St Cyrils in Jamison

1. SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM IN JAMISON
RCIA – 10 Commandments, October 2018

2. Legal Disclaimer
• The majority of the content in
this presentation is taken from
either the United States
Catholic Catechism for Adults,
The Catechism of the
Catholic Church (2nd Edition),
YouCat, and The Baltimore
Catechism
• I'm not a trained theologian or
a member of the clergy, so
thank God Father B is here!

3. Outline
• My Story
• What is The Law and what does it
mean for us?
• Ten Commandments Review
• Examination of Conscience
• Morals without God?

4. My Journey

5. Why are there 10 commandments?

6. Jesus and the Rich Young Man

7. Law that Liberates (Video)

8. Law that Liberates
• In the moral life, as in learning to play a sport or learning a
language, rules bind and free at the same time.
• Saint John Paul II said, "The encounter of God and Moses on
this mountain enshrines at the heart of our religion the mystery
of liberating obedience. The Ten Commandments are not the
arbitrary imposition of a tyrannical Lord. They were written in
stone; but before that, they were written on the human heart as
the universal moral law. . . . They save man from the destructive
force of egoism, hatred, and falsehood. They point out the false
gods that draw him into slavery: the love of self to the exclusion
of God, the greed for power and pleasure that. . . degrades our
human dignity and that of our neighbor."

9. The Old Law
• The Old Law contained 618 precepts, 248 commands and 365
prohibitions according to the authorities at the time of Jesus.
Basically fall under three categories:
• National laws of Israel (e.g. purification, circumcision, civil)
• Temple (sacrificial rites, liturgy, hierarchy)
• Moral
• “….the Law is led to its fullness through the renewal of the
heart.” (CCC, 1964)
• St. Paul in Romans 2:14-15 said it was written “in the hearts” of
all men
• “God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in
their hearts.” (St. Augustine)

10. Decalogue contrasted with Beatitudes
Ten Commandments -
(Old Testament)
Eight Beatitudes -
(New Testament)
Given to the Chosen People -
(Jewish People)
Given to the Chosen People -
(You and me)
Given by God/Divine Revelation -
(Yahweh)
Given by God/Divine Revelation -
(Jesus Christ)
Characterized by Law -
(Basis of the Law of Moses and the Prophets)
Characterized by Love -
(Jesus 'lived' the Beatitudes)
Joy comes from doing the Will of God Joy comes from doing the Will of God
Human Race was not prepared for the
Beatitudes when Moses first received the
Decalogue on
Mount Sinai.
Beatitudes are powered by the Treasures of
Heavenly Grace Merited by the Passion and
Death of Jesus Christ
Directed to Human Beings, who could Sin -
Decalogue is the bare-minimum for Salvation.
Jesus, Who could not Sin, 'lived' the Beatitudes -
Beatitudes are the Ultimate means of Salvation.
by Father John A. Hardon, S.J. (declared Servant of God)
THE COMMANDMENTS ARE BEATITUDES, THE BEATITUDES ARE COMMANDMENTS

11. The New Law
• The New Law is the law of the Gospel and it fulfills, surpasses,
and brings to perfection the Old Law
• “Do not think I have come to abolish the law and the
prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Mt 5:17)
• It is the law of love: to love God above all things and to love our
neighbor as Christ loved us
• It is received by faith in Christ, and operates through charity
• It is expressed above all in the Sermon on the Mount
• It is the grace of the Holy Spirit who works inside us so that we
can fulfill the commandment of love
• “The New Law is mainly the … grace of the Holy Spirit which
is given to believers in Christ.” (St. Thomas Aquinas)

12. Law AND Gospel
• Jesus Christ reasserts the importance of the Ten Commandments, but also raises
the bar.
• Offers a synthesis of the Ten Commandments
• When asked about the greatest Commandment, Jesus offers a new synthesis, saying “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets” (Matt 22:36-
40).
• Commands a more rigorous adherence to the Ten Commandments in spirt of
Love
• Rather than abolish the Commandments, Jesus comes to fulfill them and to reiterate that men
must keep the Commandments (Matt 5:17-19)
• He commands a new and more rigorous understanding of the Ten Commandments that
surpasses the teachings of the scribes and the Pharisees (Matt 5:20)
• Proclaiming that anyone who is angry with his brother is liable to the hell of fire (Matt 5:21-26)
• Looking at a women with lust and divorcing one’s wife is equivalent to adultery (Matt 5:27-32)
• Commands to give with anonymity (Matt 6:1), pray and fast in private (Matt 6:5-7; 5:16)

