| Catholic Ten Commandments |
The Ten Commandments - Rules to Live ByWhat are the Catholic Ten Commandments?The first thing everyone wants to know is what are the Catholic Ten Commandments? In order, they are:
How the Ten Commandments Break DownLooking at the Ten Commandments, we can see that they actually break down into two main sections. First, Commandments 1 through 3 deal with our relationship with God. Next, Commandments 4 through 10 deal with our relationships with each other. This is echoed in Matthew 22, when Jesus was asked what is the greatest Commandment, and He states:
Jesus was not teaching anything new or revolutionary; He was breaking down the Commandments in an easy-to-understand way. If we love God, then we will follow Commandments 1 through 3. If we love our neighbor, we will follow Commandments 4 through 10. It's as simple as that. Following the Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments serve as a guide and set of rules for us to follow, but do not take the word "guide" too easily. Speed limits are a guide for safe driving, but they are also a law and, therefore, punishable. Not following the Ten Commandments is a sin - let no one misguide you. The debate, especially between Protestants and Catholics, about following the Ten Commandments can become pretty intense, but I feel most of that is from misinterpretation of Catholic teaching. Some claim that Catholics believe in salvation by works. In other words, that Catholics believe that they are saved based on how well they follow the Commandments. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Catholics, we believe that we are commanded to follow the Divine Law, but we will fall short; therefore, we need God's grace to be saved. Sound familiar? When we go to Confession, we can use the Ten Commandments as a guide. Read through the Ten Commandments and be honest about which ones you have failed to keep. Then, we can find absolution, through God's grace, in the Confessional. The Catholic Ten CommandmentsThe debate continues of the Catholic Ten Commandments vs. the Protestant Ten Commandments. So, what is the difference? Very little. Actually, it simply comes down to how they are grouped together. Protestants have the Commandment against graven images as number 2, while Catholics group this together with number 1. To keep it at 10 Commandments, Protestants then group coveting your neighbor's wife and goods together. Other than that, they are the same. Some will say that Catholics eliminate the Commandment against graven images so they can have statues and pictures everywhere. This is not true. St. Augustine, who came up with the Catholic grouping of the Commandments, felt that the 1st Commandment covered it. If we want to split hairs over our differences, one could ask why Protestants feel that a neighbor's wife falls underneath his goods, but let's not go there. Listen, the Catholic Ten Commandments were taken from Exodus 20 and then grouped together. The Protestant Ten Commandments did the same thing. We may not number them exactly the same, but we still believe in the same truths of the Old Testament. Despite our small differences, we are more alike than different. Hopefully, one day, we can set aside these differences and truly become one Church. |
