On the Fourth Commandment: Honoring Father and Mother

THE HOLY FAMILY: MODEL OF CHRISTIAN FAMILY LIFE.
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After God himself, we are directed to give due honor to and respect our parents and everyone else whom God has vested with his authority, not only parents. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,

The fourth commandment opens the second tablet of the Decalogue. It shows us the order of charity. God has willed that, after him, we should honor our parents to whom we owe life and who have handed on to us the knowledge of God. We are obliged to honor and respect all those whom God, for our good, has vested with his authority [2197].

Of the Ten Commandments, it is the only other commandment which is stated in the positive, that is, it has the positive obligation of being fulfilled, aside from the Third which is about keeping the holiness of the Lord's day. Being a positive law, it also automatically prohibits everything that would negate it. In contrast, the other Commandments are mere prohibitions, which for the ordinary compliant would mean just that: prohibitions without attempting to fulfill the corresponding positive obligation at all. For example, the Commandment about respect for the sanctity of life, which is You shall not kill: It prohibits killing but positively, it aims to promote life so one has to do everything not just to avoid killing but also to promote, defend and advance the cause of life which in effect rejects the ideas of abortion, contraception, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, masturbation, even unjust wars, etc. 

Though it is directed to children, this commandment also presupposes duties of parents and all those who are, through their particular roles and responsibilities in life and society, act with authority over others such as teachers, leaders, magistrates, and others [2199]. For as the Apostle Paul wrote, parents should not embitter their children for they might be discouraged instead children should be brought up in the knowledge of God and His commandments [see Colossians 3:21; Ephesians 6:4].

We can also notice that of all the Commandments, only this one has a promise: that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you [see Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Ephesians 6: 2-3]; CCC 2200]. and the Catechism adds, [r]especting this commandment provides, along with spiritual fruits, temporal fruits of peace and prosperity. Conversely, failure to observe it brings great harm to communities and to individuals [2200]. We could clearly see the effects in our society when this Commandment is not fulfilled, both by parents and children, or persons in authority and subordinates, for big troubles happen in the community.

From the beginning, as the Lord Jesus Christ himself said to the Jewish leaders, God has created male and female and when they got married, they become just one flesh, therefore one being, and their primary obligation was to love one another and establish a family, a primordial institution which existed before any public authority. Each member of the family has respective rights and privileges due to their equality in dignity and corresponding duties and obligations which are for the good of the institution [2201-2203].

From these follow important matters regarding the sanctity of the family and its rights over that of any public authority. The society at large is actually an extension of what the family should be, a loving, serving and protecting institution. Parents have the obligations to provide for and protect their children; public authorities have the same duties toward the citizens. Children have the obligation to obey their parents; citizens have that duty toward the government and the public servants in authority. When parents fail to do their duties toward their children, children suffer and even become rebellious. When public authorities fail to serve their citizenry, citizens rebel and even overthrow governments. When children fail to obey their parents, they fail to learn what they need to know when they themselves become parents already. When citizens disobey legally instituted and morally upright leaders, the society is plunged into anarchy and chaos.

When these things happen, we ultimately disobey and disrespect God who is the Father of us all and the one who has established the family in order for us to have a long life in the land that He provides and ultimately live with Him forever in his kingdom. 

For God did not command us to honor our father and our mother just for the sake of honoring them. As we have said above, it is the Commandment with a promise. And that promise could only be fulfilled if we obey the command. It's just like the Lord's command for us to love one another which will make us known to the world as His followers and friends and so move others to believe in Him and we could lead more people into the One Fold.

To honor our father and our mother is also to honor God the Father and the Holy Mother Church. For God is Father of us all and the Church is the mother who keeps us from the errors of the times. The Father has created us, the Church keeps us alive through the Sacraments which the Lord Jesus Christ has left to sustain our pilgrimage along the road to salvation. 

May we always honor our father and our mother and the many fathers and mothers in our lives that we may taste the fruit of the promise: long life in the land which God provides us.

On the Trinity

A SYMBOL OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY.
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"Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; 

baptize them in the NAME 

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

- Matthew 28:19

"Christians are baptized in the NAME 

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 

not in their NAMES, 

for there is only God, 

the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit, 

the Most Holy Trinity." 

- CCC 233

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and life and the whole of salvation history is the story of how God revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit [234]. 

Though God has been revered by many religions as Father for being the Creator and father of gods and man, it was only the Son who has revealed Him as the eternal "Father" in relation to His being the eternal Son, God's Word [John 1:1], Image [Colossians 1:15], and Radiance of His glory and the very stamp of His nature [Hebrews 1:3] [238-242]. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth [John 14:17], in turn reveals both the Father and the Son more fully for it is He who has spoken through the prophets before and now remains with the Church to be her Advocate [John 14:16], Teacher and Guide [John 14:26] [243-248].

