1. Obedience, Honesty, & Justice
The 4th, 8th, 7th & 10th Commandments

2. The Fourth Commandment
“Honor Thy Mother & Thy Father”
Respecting Authority

3. Families & God’s Plan The basic building block of communal life
First knowledge of love, moral living, prayer, community.
Biblical view of family
Several generations lived together, each with a defined role
Faithful to God, loyal to family
Honor parents
Proverbs 19:26, 30:17,Psalm 27:10,Sirach 3: 1-16
Jesus teaches about family
He was a loving and obedient son

4. Domestic Church The Family is considered the “Domestic Church”
Parents are the first teachers of the faith
Teachers of communal living, each member helps the others
Experience of love
Provide nourishment

5. Parent & Child Responsibility
“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children so that they may not be discouraged” (Colossians 3:18-21)
Parents and children have different roles in the family, therefore they have different responsibilities

6. Children’s Responsibilities
Right attitude
Respect
Listen to parents with an open and patient attitude
Gratitude
Express appreciation for all that parents do for their children
Obedience
You must follow the rules and regulations given by your parents
Assistance
Doing chores
Giving support especially in old age

7. Parental Duties Provide a safe environment
Teach about God, prayer, and moral living
First catechists
Model the values of love, respect, caring, forgiveness, service to others, and faith.
Introduce children to Church community.
Bring them to the sacraments
Gradually bring the child to independence
Offer support in the choice of vocation

8. Respect for Public Life
Our faith should strongly influence our public life, our relationship with public organizations.
Role and nature of public groups
Being “in the world but not of the world”

9. Role and Nature of Public Groups
Natural law should be the basis for all public groups and civil authorities
Safeguard fundamental rights of all humans
Promote freedom
Work for common good
Respect the dignity of the human person
Sport Team: ?

10. Being “in the world but not of the world”
Making uncomfortable choices
Social sin
Slavery
Discrimination
Right to life issues
Lesser sins
Favoritism
Prejudice
Greed
Misinformation

11. Faithful Citizenship Faithful to the country Faithful to God
Obeying just laws
Active participation in the political process
Faithful to God
Informed by faith

12. The Role of the State State exists for the good of its citizens
Ensure basic physical needs
Promote spiritual freedoms
Embrace the concept of the common good
State’s responsibilities:
Protect basic freedoms
Provide education
Promote and allow the formation of associations
Provide a secure and stable order
Avoid infringing on the rights of other states

13. The Role of the Citizen
Active cooperation and participation in civic life
Obey civil laws, pay taxes, vote, add opinion to public policies and issues. This helps build a society based on truth, justice, solidarity and freedom.
Civil disobedience
Deliberate refusal to obey an immoral demand from civil authority or an immoral civil law

14. Solidarity
The union of one’s heart and mind with all people. To be one with all others. This union:
Leads to the just distribution of material goods
Creates bonds between opposing groups and nations
Leads to the spread of spiritual goods such as friendship and prayer

15. The Eighth Commandment
“You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor”
Reality vs. Illusion

16. Honesty God is the source of all Truth
To live in communion with God we must live In truth.
Lying is probably the sin that is committed most.
When we commit other sins we usually lie about it.
We lie to hide guilt
We lie to ourselves to justify our actions
Media encourages lies
Commercials, news articles, etc.

17. Reality vs. Illusion Lies hurt Destroy trust
May lead to other sins or crimes
Lies are a direct contradiction of the truth therefore a contradiction of God
Dishonesty creates a false reality, an illusion that denies God

18. Light vs. Darkness God is light, there is no darkness in Him
When we walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in the truth. (John’s gospel)
Evil is done in the dark
Jesus is the light of the world, Jesus said
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”
“I have come to testify to the Truth”

19. Do you live in illusion? “Good liar?”
Create your own version of the truth
Begin to believe the lie
Satan is the “Father of lies”
Against our nature! We are made in God’s image…When we lie we deny our own nature
We must make every effort to find out the truth so that we are not living an illusion.

