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I
think it pretty safe to say that while all of us “know” the Ten
Commandments (and some of us know them by heart and in the correct
order, too), most of us—if not every one of us—don’t quite
“understand” the commandments and what they require of us as well as
we should. We prefer to think about them as God’s “suggestions”
about how we might conduct ourselves, rather than as what
they are—“imperatives”—each
of which provides
a
principle concerning how we must think about how we are to
conduct ourselves. This is how we demonstrate love of God.
Even for those of us who do realize that the Ten Commandments are
imperatives, we oftentimes assess our conduct by using a surface
reading—a literal reading—of the Ten Commandments. That literal
reading enables us to conclude in a very self-serving way that we
are fulfilling each of the commandments, meaning that we have
“complied” with
“the letter of the law.”
For example, not having killed anyone, we conclude that we haven’t
violated the fifth commandment. Yet, to “not kill” means far more
than taking a life unjustly. We figuratively, if not literally do
“kill” people and their reputations—even some of those people we say
that we love—when we demean, gossip, or lie about them. But, that
doesn’t matter, we say to ourselves, because we haven’t murdered
anyone. What, then, about the eighth commandment...“bearing
false witness”?
Not being married and yet cohabitating, many people today reason
that since neither of them is married, they haven’t committed
adultery, which is forbidden by the sixth commandment. That’s
absolutely true!
Yet,
what they fail to consider is the fact that it’s only possible to
commit adultery if one has already pledged one’s love and fidelity
to another human being which, it is also true, neither of them has.
Viewed in this way, however, what those who are not married but
cohabitating are doing is living a lie—presenting themselves to one
another and the world as if they are living in the married state
when, in fact, they are not. There’s
that “bearing false witness” thing again.
Then, too, many of us believe that by attending Sunday Mass, we are
keeping the Sabbath holy, as is required by the third commandment.
Yet, keeping holy the Sabbath is a commandment which is intended to
remind us to root this one day of the work week—all twenty
four hours of it—in the ground of our lives. Considering the third
commandment in this way, all of those excuses we make for not
keeping holy the other twenty three hours of the Sabbath (unless I
say Mass when that would be twenty three hours and twenty minutes)
betray the lie we are living. Isn’t the truth really the other way
around? We believe those forty minutes each Sunday—or that one hour
or that one hour and fifteen minutes, depending upon who is saying
the Mass—provide absolute proof that we are rooting our lives in
God.
How many guys today partake of pornography and justify doing so
because they are not coveting their neighbor’s wife which, of
course, the tenth commandment forbids. Yes, lusting after the image
of a beautiful, naked young woman in a provocative and sensuous
pose—who is not married—isn’t coveting a neighbor’s wife. But, it
is an attempt to covet what belongs to someone else. To whom does
that woman belong despite her protestations that she’s free to do
with her body whatever she wants? Well, the simple fact is that
this woman was created by God, in God’s image and likeness. She
belongs wholly and entirely to God and all of those guys are trying
to take from God and make their own what belongs wholly and entirely
to God. Doesn’t the ninth commandment say something about coveting
your neighbor’s possessions?
What’s important is to notice what’s going on here.
When we interpret the Ten Commandments literally, it’s very easy for
us to bend them to our benefit and, then, to conclude that we are
“in good stead with God.” But, what we’ve done is to make ourselves
the judge and jury, and sometimes we are not even aware that we have
done so, having violated the first commandment by making of
ourselves an idol.
The first commandment is very clear in this regard: “I am the Lord
your God. You shall not place false gods before me.” When we
sin—no matter which commandment we violate—we’ve allowed ourselves
and our opinions about what constitutes good and evil to take
precedence to God’s commands.
In
creating us, God has chosen to enter into a relationship with us
and, in this relationship, God has defined the only way we are to
live our lives. We don’t become holy as we define holiness, but
only as God has defined it. That requires us to pattern our lives
according to God’s design, beginning first and foremost with putting
no idols between ourselves and God.
Thinking about this, the opposite—the all-too-human propensity to
make idols of ourselves—reminds me that I have never confessed—nor
has anyone ever confessed to me to me as a priest—breaking the first
commandment. Yet, it is this commandment from which the other nine
have been formulated because people—like me—make idols of ourselves
and, then, because we don’t
consciously use God’s name in vain,
keep
the Sabbath holy, believe we honor our mothers and fathers, haven’t
killed anyone, committed adultery, stolen, or borne false witness,
and we haven’t coveted our neighbor’s property or wife, we then
judge ourselves free of sin.
Yet, all the while, we are only fooling ourselves, as we proceed to
seek happiness in everything but that which will bring true
happiness—defined as “the possession of that which can never be
taken away.” On Ash Wednesday, we were reminded that God created
each of us as mortal beings with immortal souls. We are dust and
unto dust each of us shall return, as will all of those idols we
make of ourselves and all of those things that we believe will make
the idol truly happy.
The
season of Lent focuses us upon getting back to that pattern of life
that has been specified by the first commandment. Doing so requires
that we come to the realization no so much that we have violated the
other nine commandments in so many ways but, more importantly, that
we’ve done so because we’ve neglected or forgotten about the first
commandment. As St. Paul reminded the Corinthians in today’s
epistle, our wisdom and strength are nothing in God’s eyes and
contribute nothing to our success, as God’s creatures. It is God’s
foolishness and weakness—that are discovered in the crucifixion of
God’s only begotten Son—where we will find the true meaning of life,
experience our true happiness, and with God’s grace, attain our
God-intended destiny.
A brief
commercial break...
And, now,
the Annual Top 10 Lenten Penances:
The 2012 edition...
These penances are arranged in order from those fellow parishioners
have identified as “least demanding” to those they’ve identified as
“most demanding.” Those who want to practice a more “muscular” form
of Catholicism during the season of Lent should try performing as
many penances from the most difficult (“easier”) penances to the
least difficult (“very difficult”) penances as is possible.
(easier penances)
10. Immediately upon waking up, begin each day by making a very slow
and thoughtful Sign of the Cross. Be sure to press you hand against
your forehead (mind), your stomach (source of emotions), and
shoulders (heart and lungs) so that you feel your body as you say
the words. And, before going to bed, do the same.
9. Abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent
and give up something you enjoy—like adult beverages, second
helpings, candy, or desserts—for forty days.
8. Attend daily Mass and participate in the Stations of the Cross on
the Fridays of Lent.
7. Each day, pick out and offer to complete an undesirable chore
assigned to someone else at home, school, or at work. "Here,
let me do that for you..."
(more difficult penances)
6. Abstain from all foul language, lewd jokes, gossip, and sarcastic
or demeaning language each day of Lent. That includes
name-calling.
5. Turn off the computer except for absolutely essential work. That
means: no Internet chatrooms, IMs (instant messaging), non-essential
emails, and absolutely no websurfing...for forty days.
4. (a choice) [especially for retired persons] Spend one hour each
week of Lent in Eucharistic adoration. Don’t bring anything but
yourself. Sit there in silence and contemplate the gift of the
Eucharist. [especially for married couples] Spend one hour one night
each week looking at your wedding albums and discuss what your hopes
and dreams were. Ask each other: What do I need to do so that we can
fulfill our hopes and desires? [especially for kids] Ask you Mom or
Dad what one thing you need to do to improve yourself during Lent
and do it.
(very difficult penances)
3. Say the rosary every day. But, do so by offering the rosary
sincerely from your heart for someone you are having difficulties
with, like your in-laws, brother or sister, etc. Or, in a private
space each day, stand up, stretch out your arms as if you are
placing yourself on the Cross, and envision your sins nailing Jesus
to the Cross. Feel the pain that sin causes and offer this pain up
for those you are having difficulties with.
2. Turn off the television, radio, IPod, Playstation, etc., for
forty days. “What am I going to do?” you may wonder. (especially for
single adults and older couples) Try reading the Sunday Scriptures
each day of the week or a section from the Catechism of the
Catholic Church each day. (especially for teenagers) Along with
your parents, read Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, On The Family
(Familiaris Consortio). It’s free and available on the web.
Read one section each day and discuss it after dinner as a family.
If you don’t understand something, ask your parents to explain what
the Pope means. Or, alternatively, take one hour after dinner each
evening to engage in spiritual reading and discussion together in
the living room or family room. Take 20 minutes to read a selection.
Take 10 minutes to write down what that selection indicates you need
to change in your life to be a more spiritual person. Take the next
20 minutes to share these insights with one another. Use the last 10
minutes to invoke God's Holy Spirit to help each member of the
family build one another up in doing these things.
1. Each day, sit down in absolute silence. Think about yourself and
your life for about five minutes. Then, write down a sin or
character flaw you know you need to improve upon. When you think
you’ve completed your list, go to Church and make a good confession.
Then, repeat as necessary.
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HOMILY