This important article of Faith has been revealed to, believed, and clarified by the Church since the early days of Christianity both to deepen her own understanding of the faith and defend it against the errors that were deforming it [249-252]. Hence at Nicaea, the First Ecumenical Council that took place in 325, the Church affirmed the Faith that the Son is consubstantial, that is one in substance, essence or nature, with the Father and at the Second Ecumenical Council, the first of those held at Constantinople, in 381 reaffirmed this in the formulation of the Nicene Creed by stating that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten by the Father, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father [242]. It was also at Constantinople in 381 that the Holy Spirit's consubstantiality with the Father and the Son has been clarified and affirmed through the words We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father ... with the Father and the Son, he is worshiped and glorified [245]. The Roman Catholic Church has inserted the term filioque, which means, and the Son, into the the formulation though it was not affirmed at Constantinople in 381 for as the Council of Florence explained in 1438, 

The Holy Spirit is eternally from Father and Son: He has his nature and subsistence at once [simul] from the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from both principle and through one spiration ... And since the Father has through generation given to the only-begotten Son everything that belongs to the Father, except being Father, the Son has also eternally from the Father, from whom He is eternally born, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son [246].

The Gospel records the Lord Jesus Christ giving the Holy Spirit by breathing upon the Apostles and disciples [John 20:22]. During the Last Supper, He tells His Apostles, that He will ask the Father to send to them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit [John 14:16] and then later, He says, that it was for the good of the Apostles that He should go because if He does not go, the Holy Spirit will not come and assures them that if I go, I will send Him to you [John 16:7]. Therefore the filioque also has Biblical bases: the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. Isn't the Father in the Son and the Son also in the Father? [John 14: 10-11]. 

Now how about the NAME? The singular usage surely have a very important meaning and message. The Lord Jesus Christ did not tell His apostles to baptize in the NAMES of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, but just in the NAME. It is our faith that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons, but the use of a singular identification for all of them, which is the NAME, signifies that they have something in common which make them not only equal with one another but also truly one with one another, and that is being the Only One God. Take note that the Lord did not say, in the NAME of GOD but clearly identified three Persons bearing the same ONE NAME, that is, One Identity, that of being God. The Apostles knew and understood very well the importance of the Name of God and if they didn't believe and understood the Lord, they would have shivered in hearing such a serious blasphemy. Remember how the Apostles remained believers of the Lord even if others left Him because of the Bread of Life issue? [John 6]. The Apostles have been prepared by the Lord Jesus to hear this declaration, of baptizing others in the NAME of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and they no longer have doubts about the truth of it. The Trinitarian formula has been introduced by the Lord to the Apostles already but deemed it proper for the Holy Spirit to fully reveal it for He says that they would not be able to bear everything [John 16:12] but that the Holy Spirit will lead them to all truth [John 16:13].

Hence since the very beginning, the Church already believed in the Most Holy Trinity and the formulations of the Creed came after just to affirm this Faith so that the Church would be freed from heresies, that is, false teachings. The belief in One God and Three Divine Persons have been a basic article of faith since the beginning: that there are no three Gods but just one but Three Divine Persons truly distinct from one another in relation of origin and it is such relations that they are distinct but by nature one and the same [253-255]. St Gregory of Nazianzus tells his catechumens before baptism this truth,

Above all guard for me this great deposit of faith for which I live and fight, which I want to take with me as a companion, and which makes me bear all evils and despise all pleasures: I mean the profession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I entrust it to you today. By it I am soon going to plunge you into water and raise you up from it. I give it to you as the companion and patron of your whole life. I give you but one divinity and power, existing one in three, and containing the three in a distinct way. Divinity without disparity of substance or nature, without superior degree that raises up or inferior degree that casts down ... the infinite co-naturality of three infinites. Each person consistent in himself as entirely God ... the three considered together ... I have not even begun to think of unity when the Trinity bathes me in its splendor. I have not even begun to think of the Trinity when unity grasps me ... [256]

God is One. The Persons are Three. There is also one Divine Plan but three Missions. This divine plan has been decreed by the Father before the creation in his Son and stems directly from Trinitarian love which unfolds in the work of creation, the whole history of salvation after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit, which are continued in the mission of the Church. All things come from the Father, through the Son and are in the Holy Spirit. Though there is but only one and the same divine operation, the role of each Person is shown through each one's unique personal property and the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons without in any way separating them. It is through the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit that the Trinity's distinct properties are shown. The ultimate end of creation is the creatures' taking part in this divine unity for as the Lord said if one loves Him, he will keep His word and the Father will love him and He and the Father will come to him and make their dwelling in him [John 14:23] [257-260].