20. Witnessing to the Truth
Spread the truth of Jesus
Missionaries
Left their homes to spend their lives spreading the gospel
Martyrs
Died in defense of their faith, witnessing to the truth
Ordinary
Spend time serving others wherever needed

21. Modern Day Martyrs Blessed Martyrs of Nowogrodek (1943)
11 nuns killed for protesting the arrest and murder of Polish Jews by the Nazis
Saints of the Cristero War
25 Mexicans, mostly priests for their ministry
498 Spanish Martyrs
Hundreds killed for their faith
Blessed Martyrs of Songkhon(1940)
7 people executed by local police
Fr. Maximillian Kolbe (1941)
volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the Death camp at Auschwitz
Archbishop Oscar Romero (1980)
Killed while celebrating the Mass because of his defense of the poor in El Salvador
Sr. Dorothy Stang (2005)
Murdered by the government in Brazil. Stang had been outspoken in her efforts on behalf of the poor and the environment

22. Integrity Persons of Integrity Societal Integrity Honesty builds trust
Effects of lying
Societal Integrity
(same)

23. Sins against Honesty Perjury: lying under oath
Detraction: unnecessarily revealing something truthful that is harmful to the person’s reputation
Calumny/slander: lying or spreading rumors about someone, ruining their reputation
Adulation: excessive flattery, praise or admiration of another
Boasting/bragging: exaggerate the truth to make ourselves seem praiseworthy
Breaking a confidence: telling others what you have been told in confidence*
*permissible if the secret is dangerous
Making fun of a person to humiliate them or hurt their feelings

24. Breaking a Confidence If someone reveals
they have committed a serious crime and refuses your advice to tell the authorities
they intend to cause serious harm to themselves or someone else (physical or emotional)
they are in an abusive situation
Something that would put you in danger or could make you a criminal accomplice.

25. The Seventh & Tenth Commandment
“You Shall Not Steal”
“You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbors’ Goods”
Justice vs. Injustice

26. 7th Commandment Simple vs. Complex
Stealing:
Don’t take what is not yours
Complex:
Laziness at work
Tax fraud
Corporate espionage
Misleading advertising
Plagiarism

27. 10th Commandment Envy: Greed: Blessed are the “Poor in Spirit”
That capital sin that is contrary to the 10th commandment. It is resentment or sadness because of another person’s good fortune.
Greed:
The capital sin that fosters the desire to accumulate earthly goods beyond what we need. It is also contrary to the 10th commandment.
Blessed are the “Poor in Spirit”
The beatitude that addresses the focus or desire for material things.

28. Moral Law- Material Possessions
Old law and possessions
Right to personal possessions
Subordinate to “just distribution” of resources and the common good (Lev. 25)
7th commandment
New law on possessions
Matthew 5:3 (poor in spirit)
Luke 6:20-21, 24-25
Blessed are the poor; those who hunger
Woe to the rich, those who are filled

29. Jesus Teaches- Poverty is not a sign of God’s displeasure with someone
God has preferential concern with those suffering from poverty
The “lust” for wealth is a danger to our spiritual lives (the LOVE of money is the root to all evil)
Wealth is to be shared

30. Accounts of Jesus “The Rich Young Man” (Luke 18: 18-30)
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God”
“Zacchaeus, the Wealthy Tax Collector” (Luke 19: 1-10)
Commutative justice: the return of what was stolen in the same condition or its equivalent. An equal exchange of goods, money or services

31. Called to Be Just
Personal morality or social justice?, Body or soul? We are both; therefore we can do both equally.
Concentrate on our personal morality and relationship with God
Care for the poor
The Church is called to make judgments and address issues that affect the common good.
Provide clear teaching on issues of economic justice, war and violence, respect for life and environmental justice

32. Social Action Works of Justice Works of Charity and Service
Doctrines on social justice
Dignity of life and person
Call to participation in family, community, state
Rights and responsibilities
Option for the poor
Dignity of work and workers
Solidarity
Care of God’s creatures and creation (environment)
Works of Charity and Service
Corporal works of mercy
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick and imprisoned
Bury the dead

33. A Just Society Labor issues Environmental issues International issues
Unemployment
Fair wages
Conditions
Environmental issues
Protection of natural resources
International issues
Fair employment practices
Human justices

34. Envy & Greed
These sins primarily against the 10th commandment usually precede sins against the 7th commandment
Envy: we want something so much it dominates our every thought and action, to thoughts of stealing it and then acting on it
Greed: a cousin of envy, leaves us dissatisfied with what we have and we want more.
These root sins grow into cheating, lying, violence and other immoral actions

35. Self- Control
We can control our feelings of envy and greed (see Cain and Abel)
Dwell on them or banish them
Banish them-
Trust in the providence of God
Have goodwill toward others
Control your pride by practicing humility
“Do not be afraid, your father in heaven knows your needs”

36. Living Simply Practice spiritual poverty Lead a simple life
Take only what you need
Share your abundance with others
Practice almsgiving