).
 Infanticide - the crime of killing a child within a year of birth.
 Fratricide - killing of one’s brother or sister.
 Suicide - it is the act of taking one’s own life may it be voluntarily or intentionally.
 Parricide - the killing of a parent or close relative.
 Self-Defense - What shall we say about death that occurs when an individual is protecting him or herself
from an attack? In this case we need to consider what the Church’s moral theologians name the
Principle of Double Effect. St. Thomas Aquinas explains this very simply when he writes, “The act of self-
defense can have a double effect: the preservation of one’s own life; and the killing of the aggressor… The
one is intended, the other is not.” (ST, II-II, 64.7)
 Euthanasia - It is the act of killing an individual for reasons considered to be merciful. Euthanasia is sinful
for the same reason that abortion is sinful: it violates the rights of an individual. On its surface, euthanasia
may seem quite attractive, as it offers a solution to end human suffering, but our Catechism observes it as
a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, our
Creator.
 Abortion - An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove
the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus.
A NOTE OF CONSOLATION: Here we need to remark that while the Fifth Commandment forbids murder,
and, thus, the taking of our own life, we must leave to God’s mercy the judgment of those who have
committed suicide. At the same time, we must remember our life is a gift given in trust. We do not exercise
complete control over it; God expects us to give it back. Thus, the Catechism teaches: “Everyone is
responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of
life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We
are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.” (CCC, #2280)
We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known
to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who
have taken their own lives. (CCC, #2283)

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT

“Thou shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
Adultery is when a person gives to another the love that belongs to a husband and wife. This is
forbidden by the 6th Commandment. But implicit in the commandment is any form of undue sexual activity
that leads oneself or another into sin. So, it covers a wide variety of subjects. Our bodies are temples of
the Holy Spirit and we should therefore respect them and cover them modestly. We must also respect
those of the opposite sex.
The 6th commandment forbids all impurity and immodesty in words, looks, and actions,
whether alone or with others. Examples of this would be: touching one's own body or that of another
without necessity simply to satisfy sinful curiosity, impure conversations, dirty jokes, looking at bad pictures,
and undue familiarity with the opposite sex. The Sixth Commandment summons spouses to practice
permanent and exclusive fidelity to one another. Emotional and sexual fidelity are essential to the
commitment made in the marriage covenant. God established marriage as a reflection of His fidelity to
us. The vows made by the spouses at their wedding to be faithful to one another forever should witness the
very covenant God has made with us.
All people: married, single, religious, and ordained need to acquire the virtue of chastity.
“Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in
his bodily and spiritual being”(CCC, #2337). Chastity unites our sexuality with our entire human nature. It
approaches sexuality as related to our spiritual natures so that sex is seen as more than a physical act.
Sexuality affects the whole person because of the unity of body and soul. Jesus is the model of chastity.
“Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (CCC, #2339).
The acquisition of chastity depends on self-discipline and leads to an internal freedom, which enables
human beings to temper sexual desires according to God’s plan for the appropriate expression of love in
the marital relationship of a man and a woman.

ACTS THAT GO AGAINST THE 6TH COMMANDMENT:

 Adultery - a voluntary sexual activity (as sexual intercourse) committed by a wife to a married man and
should be charged together.
 Concubinage - a voluntary sexual activity (as sexual intercourse) committed by a husband to an
unmarried woman and should be charged together
 Fornication - voluntary sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons or two persons not married
to each other.
 Bigamy - the act of going through a marriage ceremony while already married to another person
 Polygamy - state of marriage to many spouses
 Polygyny - having more than one wife is not God's will. Jesus said that a man has only one wife.
 Polyandry - having more than one husband is not God’s will. Jesus said that a woman has only one
husband.
 Sex partners - is against God’s will as well. It demeans the sex act which reflects God’s love and the fact
that we are temples of the Holy Spirit.
 Homosexuality - two men having sex is immoral in God's eyes.
- NOTE: (The Church teaches that Homosexuality is not a sin but the activity: sex acts are sinful.)