In summary, the central mystery of Christian faith and life is the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which God alone revealed to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Incarnation of the Son reveals the eternal Fatherhood of God and the Son's being one with the Father in divinity. The Holy Spirit's mission reveals His oneness with the Father, who sends Him, and the Son, in whose name He is has been sent, and that it is from both the Father, as the first principle, and the Son, by eternal gift, that He proceeds by spiration. By virtue of Baptism, we, Christians, are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity, here on earth and in the world to come [261-265].

As stated by St Athanasius,

Now this is the Catholic faith. We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal [266].

The Catechism on the Trinity closes with these words,

Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit [267].

This is what we, Catholic Christians, believe, and as what the Bishops at the Council of Nicaea decreed against those who do not adhere to this, let them be anathema.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

THE HOLY TRINITY.
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"Everything that the Father has is mine; 

for this reason I told you that 

he [the Holy Spirit] will take from what is mine 

and declare it to you." 

- John 16:15

The Lord Jesus Christ declares that everything that the Father has also belongs to Him and that the Holy Spirit takes whatever is His and declare them to the Apostles, to the Church.

What could be that which the Father has that also belongs to the Son? And which the Holy Spirit takes from the Son too? 

We, Christians, believe that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the Three Persons which compose the One God. There are not three Gods but three Persons and these three share the same divinity, no one is greater than the other, no one is less than any one. To think that the Father is a greater God than either the Son or the Holy Spirit would be tantamount to saying and accepting of the existence of different Gods. For more about the Blessed Trinity visit this site.

Before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He told the Apostles to make disciples of all nations baptizing them IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. If Jesus our Lord is not God and the Holy Spirit is not God, the Lord would be guilty of blasphemy for making himself equal with God the Father - and the Jews would be cleared of their guilt in accusing Him of blasphemy and thus had justly acquired justice for sending Him to death - and for making the Holy Spirit equal to God also. 

There can be nothing more important that the Father has than His divinity which the Lord Jesus Christ also possess and which the Holy Spirit shares for as the Father has eternally begotten His only begotten Son, the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son by spiration, that is, by the pure and great love that exist between Father and Son. This is a great mystery which we can only fully understand when we come face to face with God. For right now we can only see partly but then we shall see fully [see 1 Corinthians 13:12].

May this Solemnity recharge us and make us commit once more to the Faith that we have received from our fathers and which we shall transmit to our children. May the love between the Father and the Son which produced the Holy Spirit enkindle our hearts that we may proclaim our hope for lasting peace and joy in the Father's house without reserve.

A blessed Holy Trinity Sunday to all!

The Unpardonable Sins against the Holy Spirit

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE FORM OF A DOVE.
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"Therefore I say to you, 

any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, 

but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven." 

- Matthew 12:31

The online Catholic Encyclopedia states that there are three possible categories which can be considered as sins against the Holy Spirit:

[1] Uttering of an insult against the Holy Spirit;

[2] Final impenitence; and

[3] Sins that are committed from downright malice, either by despising or rejecting the inspirations and impulses which, having been stirred in man's soul by the Holy Ghost, would turn him away or deliver him from evil.

Under these three categories, the following particular sins fall: despair, presumption, impenitence or a fixed determination not to repent, obstinacy, resisting the known truth, and envy of another's spiritual welfare.

Despair refers to the voluntary and complete abandonment of all hope of saving one's soul and of having the means required for that end. Meaning, it is a deliberate act of a person of rejecting the possibility of salvation. Mere worry or anxiety does not mean despair in this sense unless one fails to overcome such worry or anxiety which may ultimately lead to despair. This is against hope by defect or lack. On the other hand, presumption, which is against hope by excess or exaggeration, is the condition of a soul which, because of a badly regulated reliance on God's mercy and power, hopes for salvation without doing anything to deserve it, or for pardon of sins without repenting of them. While despair is a sin against hope and the Holy Spirit because of the denial of the possibility of salvation, presumption is a sin against hope and the Holy Spirit because it expects salvation even when someone does not deserve it because of sinfulness and the lack of repentance.

