The Sixth and the Ninth Commandments

1. The Sixth Commandment
and
The Ninth Commandment

2. • The Sixth Commandment –
You shall not commit adultery
• The Church understands the sixth commandment
as encompassing all of human sexuality
• Sexuality is a good and important part of the
whole person. It is a gift from God, and must be
treated with dignity

3. • Christ is the model of chastity
• Chastity is a moral virtue, a grace, and a fruit of
spiritual effort
• With chastity, we conform our desires and
actions to right reason and Christian faith
• You see and treat others as they are, created in
the image and likeness of God

4. • Through sex:
- Love for a spouse is expressed and deepened
- We become co-creators with God, bringing new
life into the world

5. • In Christian marriage, a man and a woman
make a total and permanent gift of themselves
to each other

6. • In the sacrament of Matrimony, the husband and
wife are the ministers of the sacrament.
• A priest or deacon acts as a witness to the vows of
the couple
• The husband and wife promise to remain faithful
to each other for life

7. • Sins against the sixth commandment include the
capital sin of lust in all its forms; any act that
denies or violates human dignity
• Adultery or unfaithfulness is a sin against the
promises (vows) made in the sacrament of
matrimony

8. • Sex is not to be a selfish act, nor is it to be used
as entertainment
• As in all things, a person is called to treat all
people (including himself or herself) with dignity
and respect

9. • Divorce and remarriage without annulment:
• The Church requires annulment, a declaration that
the marriage was not valid because an essential
element of the sacrament was missing
These include:
• unity
• intention of permanence
• openness to raising
children

10. • Chastity is the virtue that helps us control our
desires and treat our own body and the bodies of
others with dignity
• Sex is more than a physical act
• God, through the sixth commandment, directs us to
see each other as deserving of love and respect
• Chastity and self control help us to handle the
emotional and spiritual aspects of sex and sexuality

11. • The Ninth Commandment - You shall not
covet your neighbor’s wife (or your
neighbor’s house)

12. • The struggle against covetousness includes
purifying the heart and practicing temperance
• Keeping the commandments takes diligence and
prayer – With faith comes strength.

13. • The ninth commandment supports the obligations
given in the sixth commandment
• Covetousness refers to being inappropriately
desirous of something that is not yours.
• In this commandment,
it is clear that such
inappropriate desires can
destroy a person’s home life

14. • We are called to practice chastity and temperance
(self control), decency and discretion (wise
judgment) in all of our relationships with others