In conclusion, any sex outside of marriage is wrong in God's eyes. No matter how "right" it feels at the
moment. Therefore, it is important to remember that these commandments imply much more than they
expressly command. For example, the fourth commandment explicitly prescribes only honor for one's
parents, but under this heading are included love, obedience and service. Moreover, as the Church
interprets it, this same commandment refers to the duties of all those in any position of
subordination toward lawful superiors; it also imposes on those who rule others, particularly parents, the
obligation to provide for the welfare of those in their charge. Similarly, the fifth commandment, though it
explicitly forbids only killing, is to be extended to the prohibition of any unjust injury to the body, and even to
the soul, whether of oneself or of other human beings. The sixth commandment is explicitly directed against
adultery - the gravest sin of impurity that can be committed by or against a married person. Yet, it really
forbids every external act against the noble virtues of chastity and modesty.

THE 7TH, 8TH, 9TH AND 10TH COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

The Seventh and Eighth commandments are concerned primarily with our duties toward two
possessions of our neighbor - their material goods and their good reputation. Since human beings have the
tendency to be selfish and neglectful of the rights of others, God considered it necessary to lay
down the explicit commands: "Thou shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor". Like the other commandments, these two commandments prescribe more obligations than
those which they explicitly assert. The seventh commandment forbids not only stealing but every type of
dishonest dealing; the eighth forbids not only falsehood but also many other sins of the tongue such as
gossiping, the unlawful revelation of secrets, and the likes.
The Ninth and Tenth commandments are closely related with the Sixth and Seventh. The Ninth
forbidding interior sins regarding matters of purity, while the Sixth forbids external acts; the Tenth forbidding
those internal sins the external performance of which is forbidden by the Seventh commandment.
In our days there is much dishonesty, due largely to the excessive desire of people for riches and
luxuries. In business, in politics, even at home, many people are so anxious to enrich themselves that they
are entirely unconcerned with the rights of their fellow human beings. Moreover, crimes of theft and
robbery, often accompanied by violence or even murder, are becoming prevalent.

THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

The seventh word of the Decalogue primarily reveals to us that God wants us to act justly and with charity
in our relationships with one another. In this way, we are able to live in communion with God, who is just
and loving. Specifically, the Seventh Commandment commands justice and charity in the care of earthly
goods and the fruits of men’s labor. It forbids the unjust taking or keeping of goods belonging to one’s
neighbor and the wronging of another as regards his/her goods.
The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one's neighbor and
wronging him/her in any way with respect to his/her goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of
earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor. For the sake of the common good, it requires respect for the
universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to order this
world's goods to God and to fraternal charity. (CCC, 2401)

 Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give what is due to God and
neighbor. In terms of one’s neighbor, justice requires respect for the rights of each person and working for
harmony in human relationships so that equity with regard to persons and the common good is promoted.
 Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our
neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. In other words, charity is both the new commandment
and the virtue by which we keep the commandments that Christ gave us. It is the greatest of the virtues
because it disposes us to participate most intimately in the life of God, who is love itself.
So here we can begin to see the relationship that must exist between justice, the human virtue, and
charity, the theological virtue. As stated above, justice consists in the constant and firm will to give what is
due to God and neighbor. What is due to God and neighbor? In a word, love is. Charity, then, makes
justice possible.
The 7th and the 10th commandments go together. The Tenth makes it easy to keep the Seventh
by telling us not even to desire the property of our neighbor.
Remember: Christ's warning on the danger of riches. Anyone who desires to be rich, that is, to
have more material possessions than what he needs will find it hard to respect the property of their
neighbor. And the more we love the things of this earth, the harder we shall find it to love God.

SOME OF THE SINS AGAINST THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT:

The Seventh Commandment expressly forbids: Theft, robbery, cheating, usury, injuring the
property of another, detention of goods that have been found or lent, and the non-payment of debts.
1. THEFT - the act or crime of stealing
2. ROBBERY - Robbery is a theft accompanied by personal violence.
3. CHEATING - consists in injuring one’s neighbor in his possessions by crafty means.
4. USURY - the illegal action or practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest.

THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral
prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and
wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed is a refusal to commit oneself to moral
uprightness; they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of
the covenant. (CCC, #2464)
JESUS & US: REFLECTIONS OF TRUTH
Throughout the gospel, the evangelists portray Jesus as the embodiment of God’s truth. He, himself, says,
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn. 14:6) and this truth sheds God’s light upon the world and
provides the example for all our actions. If we consider the matter, this is no more than we should expect of
beings created in God’s image: if we look like God, we ought to act like God. Mark Twain, somewhat
cynically observed, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” In his Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus expresses the notion somewhat more nobly when he teaches, “Let what you say be simply “Yes” or
“No”; anything more comes from evil.” (Mt. 5:34)

WHAT IS TRUTH? Before we continue, we might do well to ask what truth is. The dictionary defines truth
as “Conformity to fact or actuality”. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, “…truth resides primarily in the intellect,
and secondarily in things as they are related to the intellect as their principle” (ST, 1, 16.1)
This is somewhat abstract, so let us consider the example St. Thomas uses, which is that of a house. The
house is “true” to the extent it corresponds to the image in its architect’s mind. Likewise, in the natural and
moral sphere, God knows what things ought to be whether they are rocks or moral principles. Individual
things are true to the extent they correspond to the ideal vision of the object in God’s mind. We have little
difficulty identifying “true” rocks; moral truths, however, which are fundamental to our relations with one
another, may, at least occasionally, be somewhat more difficult to determine.
The Catechism then provides synonyms for truth, “truthfulness, sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is
the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against
duplicity, dissimulation and hypocrisy.”
HERE ARE SOME OF THE OFFENSES AGAINST TRUTH:
1. Lie - An assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with purpose of deceiving someone.
2. Perjury - Lying under oath. If we take an oath to tell the truth but then we lie, we are telling God that we
want Him to lie for us. God is always true to His promises and never lies! For this reason, false oaths and
perjury seriously offended God.
OTHER LIES:
1. Rash judgment - which assumes without proof someone has done wrong
2. Detraction - which is telling the faults of another to those who have no reason to know the information
3. Calumny - which is lying about another, and causing others to form false negative opinions of
the individual. - the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage
their reputation;(synonymous to slander and defamation)

THE NINTH COMMANDMENT

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments sound so similar “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife… Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods” we may wonder what distinguishes them. Our theology teaches that
concupiscence is the distinguishing characteristic.
By the 9th commandment we are commanded to be pure in thought and desire. Mere thoughts about
impure things are not always sinful in themselves, but such thoughts are dangerous. Thoughts about
impure things become sinful when a person thinks of an unchaste act (thoughts of sex) and deliberately
takes pleasure in so thinking, or when unchaste desire or passion is aroused and consent is given to it. The
9th commandment forbids all thoughts and desires contrary to chastity. That is to say, it forbids all willful
thoughts. We know that no thought can be a sin unless it is willful. A willful thought is one we want, one we
take deliberate pleasure in and do not try to put out of our minds.
An unchaste thought that we do not want and try to get rid of is not a sin but a temptation. It is not possible
to avoid all temptations. When the devil wants to put an unchaste thought in our minds, he is usually able to
do so. But this is nothing to worry about and will never be a sin as long as we do not want the thought and
do our best to put it out by a little prayer and by keeping busy. The best remedy against this type of
temptation is prayer and flight. Run away from it by thinking about something else as much as you can.
Above all, avoid idleness, as the devil has trouble tempting busy people.

CONCUPISCENCE In Latin, the word “concupiscence” means “to desire strongly”, and our Catechism
defines concupiscence as “…any intense form of human desire. Christian theology has given it a particular
meaning: the movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of human reason” (CCC, #2515)
Concupiscence is one of the results of Original Sin. It is not sinful in itself, but its presence within us can
incline us to make poor moral choices when faced with certain attractive options. Concupiscence is what
St. Paul has in mind when he employs the very apt image of the flesh rebelling against the spirit.

Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (YOUCAT)

The erotic attraction between man and woman was created by God and is therefore good; it is
part of a person's sexual nature and biological constitution. It ensures that man and woman can unite with
one another and descendants can spring from their love. The 9th commandment is meant to protect this
union.
The shelter of marriage and family must not be endangered through playing with fire, in
other words, through reckless indulgence in the erotic energy that crackles between man and woman. This
is why it is a good rule, especially for Christians: "Keep your hands off married men and women."
When we turn to God with a sincere intention, he transforms our hearts. He gives us the
strength to correspond to his will and to reject impure thoughts, fantasies, and desires.
Many young Christians live in an environment where it is taken for granted that everything should
be on display and people are systematically trained to ignore feelings of shame. But shamelessness is
inhuman. Animals experience no shame. In a human being, in contrast, it is an essential feature. It does
not hide something inferior but rather protects something valuable, namely the dignity of the person in his
capacity to love. The feeling of shame is found in all cultures, although it assumes different forms. it has
nothing to do with prudery or a repressive upbringing. A person is also ashamed of his sins and other
things that would demean him if they were made generally known. Someone who offends another person's
natural feeling of shame by words, glances, gestures, or actions, robs him of his dignity.