Obstinacy means stubbornness, of sticking to something, here it is a sin against the Holy Spirit in relation to impenitence. Final impenitence is the refusal to repent from sin. It is therefore automatically an unpardonable sin because forgiveness requires repentance or penitence. Unless someone is ready to give up, be sorry and reject sin already, even God cannot do something for God cannot and do not force anyone to repent or reject sin. Hence obstinacy in relation to impenitence would mean sticking to one's sinful, evil, erroneous, beliefs, actions and decisions even if they have been shown to be against the faith, hope and love. 

Somehow related to obstinacy is resisting the known truth. An obstinate person who sticks to a wrong or erroneous belief resists the truth, even the known truth. People who try to reject objective truths and proclaim relativism could be considered sinners under this category for they try to disregard the truth of the natural laws and advance ideas that are subjective and inconsistent with the natural laws even if these are demonstrable and provable.

One of the worst sins that we can commit is being envious of the spiritual welfare of others. While being envy of the material goods of others is already wrong, being envious of others' spiritual goods is worse. Instead of being envious, we should praise God for whatever spiritual good another person acquires or possesses.

These sins truly separate us from God and if they truly fall under the category of unpardonable sins, we must avoid committing them. The Catholic Encyclopedia states that the irremissableness of the sins against the Holy Ghost is exclusively on the part of the sinner, on account of the sinner's act. God is merciful and forgiving, full of love and concern for His children. But without our cooperation, our active part in returning the love which He offers us, He cannot do anything for He is also a just God who hears the cry of the poor, which include all those who have been victimized by others who are supposed to help these least of the Lord's brethren in their needs.

Do not Put the Lord Your God to the Test

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS.
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via google.com

"Do not put the LORD your God to the test ..." 

- Deuteronomy 6:16

We have already reflected on the Three Commandments which focus on our relationship with God. Here we reflect on something which falls under the First Commandment. It is the prohibition against putting God to the test or tempting God. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines temptations as act of testing or trying; enticement to evil; the state of being tempted; that which tempts or entices to evil; and, the name of a place.

The Catechism states,

'Tempting God consists in putting his goodness and almighty power to the test by word or deed. Thus Satan tried to induce Jesus to throw himself down from the Temple and, by this gesture, force God to act. [cf. Luke 4:9] Jesus opposed Satan with the word of God: "You shall not put the LORD your God to the test." [Deuteronomy 6:16] The challenge contained in such tempting of God wounds the respect and trust we owe our Creator and Lord. It always harbors doubt about his love, his providence, and his power. [cf. 1 Corinthians 10:9; Exodus 17: 2-7; Psalm 95:9]' [CCC 2119].

Before Satan tried to tempt the Lord into throwing himself from the parapet of the Temple, he already succeeded in tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit even if the LORD God warned them that eating the forbidden fruit would cause death. They surely did not die physically but were spiritually separated from God, and consequently causing the spiritual death of the entire human race redemption from which required the sacrifice of the only-begotten Son [see John 3:16].

Putting the Lord to the test, that is, requiring Him to provide a manifestation of His power, concern and love disrespectfully or unnecessarily, is a grave sin which show lack of faith, hope and love. Asking God for signs, for example when we are faced about making a decision regarding our specific vocation in life or about doing something which involves spiritual and moral dimension like performing miracles as Jesus our Lord did is not putting God to the test unless we intend such signs to be so. Testing God would be more like asking Him to catch you if you decide to jump off an airplane without a parachute at 10,000 feet, or entering a time-locked solid steel vault challenging Him to keep you alive until the vault automatically opens at the set time, or eating and drinking poisoned food and drink to show others that you will not die because God will keep you safe. There surely are times when God would do marvelous things that would make others believe that He really is God but it is in accordance with His will and design, not because we challenge Him to do so. 

Eve's eating the forbidden fruit is considered putting God to the test for God so warned them that they would die if they do so and by eating the fruit, Eve, and Adam, have truly put the Lord to the test. Though they were tempted by the Serpent, their own decision to eat the forbidden fruit is tantamount to saying, "Okay, God, let's see if you're telling the truth that we'll die if we eat this fruit!" In the same manner, the Devil tried to tempt Jesus our Lord by challenging Him to jump from the top of the Temple even quoting the Scriptures that says, "He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you. With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone" [see Psalm 91: 11-12]. To which the Lord Jesus replied using the Scriptures too, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" [see Deuteronomy 16:6].

The forty years of the Israelites in the desert is a story of putting the Lord to the test particularly when they needed food and water.

In John 11: 41-42, Jesus our Lord calls upon the Father before He raises Lazarus from the dead. Was He testing the Father just because there was a crowd waiting to see if He would or, more probably, could, raise the dead back to life? 

"And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have this, that they may believe that you sent me." 

