2nd commandment:You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (Ex. 20:7, Dt. 5:11)

Context: Q. What is the first thing you must know about a

person? A. The first thing we must know about a person is his/her

name. It is that which makes him or her different from other

persons. Names of persons represent their uniqueness, they are

slighted when their names are misspelled or mispronounced Knowing the name of a person is the initial way of knowing

the person, for there is usually a history or story behind the name.

The manner with which a name is spoken usually manifest the attitude of a person towards another.

Part 1-Biblical meaning of the “Name” NAMING is as old as when God commanded to name the

animals He had created. By so doing Adam not only took responsibility over those he

named but also assumed power over them. The Hebrews never gave a name to their God, unlike the

pagan nations that gave names to their gods. They believed that the all-powerful God could never be named.

God introduced Himself to Moses with a name : “ I AM WHO AM”.

God making known his name is God making known his person.

Through this name, God made known His dominion & power over history- past , present & future.

Part II- Biblical meaning of the “Name”

In the New Testament, God fully revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus revealed God as Father – a name that most profoundly express the very essence of God whom Jesus experienced as “Abba”.

In the Gospels Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons & worked all kinds of miracles. Jesus thus acted according to the essence of his name, which means “ One who saves”

Reverence for God’s Name

• The Second Commandment: Honor God’s Name

• By the second commandment, we are obliged to speak with reverence of God, of the saints and of all holy things, and to keep our lawful oaths and vows.

Reverence for God’s name: God’s purpose in revealing His name for His people to

adore Him under His true name. Invocation of God’s name must therefore be made in the

spirit of reverence & worship. Jesus’ name must also be held in similar reverence &

esteem. – In raising Jesus from the dead & in making him sit at His right hand, God has given him the name above every other name, which is not distinct from that of God.

To speak God’s name prayerfully is to honor Him. To say His name reverently is to Love Him.

Church Teaching: CFC,# 2143, 2145 The name of God should only be used to bless, praise &

glorify God. The faithful should bear witness to the Lord’s name by

confessing the faith without giving way to fear.- Preaching & catechizing should be permeated with adoration & respect for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In reverence for God, oaths, vows and promises are made on solemn occasions like baptism, marriage, priestly ordinations and religious vows.- Persons who enter into any of these should undergo proper preparations & understanding of what they are entering.

• By taking God’s name in vain is meant that the name of God or the holy name of Jesus Christ is used without reverence or respect.

• It is a sin to take God’s name in vain; oftentimes it is a venial sin4 due to lack of reflection. (CCC # 2146)

Oath – the calling on God to witness the truth of what we say.

Three (3) things necessary to make an oath lawful:

• 1.We must have good reason for taking an oath.

• 2.We must be convinced that what we say under oath is true.

• 3. We must not swear or take an oath to do what is wrong.

• Vow – a deliberate promise made to God by which a person binds himself under pain of sin to do something that is especially pleasing to God. 

Sin against the second commandment:

• 1.Perjury – a person sins by perjury when he deliberately calls on God to bear witness to a lie. In courts adults swear in God’s name to tell “the truth & nothing but the truth.” But how many cases are still not solved due to false swearing.

• 2.False, rash unjust and unnecessary oaths • 3.Blasphemy – insulting language which

expresses contempt for God, either directly or indirectly or through his saints and holy things.

Offenses against 2nd Commandment

• Blasphemy- e.g, i.) when someone would outrightly

accuse God of being unjust & lacking in mercy.

ii). Some Filipino Catholics easily question God’s mercy & kindness when calamities strike them. This may not be blashemy, but may weaken one’s faith & trust in God if left to predominate in one’s attitude towards difficulties in life.

• 4.Cursing – the calling down of some evil on a person, place or thing. In the Filipino homes cursing has become almost natural part of family quarrel,- wishing someone evil or death is against Christian charity

• Profane words (Profanity)- is a disrespectful use of God’s name, using the name of God or Jesus to express anger, fear, or surprise.

• Profanity:i.) Some Filipino are fond of using the term

like “ Dios ko!” to express anger or

“ Susmayosep” ( a contraction of “ Hesus, Maria y Jose”) to express surprise.

ii.) These similar expressions & the imprudent use of the name of Jesus in ordinary conversations may seem unimportant & small. But if we really want to revere God, we cannot afford to utter it carelessly & thoughtlessly.