FORBIDDEN ACT BY THE NINTH COMMANDMENT:

1. Act of Lasciviousness - It is an act of making a physical contact with the body of another person for the
purpose of obtaining sexual gratification other than, or without intention of sexual intercourse. - having
impure thoughts and desires

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods, his land, and his slaves, his animals or anything else that he
owns” Deuteronomy 5:22
The Tenth commandment unfolds and completes the Ninth, which is concerned with concupiscence of the
flesh. It forbids coveting the goods of another, as the root of theft, robbery, and fraud, which the Seventh
commandment forbids. "Lust of the eyes" leads to the violence and injustice forbidden by the Fifth
commandment. Avarice, like fornication, originates in the idolatry prohibited by the first three
prescriptions of the Law. The Tenth commandment concerns the intentions of the heart; with the Ninth, it
summarizes all the precepts of the Law. (CCC, #2534)
The Tenth commandment forbids greed and the desire to amass earthly goods without limit. It
forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power. It also forbids the desire to
commit injustice by harming our neighbor and his temporal goods. (CCC, #2536)

SPECIFIC SIN THAT GO AGAINST TO THE 10th COMMANDMENT:

1. AVARICE - extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

To sum it up, in our days there is much dishonesty, due largely to the excessive desire of people for
riches and luxuries. In business, in politics, even in the home, many people are so anxious to enrich
themselves that they are entirely unconcerned with the rights of their fellow men. Moreover, crimes
of theft and robbery, often accompanied by violence or even murder, are becoming more and more
common.
Sometimes people buy stolen goods knowingly, and apparently do not realize that they have no right
to claim them but that they must give them back to the real owner. Indeed, even if a person buys stolen
goods without realizing that they have been stolen, he may not keep them when he finds out that they were
stolen if he knows the owner. If the owner appears and proves his right to the goods, the man who has
bought them must restore them, even though the owner makes no recompense for the price the recipient
has paid; but the latter has a right to get his money back from the thief who sold him the goods.
The civil law is unable to accomplish much toward preventing these violations of the Seventh
commandment. True, people are sent to prison for theft when they are captured. But many escape the law;
many others commit sins of dishonesty in so clever a way that there is no civil law to cover their case. But
they do not escape the all seeing eye of God. And no matter how successfully a person may have acquired
dishonest gain, no matter how prosperous he may have made himself at the expense of his fellow men,
death will come in a few brief years to separate him from his riches and to summon him to judgment before
the throne of an all just God.
Many persons, by not paying their just debts, are guilty of sins against the Seventh commandment.
Some claim that they are unable to pay, yet they continue to buy luxuries, a fact which shows that they are
not sincere. There are even some who deliberately refuse to pay a debt even though they know it was
contracted, if the creditor has no written proof of his claim. God's law of justice is not limited to what can be
proved in a civil court.
Sins of the tongue which injure others are also prevalent. Without the least qualm of conscience men
lie to their fellow men. There are many who gravely injure the reputation of their fellows by their
uncharitable, often false, remarks and stories. Backbiting, tale bearing, the violation of secrets that one
should keep, rash judgments - how common these are today!
Catholics or Christians, followers of Our Lord who was so attentive to the rights of others. Should try to
lead men to observe these commandments _ and the best way is to inspire them by good example. We
must be strictly honest in our dealings with others. Even when there is a question of something of slight
value, we must never take it or keep it if it belongs to another. How many, for example, seem to think that if
they find something on the street they are entitled to keep it without an attempt to find the owner! Similarly,
we must watch over our speech, rejecting every form of falsehood, carefully avoiding anything that
might wound our neighbor's character, shunning rash and harsh judgments about our neighbor. "Do not
judge, that you may not be judged" (Matt. 7:1).
RESOLUTION: Resolve to be strictly honest both in deed and in word.