If the Lord wanted merely to amuse the crowd in order for them to appreciate Him or glorify Him, it would have been tantamount to testing the Father. But He was there performing a miracle, or sign in the Johannine theology, as a means to let the people understand that the Father has truly sent Him, not as a celebrity but as a savior. 

So we must be careful when we pray that our prayer may not fall under the category of testing God. We must not require God to do something for us, we only ask or request, and it must be done with true humility and full submission to His will. Let us remember that even the Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father ended His request for the possibility for the cup of suffering to pass from Him with the words, "Yet not my will but your will be done!" [see Luke 22:42].

Therefore the best way to avoid putting the Lord to the test is to always acknowledge and surrender to His will. He is a generous God and the best Provider of all. But we must remember that He only gives blessings and graces when we deserve them or in order to help us accomplish the particular vocations and mission which He entrusts to each one of us. He doesn't grant us powers to amuse people or make ourselves celebrities, that's the work of the Deceiver, the one whom the Lord Jesus Christ calls "murderer from the very beginning" [see John 8:44] and he continues to try to mislead us [see 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 4:27] so that we won't be able to enjoy God's love which he has rejected and wasted forever.

On the Third Commandment: Keeping the Lord's Day Holy

SUNDAY, THE LORD'S DAY, MASS CELEBRATION.
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"Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day."

- Exodus 20:8

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, acknowledges the importance of keeping holy the Sabbath or the day of rest:

'The Third Commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath. "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. [Exodus 31:15]"' [CCC 2168].

God required one day out of seven to be set aside for man to render Him full worship. For the Jews, their covenant with God required that it be the seventh day. On that day, the Jews cease to work [see the Jewish definition of work to better understand it at the site to which a link is provided below] and focus on spiritual enrichment for the day is really that, to rest and to nourish the soul or spirit. Two important things must be taken into consideration in the Jewish celebration of Sabbath: Zakhor, that is to remember, which is more than merely not forgetting about the day itself, but more about commemorating creation and their liberation from slavery in Egypt; and Shamor, that is to observe, which means to comply with, fulfill, accomplish and here they keep the Sabbath holy by not working. More about the Sabbath or Shabbat here. 

Christians also observe the day of rest in observance of God's resting after six days of creating everything. But for most Christians, instead of the Sabbath day of the Jews, the rest day was celebrated on the day when Christ rose from the dead, which is the first day of the week, but was called the eighth day by the Apostles. Just like many observances of the Jewish people that are not obligatory to the Christians of heathen background, the celebration of the rest day was more meaningful for them to be fulfilled on the day of the Lord's resurrection rather than that which was being observed by the Jews. 

It must also be recalled that when the Lord Jesus Christ came, He made corrections about how the Sabbath should be properly remembered for the Jewish leaders of His time were more concerned about the external manifestations of the Sabbath to the detriment of the spiritual benefit of this day of rest for the ordinary people. He emphasized that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, that is, the day should be liberating not burdensome, enriching not worrisome, etc. He even commented that He, the Son of Man, is the Lord of the Sabbath [see Mark 2: 27-28] [2172; 2173; 2184]. 

So when the Lord rose from the dead on the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, but was symbolically made famous by the Apostles as the eighth day, that day became more meaningful to the Christians, especially those who were not of Jewish background. It became known as the Lord's Day, or the day when the Lord was resurrected. Hence every eighth day, Christians gathered to celebrate the day of rest. 

The Catechism have these important teachings,

'Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week." Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's day [he kuriake hemera, dies dominica] Sunday.' [The day of Resurrection; the new creation, 2174].

'Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ.' [Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath, 2175].

Therefore Christians fulfill the rest day on the Lord's Day, the day of the Lord's resurrection: Sunday. St Justin wrote, 

"We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead." [2174]

St Ignatius of Antioch wrote, 

"Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death." [2175]

As the Jews celebrated the Sabbath because of God's work of creating everything and liberating them from their slavery in Egypt, Christians celebrate the Lord's day because it is when Christ renewed all things and liberated mankind from slavery to sin. Perhaps the establishment of a five-day work week must have been inspired by the desire to provide both Jews and Christians the opportunity to celebrate their days of rest without conflict.

Important thing is that we fulfill the fundamental essence of the rest day: to provide rest to the body so that the spirit may be nourished in accordance with the will of God. For there are those who make the rest day a purely human holiday but not a day to commune with God and His family, the Church, making the rest day as a personal opportunity to escape from obligations and enjoy in leisure and recreation. Sometimes the activities that we do during this day of rest becomes the source of trouble, temptations and fatigue, such as drunkenness, gluttony, excessive physical activities. Hence, instead of making the day holy, it becomes an occasion to sin and therefore great irreverence to the One who has commanded us to remember keeping the day holy. 