Summary / Conclusion To use the name of God in vain is to act

against the very person of God, for his name, he is made present.

Using religion for purposes other than worshipping God and loving and serving others is an abuse and desecration of religion

Beyond using the name of God in coarse, vulgar, & foul language, the worst sins against the 2nd comm are sins that directly attack His very person & majesty of his authority like cursing, blasphemy, false oaths

3rd Commandment: Remember to keep the Holy Sabbath Day (Ex. 20:8 ; Dt. 5:12)

WHAT IS SABBATH?

God works & He wants man to work ( Gen.1:28)

Work distinguishes man from the rest of other creatures. – We work for a living, for our survival, but more importantly for the development & progress of mankind.

God created the Sabbath so that our mind &body can rest from our daily routine.

What is Sabbath?

In order to function well, we need relaxation & recreation. Our body & mind need to be

“re-created”. Rest will “ create again” our body & mind by replenishing the energy dissipated so that we can carry on with the human tasks.

Man has the right to periodic rest… ( Mater et Magistra or MM, 249)

What is the profound purpose of bodily & mental rest?

It is meant to lift the spirit up to god the Creator & worship Him with our whole heart & whole mind & whole body.

St. Augustine said: “ Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.”

The real rest that we ought to seek is resting in the holy presence of God since that is what we are created for. ( CFC, 918)

What is the profound purpose of bodily & mental rest?

The Sabbath or Rest is for all God’s people together with all His creation to worship Him.

All our efforts to better the world will be nothing if we separate ourselves from God, the Source of all these efforts.- There we go back to Him to be “re-created.”

We cannot worship God while neglecting our loved ones & our neighbors who are in need.

What is the profound purpose of bodily & mental rest?

The Sabbath celebration has a social dimension:

i). It is a day when families come together to enjoy each other’s company & strengthen relationships.

ii.) It is also a day to focus our attention on the poor, the sick, the victims of calamities, the ignorant, etc. We can spend this day helping these less privileged members of the community

To summarize the reasons for the Sabbath are:

• 1. To worship God the creator• 2. Human physical rest• 3. Social obligation of caring

for the less privileged

• The Third Commandment: Sunday

is the Lord’s Day•  By the third commandment, we are

obliged to worship God in a special on Sunday, the Lord’s Day.

• The Church commands us to keep Sunday instead of the Sabbath as the Lord’s Day because the Sabbath which represented the completion of the first creation (Genesis account), has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation by the Resurrection of Christ (CCC # 2174, 2190-2191).

• The Church commands us to worship God on Sunday by attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

• This commandment corresponds as well to the first Law or Precept of the Catholic Church: You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.

• Holy Days of Obligation are special days that should be kept holy even if they do not fall on a Sunday, and which are dedicated to the Lord and his saints to commemorate some outstanding mystery of the faith.

Holy Days of Obligation (in the Philippines only)

• 1.Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Octave Day of Christmas (January 1)

Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ, who is true God and true man. Being the Mother of God, Mary is endowed by God with special privileges: she is free from all sins, and she was assumed into heaven body and soul.

• The redemption began with Mary’s fiat (yes) to the word of God, when she accepted her roles as the Mother of the Son of God. Jesus came through Mary’s faith, who received the divine plan as the “handmaid of the Lord, “(Ancilla Domini) fully devoted to fulfilling his will.

• 2.Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (December 8)

• Originating in the 7th century feast of “Conception of Mary by St. Anne,”: Pope Clement XI, in his Bull, Commissi Nobis, established this solemnity for the entire Church in 1708.

• For Filipinos, this special title of the Blessed Virgin Mary is given importance by virtue of being the Principal Patroness of the Philippines, as declared by Pope Pius XII in 1942. As such, on this day in all Cathedrals and parish Churches, the consecration of the Philippines to Mary Immaculate is to be prayed according to the approved formula

• 3. Christmas, Solemnity of the Lord’s Birth (December 25)

• Proper Feasts for the Philippines:

1.Feasts of the Santo Niño (third Sunday of January)

2.Feasts of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs (September 28)

 

San Lorenzo

• was a devoted husband and father of three children in the Philippines during the seventeenth century. After he was unjustly accused of murder, he fled with Christian missionaries to Japan where he was tortured for faith and died professing: “I shall die for God, and for him I would give many thousands of lives if I had them.”

