MHELODY B.

CRUZ THEOLOGY and the LAW

September 19, 2013

REACTION PAPER ON THE 10 COMMANDMENTS [4TH, 5TH, 6TH Commandments) THE 4TH COMMANDMENT: Deuteronomy 5: 16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Exodus 20: 12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

In the few words of our text St. Luke, He went down with them, and came to

Nazareth; and was subject to them.LUKE, he describes the private, hidden life of our
Lord during His childhood and early manhood. During all these years, the Saviour, who was in reality the Creator and Lord of Mary and Joseph, was subject to them, as a child to his earthly parents, and obeyed all their words and wishes. Our Lord's conduct toward His foster father and Blessed Mother is the pattern according to which every good child should endeavour to model his life and actions with regard to his own parents. Children owe honour to their parents, and this implies three things: respect, obedience and support. We owe respect to our parents, because it is from them we have received our life; we owe them obedience, because it is from them we have received our training, education, etc.; we owe them assistance and support, if necessary, since they assisted us during our infancy and needful years. Respect should be shown to our parents in words and actions, in bearing their defects and failings, and by seeking their advice and direction in matters of importance. Obedience is due to parents in all that is not sin, and that has not reference to a choice of a state of life. Our Lord remained in the Temple at the age of twelve without His parents' permission, because this pertained to His life work, His divine mission on earth. While at Nazareth He obeyed them in all things. In regard to support it is our duty to supply our parents with necessary food, clothing and other things, in as far as they have need, and to assist them spiritually in life and death. 5. We are under similar obligations of obedience and respect to other lawful authorities, such as, rulers, teachers, employers, etc. The duties imposed by this precept come first after our duties to God. We owe our parents a debt of gratitude we can never pay. Self-interest requires us to observe this precept. It is the only Commandment to the observance of which is expressly promised even a temporal reward. Failure to observe this Commandment brings with it misfortune and unhappiness in our own lives and families (Deut. xxvii. 16; Ecclus. iii. 18).

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

The advantages arising from a faithful observance of this Commandment can scarcely be expressed in words; for not only does it bring with it its own fruit, and that in the richest abundance and of superior excellence, but it also affords a test of the sincerity of our love for God: "He that loveth not his brother whom he seeth," says St. John, "how can he love God whom he seeth not?"(2) In like manner, if we do not honor and reverence our parents whom we see, how can we honor or reverence God, the supreme and best of parents, whom we see not? Hence we can easily perceive the similarity between these two Commandments. The application of this Commandment is of very great extent. Besides our natural parents, there are many others whose power, rank, usefulness, exalted functions, or office, entitle them to parental honor. Furthermore, this Commandment lightens the labor of parents and superiors; for their chief care is to mould the lives of those placed under their charge according to virtue and the maxims of the divine law; and the performance of this duty must be considerably facilitated, if it be known by all that highest honor to parents is an obligation, sanctioned and commanded by no less an authority than that of God Himself.

THE 5TH COMMANDMENT

Deuteronomy 5:17/ Exodus 20:13You shall not murder.

The external sins forbidden by the fifth Commandment are narrated in the following. This precept prohibits the taking of human, and not of animal life, although cruelty to animals is also sinful. 2. It is only unjust homicide that is forbidden by this Commandment, for it is lawful to take human life in three cases: (a) in the time of war; (b) in punishing malefactors who have been lawfully condemned by the civil authorities (Rom. xiii. 4) ; (c) in necessary defense of one's life against an unjust aggressor. 3. He who willfully and unjustly takes away another's life, or contributes to such a deed, is guilty of murder, e.g., those who practice abortion. Likewise those who, through carelessness or neglect, cause another's death are guilty of homicide, and their sin is greater or less in proportion to the degree of their negligence, e.g., reckless drivers, engineers, etc. 4. Suicide is similarly forbidden by the fifth Commandment, because a man has no more right to kill himself than to kill his neighbor. For the same reason no one has the right to risk his life without necessity, nor seriously to injure or impair his health. It is further forbidden to shorten one's days by excessive eating and drinking, by refusing to take remedies or to make use of other ordinary means of preserving life and strength. Hence the immorality of Christian Science. 5. The unlawful taking of human life is a most grievous crime (I John iii. 15; Gen. iv. 10; ix. 6), because, (a) it is most injurious to man, robbing him of his greatest temporal possession, and often exposing him to eternal loss; (b) it is a crime against society which it thus unjustly deprives of its members, frequently substituting brute force for law and order; (c) it is an injury to God, for it usurps power that belongs to God alone (Deut. xxxii. 39; Gen. ix. 6). 6. The fifth Commandment furthermore prohibits, (a) fighting, i.e., all unjust encounters with others in which blows, wounds or bodily injuries are dealt; (b) quarrelings, i.e., unjust hostile contentions or disputes, or the sinful exchange of bitter and injurious words. As our Lord says in today's Gospel, these may be very grievous sins.