So how do we, Christians, keep the Lord's day holy? First of all, we are to participate in the celebration of the Sunday Mass and holidays of obligation [2180, 2181]; participation in communal activities, through the Mass or at least the Liturgy of the Word in the absence of a priest, as testimony of belonging to Christ and unity with His Church [2182; 2183]; just like the Jews we refrain from servile work, that is, work that keeps us from enjoying the rest provided by God  [2184, 2185; 2186]; and, we must also refrain from making unnecessary demands on others that they may also observe the Lord's day [2186; 2195]. 

Moreover, we must never entertain the thought that only during the Lord's day that we ought to keep things holy. For each moment of our lives we are called to holiness [see Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15], not only for a day of each week. For even if it is written that God rested on the seventh day, the Lord tells us that He keeps working [see John 5:17].

A blessed Sunday to everyone!

On the Second Commandment: Giving the Highest Respect for God's Name

HEBREW NAMES OF GOD.
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"You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, 

for Yahweh will not leave unpunished 

anyone who misuses his name." 

- Exodus 20:7

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 

"The second commandment prescribes respect for the Lord's name. Like the first commandment, it belongs to the virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in sacred matters." [CCC 2142].

For this reason we must be careful to use the name of the Lord keeping it in our minds in silent adoration and only to use His name in our speech to bless, praise and glorify the Holy Name of God [CCC 2143]. Such as when the Blessed Virgin Mary said in the Magnificat, "the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is His name," [Luke 1:49]. The Psalm also states that,

"O God, our Lord, 

how majestic is your name 

in all the earth!" 

- Psalm 8:1

God's name is Holy [see Psalm 111:9]. Since His name is Holy, we must give it the greatest respect and awe for respect for His very name is respect for the mystery of God himself [2144]. Mentioning His name must be made with full veneration and fear of offending Him [2149]. 

The Israelites [also, Hebrews, and later on, Jews] gave God's name due honor and respect by not even mentioning it that is why even Moses had to ask God regarding the Name he has to tell the Israelites when he goes to them to lead them out of Egypt [see Exodus 3: 13-15]. For until then, God was only known to them as the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, or in short, the God of our Fathers, and they were content with that [see Genesis 24:12; 26:24; 28:13; Exodus 3:6, 15-16; 4:5; 15:2; 1 Kings 18:36; Acts 7:32; Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37]. Such respect for God's Name ought to be one of the important heritages that we have to duplicate from the Jews. 

This Commandment is also worded as follows, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." And how do we take His holy Name in vain? We take the name of the Lord our God in vain by

[1] blasphemy, a grave sin, which consists in uttering against God - inwardly or outwardly - words of hatred, reproach, or defiance, in speaking ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one's speech; in misusing God's name, with St James condemning those who blaspheme the honorable name of Jesus [see James 2:7] [2148]. We must remember that in Jesus' name every shall bend [see Philippians 2:10] for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved except in Jesus' name [see Acts 4:12].

This prohibition also extends to language against Christ's Church, the saints, and sacred things. It is also blasphemous to make use of God's name to cover up criminal practices, to reduce peoples to servitude, to torture persons or put them to death. The misuse of God's name to commit a crime can provoke others to repudiate religion [2148].

[2] making promises to others made in God's name that are not fulfilled [2147] and swearing false oaths [2150; 2153] for these are equivalent to making God a witness to lies.

[3] commission of perjury [2152].

[4] invocation of the Lord's name as witness and yet not using it in accordance with truth and justice [2154].

[5] using God's name in trivial matters [2155].

[6] using God's name in magic [2149].

This Commandment also covers the matters regarding our Christian name for every name is sacred, God calls each of us by name, and our name signifies the dignity of our person being made in the image and likeness of God [2156; 2158; 2159; 2167]. Hence making fun of our baptismal Christian name could also mean disrespect for God, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church for we receive such name through the Sacrament of Baptism in the Church. Christian parents also have to make sure that the names they give to their children are not foreign to Christian sentiment [2156] for our names we shall bear for all eternity [2159].

In closing, we must remember that as Christians, we ought to begin each day and each activity by invoking the name of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and through the sign of the cross we ask God's protection and guidance throughout the day and the activity [2157]. Making the sign of the cross should therefore be taken seriously and not hurriedly for it is the Christian's summary of faith and manifestation of due respect to the Holy Name of the Most Holy Trinity.