• FOURTH COMMANDMENT:

“ HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER”

Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother. (Ex. 20:12, Dt. 5:16)

• The Fourth Commandment: Obedience, Love and Respect for Parents

• By the fourth commandment, we are obliged to respect and love our parents, to obey them in all that is not sinful, and to help them when they are in need.

 

THE FILIPINO FAMILY TODAY:

The Philippine situation today reveals that, while family-orientation is still held as a Filipino value, there are quite a number of Filipino families that are disintegrating.

Many children are born practically without parents.Children growing up with single parents due to job

opportunities abroad.Some are victims of broken families.Others have both parents, but irresponsible &

neglectfulOthers are victims of child abuse in different forms

Obstacles / hindrances in honoring parents:[ CFC, 1006-1008]• 1. Irresponsible parents – Not all fathers & mothers

are really loving• 2. Parent’s inability or refusal to understand the

different stages of growth of their children • – A lot of Filipino parents do not know the

characteristics of the different stages of human growth & dev’t. Hence they often fail to guide their children and “allow” them to grow & become mature individuals.

Obstacles / Hindrances:

• 3. Generation Gap• - With the “high-tech” and “colonial” mentality come

so many cultural changes that plague the Filipino homes.

• - The young who are more expose & open are highly adaptable, while elders who prefer to be traditional cling to the old attitudes & practices

Hindrances / Obstacles:• 4. Parental Absence• - McCann Erickson Philippines Survey shows the

growing phenomenon of break-ups in Filipino homes & families.

• McCann report finds that a substantial minority of the young live in a fatherless or motherless home.

• In addition to single parent & marital split-ups, the study cites overseas migrant worker may have the highest impact on this phenomenon

• Significant percentage of working mothers may contribute to the growing absence of nurturing & bonding in Filipino homes.

The Nature of the Family [ CFC, 1012-1016;1019]

1. Covenant Relationship the founded is founded on love, the same love that bound

God with Israel in their covenantal relationship the family is the place where we truly belong, where we find

our deepest relationships, & where we discover who we are it a covenant love because it creates & sustains the basic

community we need to become & survive as persons Without our families, who are we? What is the use of

anything we do or think or strive for, if we cannot share it with our loved ones?

Apart from the family we lose our “roots” as persons

Nature of the Family

2. The family as Domestic Church The family is the school of discipleship, where we

first learn how to give, love, & forgive It is a domestic Church, where we first hear the

name of Jesus, learn our first prayers, and know what is right & wrong.

It is where we experience the Church as a people of God, a people who are both graced and sinful

Nature of the Family

• 3. The family is the First & Vital Cell of Society The family is the first school where we learn to say

our first words & live the values of sharing, fairness, & justice

It is the formation ground of the future citizens of a nation and of the whole world.

The family is an irreplaceable place where traditions and value systems of a people and a culture are passed on from generation to generation

What the Fourth Commandment Demands?

• 1. Assistance for parents- Young children are obliged to help their parents in the home

chores- Adult children are obliged to take care of their sick, aged,

unproductive parents

2. Filial respect for parents- Both parents must receive equal respect from all the

children- To “honor” means showing proper gratitude, affection,

obedience and care for the parents. In honoring our parents we honor God.

What the Fourth Commandment Demands?

• 3. Parental respect and responsibility for children- Parent shave the duty to respect their children & treat

them as human persons.- To provide for their daily needs and education, guide them

in their faith and morals, create an atmosphere conducive for personal growth, guide & support them in their decisions in life, and allow them to live their lives as mature individuals

THE FAMILY

• the community of parents and children• it is in the family that moral and religious life of

man and his capability to love are first awakened

The Purpose and Task of the Family:• upbringing of the children• care for the daily needs of its members

Three Basic Functions of the Family

• A. Economic function

the family provides for man’s everyday needs in food, shelter and clothing

• B. Educational function

the intellectual and moral development of the human person depends decisively on the education within the family

the two most important social virtues of charity and justice are basically taught in family life.

• C. Spiritual function• the family provides the most important

spiritual home for its members• the family gives a sense of belonging and

acceptance

 

III. Duties of Children to the Parents

• The children’s obligation of love and reverence towards their parents is based on the fact that the parents are, after God, the second source of life, growth and education.