Be ye all of one mind . . . not rendering evil for evil.--I PETER iii. 8, 9. You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment--MATT. v. 21, 32.
The internal sins forbidden by the fifth Commandment. 1. This precept prohibits, first of all, unlawful anger, which is a feeling of displeasure towards another with a desire of revenge. Anger is unlawful, (a) when it is directed against the offender rather than his offense, and makes us desire his injury and ruin; (b) when it leads to excessive punishment or gets beyond the control of the reason. 2. Anger is lawful, however, when it is directed against the offense rather than the offender, and seeks only the latter's correction, or reasonable redress (Eph. iv. 26; Luke xix. 45). 3. Unlawful anger is a capital sin, and is mortal when serious and deliberate. 4. When anger hardens into a fixed and abiding state of resentment, wishing another evil and rejoicing over his misfortunes, it becomes hatred--a mortal sin. Mere dislike of another's bad qualities without ill will towards him is not hatred, but should be controlled. While, it is pointed out, the anger which ordinarily careful Christians may be guilty of is usually venial in its character, and should not prevent them from receiving Holy Communion frequently through any misapprehension as to its grade of sinfulness, still we should earnestly strive so to master our tendency towards immoderate anger, that we shall always be able to control it, even under great provocation. We should, therefore, cultivate the opposite virtue of meekness, which does not mean insensibility to irritation, or an easy-going disposition, but means positive strength of character, or the ability to suffer in patience that which may nevertheless move us powerfully to revenge. One interesting illustration of the strength of character implied in the virtue of meekness, is furnished by the life-history of the great opponent of the Turks in the fifteenth century, the illustrious Scanderbeg, King of Albania. In that century the Turks, under Mahomet II, again and again menaced the Christianity of Europe by wars of invasion and conquest. But again and again they were heroically repulsed by Scanderbeg with much smaller armies. One historian declares that "there appeared in Scanderbeg something almost above human nature; and it is certain that very few generals have been equal to him in firmness of mind, strength of body, heroic valor, and brilliant success. He gained twenty-two victories over the Ottomans, whilst they were in the height of their power and under the most terrible of their sultans. . . He not only displayed the intrepidity of a warrior, and the talents of a consummate general, but also practiced the social and Christian virtues in a high degree of perfection. Most historians represent him as the mildest of men; and yet, such was the struggle within him whenever he met with great opposition, that his lower lip would split and bleed; whence we may conclude that, as he was naturally much inclined to anger, his great mildness must have been the effect of a sublime virtue, and of an extraordinary violence which he offered to himself" (Fredet's "Modern History," 1877, p. 342). Meekness, then, does not mean weakness, but rather strength of character, and shines with the brightest luster in strong men and noble characters.