On the First Commandment: Exclusive Worship belongs to the One God

"I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD:
YOU SHALL NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME."
Image via google.com

The First Commandment identifies God as our main object of worship and adoration. Here, God specifically declares His being God who deserves all the honor, respect and praise due to Him as the Supreme Being. He also clearly prohibits us from having other gods. 

Going back to the general Great Commandment of loving God above all things with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, the First Commandment simply means God's way of stating that we should not put our absolute trust in anything else, that we should not be ultimately dependent on anyone else, that we should not fully submit ourselves to someone or something other than Him. It also means that He should be our priority in everything, putting Him before anything else, and giving Him utmost importance, respect and honor in all that we do, think or say. Simply put, He should be our whole life, our very existence, and everything else that we do, think or say should be mere reflections of our relationship with Him. 

It is not because He is a selfish God. Fact is, He is a very generous God and was so generous indeed that He even gave us His only-begotten Son to become our salvation, that all of us may become His children through the Son. It is also through the Son that He renewed the bond of friendship between Him and us. Then why does it seem that He wants everything for Himself alone? 

It is because only in Him can we find rest, the fullness of life and eternal happiness. Only in Him can we live forever in everlasting joy. Nothing and no one else can offer the same benefits which He does. For without Him we are nothing and can do nothing. 

Special mention must be made about the Catholic, and other Christian churches', inclusion of the prohibition against the making of graven images in the First Commandment. For in the understanding of the Catholic mind, they both belong to the same category of prohibitions: that of false worship which also includes the particular error of worshiping false gods.

Without knowing it, many of us unconsciously offend God through the violation of the First Commandment by various degrees and means of idolatry. Many people charge us Catholics of being idol-worshipers because of our use of images. But what they forget is that what God prohibits is making images to be adored. He did not prohibit making images per se. However, there are other ways this commandment is being violated.

This leads us to a deeper understanding of the prohibition. When we make graven images, it doesn't also mean merely making graven images literally, for we also make images and worship them through various ways and means such as in the field of politics, entertainment, economics, and yes, even in religion: don't we use the the term idol when referring to someone in these fields whom we like so much and even claim to follow as an example in our life? Whenever we give so much for someone or something [time, effort, resources, etc] in a manner which already rivals the attention that we ought to give to God alone, we already become guilty of violating the First Commandment. How many of us would show faithfulness and obedience to God when He speaks through His Church against ideas such as abortion, contraception, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, divorce, euthanasia, and the like, when their proponents are popular, influential and powerful politicians, businessmen, artists, and the like? As we have mentioned in an earlier entry, it is a very convenient excuse for people that God does not talk directly to us because they can use even the Holy Bible to mislead others to believe in their wrong policies, principles and propositions. Remember how the Devil used the Scripture in an attempt to lure the Lord into submitting to him?

Many would probably say that they do not make these people their gods at all. But action speaks louder than words, isn't it? Just try asking yourself if you are not guilty of any of these: giving more time to read pocketbooks than the Bible; watching telenovelas rather than EWTN or a local Diocesan or Parish TV station; playing games rather than pray the Rosary; hearing and sharing gossip rather than share and hear the Gospel of the day; following the lives of actors and actresses rather than read about the lives of the Saints; etc. 

God demands our total and undivided attention for He has and still is giving us His total love. Now, when we say undivided attention, we do not of course mean that we should not care anymore for the things of the earth which we need to take care of like our families, our work, our duties to country, etc. But what we are saying is that even in these things we ought to put God first, that is, our family should be a founded upon God's love; our work should not lead us to sin such as corruption; our duties to country should not compel us to disregard our duties to God; etc. In times of conflict between God and anyone or anything else, we must side with God, and in this we have to say, since God is represented by the Church, we therefore ought to side with the Church.

"I am the LORD your God," says Yahweh God. Let us not be like many of the Israelites whom Moses led out of Egypt who even though God showed them many wonders still remained stubborn and unfaithful and so God did not allow them to enter the Promised Land. Instead, God waited for a new generation of Israelites to be given the opportunity of doing so. [Even Moses was not allowed to do so because he also committed a sin: when the people clamored for water, God told him to order a rock to provide water for the people but Moses struck it twice instead! see Numbers 20: 1-12]

Instead, let us be faithful New Israelites, Christians, who obey God's law not in accordance with the letter alone but especially by its spirit and give Him alone all honor, worship and adoration that is due to Him. 

The Primacy of God in our Lives

GOD CREATING ADAM.
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"Put God first and He will crown your efforts with success."