13. 10 Commandments (The Decalogue)
1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange gods before me. (Exodus 20:2-6;
Deuteronomy 5:6-10)
2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. (Exodus 20:7; Det 5:11)
3. Remember to keep holy the LORD’S Day. (Exodus 20:8-11; Det 5:12-15)
4. Honor your father and your mother. (Exodus 20:12; Det 5:16)
5. You shall not commit murder. (Exodus 20:13; Det 5:17)
6. You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14; Det 5:18)
7. You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15; Det 5:19)
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16; Det 5:20)
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. (Exodus 20:17; Det 5:21)
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. (Exodus 20:17; Det 5:21)
The first three Commandments treat our relationship to God. The last
seven concern our relationship with each other (USCCA)

14. Different numbering schemes
• Exodus 20:1–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21.
• The Old Testament does not make clear how the texts should
be divided to arrive at ten commandments
• Catholic and Lutheran churches follow formula by Church
Father Augustine of Hippo
• Orthodox Church and many other Protestant churches
(Reformed), use the formulation standardized by the Greek
Fathers of the Christian East
The two forms have slightly different numbering, but maintain
exactly the same substance

15. An Overview (Video)

16. 1st, 2nd & 3rd (Our relation to God)
• I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange gods
before me.
• Everybody worships something or someone
• What is your highest value?
• You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
• Speak as if God is center of your life
• Speech matters
• Remember to keep holy the LORD’S Day.
• Act of worship, not just an abstraction
• Incarnate your faith.....we need it, not God

17. 4th, 5th & 6th (Our relation to Others)
• Honor your father and your mother.
• Extends to your family
• Family is building block of society
• You shall not commit murder.
• Your life is not your own
• Abortion has killed approx. 60MM since RvW
• You shall not commit adultery.
• Marriage infidelity causes family disorder
• Chastity for the married Catholic is not abstention from sexual relations,
but the enjoyment of God-given sexuality within marriage only.

18. 5th Commanment (Video)

19. 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th (Our relation to
Others)
• You shall not steal.
• We are obliged to restore to the owner stolen goods, or their value,
whenever we are able.
• Calumny
• You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
• Hurting others reputation
• With the rise of social media, we must be careful that we are doing our
part to speak according to the truth.
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
• Desire something because another has it.....not for the good in itself
• Seeks to free us from the bondage of greed and envy
• “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mt 6:21).

20. Examination of Conscience (based on Decalogue)
• My Relationship With God
• What steps am I taking to help me grow closer to God and to others? Do I turn to God often
during the day, especially when I am tempted?
• Do I participate at Mass with attention and devotion on Sundays and holy days? Do I pray often
and read the Bible?
• Do I use God’s name and the names of Jesus, Mary, and the saints with love and reverence?
• My Relationships With Family, Friends, and Neighbors
• Have I set a bad example through my words or actions? Do I treat others fairly? Do I spread
stories that hurt other people?
• Am I loving of those in my family? Am I respectful of my neighbors, my friends, and those in
authority?
• Do I show respect for my body and for the bodies of others? Do I keep away from forms of
entertainment that do not respect God’s gift of sexuality?
• Have I taken or damaged anything that did not belong to me? Have I cheated, copied
homework, or lied?
• Do I quarrel with others just so I can get my own way? Do I insult others to try to make them
think they are less than I am? Do I hold grudges and try to hurt people who I think have hurt
me?

21. Morality without God?
“Most U.S. adults now say it is
not necessary to believe in God
to be moral and have good
values (56%),
up from about half (49%) who
expressed this view in 2011.”
(Pew Research poll 2017)

22. References
• Formed - Did the Catholic Church Change the 10 Commandments?
https://formed.org/watch/5bbbd6e18de2ea1700c52240
• U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults - http://ccc.usccb.org/flipbooks/uscca/
• Formed - ECHO: 36 part video-based study of the United States Catholic
Catechism of Adults (USCCA) presented by Bishop Donald Hying - Part 3 -
https://formed.org/study/59fcad89035b951200285723
• Pope Francis General Audiences (inclues catechisis on en
Commandments) -
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2018.index.html#audi
ences