• A. Reverence and Honor• The fourth commandment of the Decalogue

directly stresses the child’s duty to revere and honor his/her parents. 

• Offenses of children against the honor due to parents:

• ashamed of them and disown them because of their humble state of poverty

• children using offensive speech to their parents• treating them contemptuously• raising their hands against them

• B. Obedience

• The entire development of children requires the help and guidance of parents and educators and therefore enjoins obedience upon them.

• As long as children need parental guidance and are not yet fully able and competent to make their own decisions, they must obey parents in all good and lawful matters related to their education and training.

•  

Offenses of children against obedience due to parents:

• when children disobey their parent’s just commands, more or less seriously according to the importance of the matter

• obeying but grudgingly and with harsh retorts

• leaving home prematurely without good reason in order to escape parental authority

• scorning or disrespecting their good counsel•  

The child is not obliged to obey his parents in matters that are immoral.

The fifth commandment of God is: You shall not kill. (Ex. 20:13, Dt. 5:17)]

• The Fifth Commandment: Human Life is Sacred

• By the fifth commandment, we are obliged to take proper care of our own spiritual and bodily well-being, and that of our neighbor.

• Human life is sacred because it begins by the creative act of God; it is capable of knowing and loving God; it has been redeemed by the Passion and death of the Son of God, and is destined to possess God for all eternity.

• As such, it forbids unjust killing and any harm to the integrity of our own body and soul and those of our neighbor.

Sins against the fifth commandment:

• 1.Deliberate Abortion – the direct killing of an unborn child. It is an extremely grievous form of murder because aside form destroying the life of an innocent, defenseless victim, it also deprives that soul of God’s grace for all eternity. The Church imposes excommunication on all those who have helped procure an accomplished abortion.

• 2. Euthanasia – also known as “mercy killing” and is the deliberate termination of the lives of the hopelessly ill, the aged, and social misfits who are considered as a burden to society. It is never permissible, since it is always either willful murder or suicide.

• 3. Murder – the direct and deliberate taking of an innocent person’s life.

• 4. Suicide – the deliberate taking of one’s life. It constitutes a serious disorder in itself, therefore, no circumstances can never justify it.

• 5. Direct Sterilization (vasectomy for men and Tubal ligation for women)

• 6. Quarrelling• 7. Anger – a desire for revenge• 8. Deliberate Hatred – it is contrary

to charity when one deliberately wishes someone evil or when one deliberately desires someone grave harm.

• 9. Revenge• 10. Drunkenness – the abuse for

alcohol

• 11. Drug Addiction – the use of prohibited drugs is a sin because of its pernicious effects of one’s life and health, as well as the grave crimes to which it leads

• 12. Reckless Driving – one endangers oneself or others’ safety on the road, at sea or in the air for love of speed.

• 13. Scandal – any sinful word, deed or omission that disposes other to sin or lessens their respect for God or religion.

•  

JUST WAR

• A war is considered just when it is declared by the proper authority in defense of a nation’s right in a grave matter, when it is undertaken only as a last resort after all the possible methods of settling the dispute have been tried, and when the war is waged, using no more destructive means than are necessary to achieve an early and just peace.

DEATH PENALTY • Assuming that the guilty party’s

identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

• However, if non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect the people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in inconformity with the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically non-existent.

6th commandment of God is: You shall not commit adultery. (Ex. 20:14, Dt. 5:17)

• The Sixth and Ninth Commandment: Purity of Heart and Body

• By the sixth commandment, we are obliged to be pure and modest in out behavior, that is, to use sex in accordance with its holy purpose wanted by God, which is the procreation of human life in marriage alone:

• Chastity or Holy Purity is the moral virtue which rightly regulates all voluntary expressions of sexual pleasure in marriage and excludes it altogether outside the married state. It requires the integration of sexuality in the person and the practice of self-control. Everyone is called to a life of chastity according to his own state in life.

• Married people practice chastity by using properly as a sacred thing the rights that are theirs by marriage and by being faithful to one another. For the unmarried, chastity requires total abstinence from the use of the power of procreation and form everything else that leads to its misuse.

The sixth commandment forbids all impurity and immodesty in words, looks and actions, whether alone or with others.

Sin against Chastity:

• Lust – The disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought itself, isolated from its procreative and punitive purposes.

• Masturbation – The deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure.