"A Welcoming Community of Faith Rooted in the Catholic Tradition"

 






 

Catechism
of the
Evangelical Catholic Church

The Ten Commandments

 


18. 
What are the Ten Commandments?

The Ten Commandments are the laws given to Moses and the people of Israel.

19.  What do we learn from these commandments?

We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbors.

20.  What is our duty to God?

Our duty is to believe and trust in God;

I To love and obey God and to bring others to know him;

II To put nothing in the place of God;

III To show God respect in thought, word, and deed;

IV And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God's ways.

21.  What is our duty to our neighbors?

Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;

V To love, honor, and help our parents and family; to respect those in authority, and to meet their just demands;

VI To show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God;

VII To use our bodily desires as God intended;

VIII To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to God;

IX To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;

X To resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people's gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him.

22.  What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?

The Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbors.

23.   Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?

Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption.