1. Love for God: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Commandments
Chapter 19

2. Keeping the Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Decalogue)
The Decalogue are unified. To break one of the commandments is to break the whole law – loving God means we must love our neighbor (CCC, 2079)

3. The First Commandment
“You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”
To accept in faith and offer God alone the supreme worship that is due Him.
Exterior and interior worship is due to God, because our bodies, as well as our souls belong to Him.
Exterior – acts of faith and love; reverence at Mass; service to others
Interior – inward acts of heart and mind; submitting ourselves to God out of charity and sacrifice

4. The First Commandment
We worship God by the acts of the virtues of faith, hope, and charity:
True piety is cheerful, full of joy. Not gloomy. “Serve God in gladness (Ps. 99:2)
Our negativity and improper demeanor can repel others, and is therefore not pleasing God.

5. The First Commandment Faith obliges us: Hope obliges us:
To learn and study what God has revealed
To believe what God has revealed. It makes sense because logic tells us that God cannot err or deceive.
To profess our faith openly and when necessary.
Hope obliges us:
To trust that God will give us eternal life and the means to obtain it.
Charity obliges us:
To love God above all things because He is infinitely good, and to love our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

6. Sins Against the Virtue of Faith
Infidelity – rejection of the Faith; neglect of the Faith; ignorance of the Faith; practicing “our version” of Christianity
Apostasy – complete rejection of the truths of the Catholic Faith; giving up on Faith
Heresy – refusal of a baptized person to accept one or more of the truths revealed by God and taught by the Catholic Church. Formal heresy (Voluntary) vs. Material Heresy (involuntary)
Indifferentism – all religions are equally good or the same
Schism – refusal to submit to the authority of the Pope or to the bishops in communion with him
“To walk with God, we must make it a practice to talk with God.”

7. Religion and Superstition
Superstition – attributing to a creature, object, or entity a power that belongs to God alone.
Examples: charms, spells, fortune-telling, omens, astrology, dreams, spiritism (divination)
Sacrilege – mistreating or disrespecting sacred persons, places, or things
Examples: violent speech or actions against a priest, deacons, religious, or consecrated persons; impurity or violence in a sacred place, receiving the sacraments unworthily, stealing from the Church, damaging the Church, sacred objects, images etc.
Disposing the Eucharist or carrying the Eucharist around
Idolatry – denies worship due to God alone
Simony – buying or selling sacred or spiritual things or positions (Acts 8:19-20)
Offering for the Church or the Mass (see 1 Cor. 9:14)

8. Sins Against Hope and Charity
Sin of Presumption – when one trusts that one can be saved through efforts without God’s help; or by God’s help without one’s efforts
Committing sin boldly and believing that God will pardon sinners
Tempting God by exposing ourselves to sin and its occasions in hope that God will protect and save us
CCC, 2092 – “Forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit”
Sin of Despair – deliberate refusal to trust that God will give the necessary grace for salvation (Gen. 4:13)

9. Sins Against Charity Grave sin – destroys the love of God and neighbor
Sloth – being too lazy to love God or neighbor; can lead to cowardice or indifference; can also lead to agnosticism, which can lead to atheism
Envy – bitter about another person’s good fortune; it is the sin of the devil
Scandal – injuring our neighbor’s soul by causing or tempting them to sin

10. Veneration of Saints Distinctions:
Dulia () – veneration or honor we accord to the saints
Hyperdulia () – veneration or honor we accord to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Latria () – the adoration or worship we give to God
When we honor the saints we honor God Himself, Who is the cause of their holiness.

11. Relics and Images
We honor the bodies of the saints, or objects connected with the saints or the Lord.
We preserve and reverence certain objects connected with our great heroes
Respect to statues and images of the saints and Christ
Similar to the manner we honor pictures family and friends and our national flag
It is not idolatry because we do not adore or worship them
What are some benefits?
Effective and supernatural graces may be obtained
Silent reminder to encourage us
Excellent means for use for instruction. Great masterpieces have often been religious depictions

12. Relics and Images
The crucifix is a sign of our redemption – it should be prominently displayed.
We do not attribute any divine power in relics, statues, and images. Of themselves they cannot work miracles, but they may be used by God.
Example: The Woman hemorrhaging and touching the cloak of Christ (Mark 5:28)

13. The Second Commandment
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” Cf
A command to always speak with reverence for God, of the saints, holy things, to be truthful in taking oaths, and faithful to our vows
We should only call upon the name of God with heartfelt devotion – especially during important actions or times of trouble
The name of Jesus is the most powerful of all names; we should pay special reverence to name of Jesus.

14. The Second Commandment
Taking God’s name in vain/Swearing – using the name of Christ or Jesus without reverence
Profanity – disrespectful language in impatience, jest, mere surprise, or habit without the intention of paying God honor. It is a sin of irreverence
Vulgarity/Obscenity is a breach of good manners and can lead to profanity; if used in malice it is certainly a sin; it can also be a sin against charity if it is offensive to a neighbor
Cursing – calling down of some evil on a person, place, or thing
Blasphemy – insulting language which expresses contempt for God, either directly or through the saints or holy things
Abusive language against God, mocking the Faith or the Sacraments; deliberate irreverent actions or thoughts

15. The Third Commandment “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day”
Observance of Sunday or holyday for a special worship of God. Why Sunday?
Sunday is the day of the Resurrection and the day of Pentecost
The obligation of Mass is binding on all persons who have attained the age of reason, including children
Those who are sick, elderly, works of necessity during hours of the Mass, live too far and have no transportation, or in bad/dangerous weather are excused.
We should be sturdy Christians, and not let anything but impossibility or serious illness to interfere with going to Mass.
Arriving too late for Mass or leaving early for Mass is a violation of the commandment

16. The Third Commandment Participating at Mass
We should spiritually prepare ourselves for Mass by arriving a few minutes early and not leave early
We should try to be fully present at Mass – avoiding deliberate distractions, looking around, conversations; we should follow along using the Missal
We should be generous with our offerings, and teach our children likewise

17. What constitutes Unecessary work on Sundays?
Employers who force their employees to do unnecessary work on Sundays are responsible for the violation of the Third Commandment. They have the obligation to make that their employees comply with their religious duties
Public buying and selling should be avoided so that no store may be forced to keep open – this includes going to restaurants, malls, and movie theaters.
Thoughts?

18. “Work” allowed on Sundays
Work that is required to the honor of God, our own need, and that of neighbor
1. Preparing a place for Mass or working for the Mass
2. Daily necessity – cooking, cleaning, caring for others, animals etc., work necessary to support others or prevent a serious financial loss
Those in charge or have responsibility for others – policemen, medical personnel, pharmacists, soldiers etc.
While recreation is part of the “resting” on the Sabbath, competitive games should be avoided when possible
We should avoid doing activities on Saturday/Sunday that would prevent us from coming to Mass
We should avoid useless pastimes or bad habits – excessive eating, drinking, gambling etc.