Humility, too, is a safeguard against anger, partly because much of our proneness to indignation arises from over-sensitiveness and too great self-appreciation, and partly because the humble of heart can recognize their own sinfulness and are not, therefore, over-exacting with respect to their neighbor. A just recognition of the fact that inordinate anger is a shameful sign of our own weakness of will should be a powerful natural safeguard against anger. A truly strong man governs an unruly steed, and is not carried whithersoever that lower animal nature would carry the rider. And, indeed, which one of us, in regarding the raging anger of another, does not immediately perceive the dishonoring and indecent character of the exhibition poor human nature is making of itself? That ugly picture which you are looking at, is a mirror in which you may see clearly your own features in any outburst of immoderate anger. The thought, too, that unrestrained anger may result in other most horrible sins-veritable murders, and grave sins of hatred, and horrible cursings, blasphemies, imprecations-this should make us fear the growth of anger in us and lead us to every precaution possible to avoid such a possible outcome of ungoverned passion. Finally, there is the contemplation of our Divine Model, the God-Man, Christ Jesus, Who bids us learn of Him, Who is meek and humble of heart, how to suffer with patience the evils of our life, the offenses of our brethren, the misunderstandings of our friends, the guile and misrepresentation of our enemies. Remembering that we can do all things in Him Who strengthen us, let us make the constant companion of our hearts, the frequent prayer of our lips, that sweet aspiration to which Holy Church has attached an indulgence: "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine!" THE 6TH COMMANDMENT
Deuteronomy 5:18/ Exodus 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.

This precept forbids not only adultery, but every act, look and word opposed to the virtue of chastity; in a word, it forbids all impurity or inordinate carnal pleasure. Impurity or lust is a mortal sin and one of the capital vices, (a) because it is a beastly sin, subjecting the higher part of man to the lower brute passions; (b) because God has forbidden it and punished its commission with dreadful chastisements, such as the Deluge, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah;(c) because it is universally considered a most shameful sin. Impurity entails dreadful consequences, (a) unlike other sins which affect only one power, such as the intellect, the will, or some of the senses, lust contaminates man's entire being, body and soul, and becomes the one thought and aim of his existence; (b) it impels a man to every other kind of sin in order to gratify this one; from it result lying, slanders, thefts, murders, etc.; (c) impurity causes the loss of more souls than any other kind of sin, because, while it is the easiest to commit, it is perhaps the hardest to abandon, for it blinds the intellect, hardens the heart, leads to a disgust for piety, loss of faith, despair and final impenitence; (d) it causes the most loathsome diseases and more deaths than all the wars of history. The impure man's "bones shall be filled with the vices of his youth, and they shall sleep with him in the dust" (Job xx.II).

The Sixth Commandment requires all to cultivate chastity according to their state of life. The excellence of this virtue is seen: (a) from the special love God bears it--He chose a virgin as His mother, the chaste St. Joseph as His foster father, and loved most among the Apostles the innocent St. John; (b) from the fact that God promises a special reward to the pure (Apoc. xiv. 3 ff.) ; (c) from the fact that, in consequence of purity, God grants special favors, such as, clearness of vision, peculiar taste for heavenly things, deep interior peace, etc.; (d) from the fact that it is called the angelic virtue (Wis.iv.1). The chief means of cultivating this virtue are: (a) prayer (Wis. vii. 21); (b) mortification, which consists in shunning idleness (Ecclus. xxxiii. 29), excessive eating and drinking (Ezech. xvi. 49), indecent conversation (Eph. v. 3), immodest dances, plays, etc, dangerous company keeping, bad books, immodest pictures (pornography, etc; (c) frequent reception of the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion, meditation on the four last things (death, judgment, heaven and hell), and devotion to the Blessed Virgin. If the vice of impurity was an enormous crime for pagans, how much greater is it for Christians whose flesh has been honored by the Incarnation of the Son of God, whose bodies have been made the temples of the Holy Ghost, and who are nourished by the sacred Body and Blood of Christ Himself! The night of paganism is past, the day of Christ is at hand; let us therefore put aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

When you are contracting habits of impurity you are dealing most fearfully with spiritual
things, you are ruining your body, the temple of the Holy Ghost; you are weakening your will, tightening thin cords into the iron chain of habit. The temptations are sore and grievous, you carry the evil about you in the very body wherewith you are clothed. Yet if it be hard to stand firm against temptation, it is ten times harder, with tainted imagination, vitiated memory, and weakened will,, to rise once you have fallen. It is harder to rise, for you may reach that state where the body refuses to respond but the mind continues to desire. It is harder because the same motives that persuaded you to lose your innocence will dissuade from repentance. Impurity is Satan's deadliest weapon against you. Impurity of every kind, deliberate in word, thought or deed, is a mortal sin. But if the temptations are the strongest that beset you, if the evil results of yielding are the most terrible that befall you--so also is the reward; there is none greater.