Do God's Commandments, love him and our neighbor for love of him. Strive to be a saint. Learn from the saints and imitate them.
Examine your conscience on:
The ten commandments, two greatest commandments, seven capital sins
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Exodus 20 2-17
|
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
|
A Traditional Catechetical Formula
|
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
1. I am the LORD your God:
you shall not have strange Gods before me. |
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. |
You shall have no other gods before me
. . . | |
You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. |
You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain . . . |
2. You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain. |
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. |
Observe the sabbath day,
to keep it holy . . . |
3. Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.
|
Honor your father and your mother,
that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you. |
Honor your father and your mother
. . . |
4. Honor your father and your mother.
|
You shall not kill.
|
You shall not kill.
|
5. You shall not kill.
|
You shall not commit adultery.
|
Neither shall you commit adultery.
|
6. You shall not commit adultery.
|
You shall not steal.
|
Neither shall you steal.
|
7. You shall not steal.
|
You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor. |
Neither shall you bear false witness
against your neighbor. |
8. You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor. |
You shall not covet your neighbor's house;
you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. |
Neither shall you covet
your neighbor's wife . . .
You shall not desire . . .
anything that is your neighbor's. |
9. You shall not covet
your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet
your neighbor's goods |
THE TWO GREATEST COMMANDMENT:
Love of God and love of neighbor, for love of God
Love of God and love of neighbor, for love of God
CHAPTER ONE
"YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND"
Jesus summed up man's duties toward God in this saying: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This immediately echoes the solemn call: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD."
God has loved us first. The love of the One God is recalled in the first of the "ten words." The commandments then make explicit the response of love that man is called to give to his God
CHAPTER TWO
"YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF"
Jesus said to his disciples: "Love one another even as I have loved you."
In response to the question about the first of the commandments, Jesus says: "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
The apostle St. Paul reminds us of this: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
[25] And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying, Master, what must I do to possess eternal life?
[26] But he said to him: What is written in the law? how readest thou? [27] He answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself. [28] And he said to him: Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. [29]But he willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbour? [30] And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead.
[31] And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. [32] In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by. [33] But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion. [34] And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. [35] And the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee.
[36] Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbour to him that fell among the robbers? [37] But he said: He that shewed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner.
SEVEN CAPITAL SINS
Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other sins, other vices.
They are:
1. pride
2. avarice
3. envy
4. wrath
5. lust
6. gluttony
7. sloth or acedia
The contrary virtues: humility, generosity, kindness, meekness, chastity, temperance, diligence
Frequent confession. Weekly, every fortnight, monthly. Some saints even went daily (St Birgitta), thrice a week (St Gemma Galgani), twice a week (St Alphonsus Liguori). But most saints went weekly (St Anthony Mary Claret, St Dominic Savio). Have a regular confessor.