- see Proverbs 3:6; 16:3; Philippians 4:6; Matthew  6:33

The Lord Jesus Christ asks Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" [see John 21: 15-17] and he tells all His disciples, which includes us, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" [Matthew 6:33]. Do we love God above all things with all our hearts, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength? [see Matthew 22:37, Deuteronomy 6:5]. 

Loving God is more than saying the words. Loving God is doing His will. And how do we know God's will so that we could obey and express our love to its fullest?

First things first: when God said we should love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength, He seems to provide no room for us to love anything or anyone else for we are commanded that we should give it all. He didn't talk about percentages, He didn't speak of ratio, not even a pie chart to go with it. He meant all, everything, the whole, in totality, in fullness. So the faithless and some faithful who cannot understand would ask, "Then how can we love each other if our love should be fully directed only to God?" And we hear the Lord give us the exact answer: "You must love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU" [see John 13:34; 15:12] for God loved us first [see 1 John 4:19] and He had showed as how much love He has for us that He gave His only-begotten Son to be our Savior [see 1 John 4:10; John 3: 16-17]. Therefore if we really love God, we automatically have to love our brothers and sisters [see 1 John 4:20].

Secondly, about doing His will: God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life [John 3:16]. The most important and most concrete manifestation of doing His will means believing in the One whom He sent: His only-begotten Son. Now what are the things that the Lord Jesus Christ, God's only-begotten Son, taught us through word and deed? To be holy as the Father in heaven is holy [see Matthew 5:48; also 1 Peter 1:15, Ephesians 1:4]; to deny one's self, take up one's cross and follow Him [see Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23]; to be a good neighbor loving him as one loves himself [see Matthew 22:39; 25: 31-46; Mark 12:31; Luke 10: 25-37],  to go into the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them everything that He had taught [see Matthew 28: 19-20]; and many more but for now these would suffice for our discussion.

Loving God above all is a fundamental article of Faith and basic logical reality because first of all, He is the Creator and without Him, we are nothing we can do nothing [see John 15:5]. The godless would perhaps argue about this but for us who believe, there's no scientific evidence needed to base this declaration for God won't be tempted to provide scientific evidence of His being just to appease the unbeliever for as the Lord Jesus Christ declared through a parable, "if they would not believe Moses, then even if someone returns from the dead they won't believe" [see Luke 16:31]. This has been proven when the Lord rose from the dead; until now there are those who do not, cannot and would not believe! So we can rephrase what the Lord said by stating, "If they won't believe the Church about the resurrection, then they would not believe anything else that the Church would teach!"

Loving God and putting Him first in our lives is a difficult decision to make for someone who lacks true faith. But the Lord said that we should not worry about what we should eat, drink and wear: we should not worry about anything at all for even the birds of the air which does not labor are provided food by the Father and even the flowers of the fields are clothed with such beauty that even King Solomon in all his splendor cannot match! [see Matthew 6].

Loving God is not blind obedience for in the final analysis, only God could give us true and eternal happiness and joy, which we all try to fulfill even in this corruptible world. Blind obedience can only be found in the practices of fraternities. sororities and other groups and organizations especially during initiation rites, and among institutions which threatens members of physical, emotional and perhaps financial or economic punishments and sanctions if they disobey. Someone might say, "Then why should someone who disobeys God be threatened of being destroyed in hell?" The answer to that is that hell is the absence of God; without God, a person will eventually find himself or herself in hell, for God is the fulfillment of everything, while hell is the lack of them; being with God is the fullness of happiness, while the absence of God is the eternal longing for joy. "Only in God shall we find our rest," says St Augustine. Watch this video to understand.

A man who is in love with a woman promises even the sun, the moon and stars - which means he would do anything for the woman he loves - just to get her to love him too would seem to be the happiest person alive when he successfully makes her return his love but if he is denied would then feel being the saddest person on earth. An applicant who gets accepted to a job might even consider having a party for his or her friends because of his or her success in getting the job; an applicant who is consistently turned down might even consider committing suicide. Having God is far, far greater than getting a woman saying "yes" to her man or getting that most coveted job; while not being with God is much, much more saddening than being turned down by a woman or being turned down by so many human resource managers.

Putting God first in everything is simply making our eternity our top priority. For we may not become successful upon this earth in accordance with worldly standards, but then we would be assured of VIP treatment in one of the mansions in the Father's house [see John 14: 2-3]. The ungodly seek honors in this world; the faithful seek the crown of glory in the Father's kingdom. Even for the sake of corruptible glory, humans exert so much effort; how much more for the crown of glory which will last for all eternity? [see 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27].

May we truly love God and put Him on top of our priorities. 

Next: The Commandments Proper to God.