Lesson 1: At the Heart of the Covenant - The Ten Commandments PDF

LESSON 1 At the Heart of the Covenant: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS  THE TEN COMMANDMENTS THE LOVE OF GOD THE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR  THE LOVE OF GOD 1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in v...

LESSON 1 At the Heart of the Covenant: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS  THE TEN COMMANDMENTS THE LOVE OF GOD THE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR  THE LOVE OF GOD 1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day  THE TEN COMMANDMENTS THE LOVE OF GOD THE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR  THE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR 4. Honor your father and your mother. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal.  THE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. 10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.  The TEN COMMANDMENTS teaches us about: Faith Hope Love  If the human law is against the law of God It should not be obeyed.  LOVE The TEN COMMANDMENTS was a gift from God to express His LOVE “Whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him” 1 Jn 2:5  Saint Maximilian Kolbe Do not forget that holiness consists not in extraordinary actions, but in performing your duties towards God, yourself, and others well.  LESSON 2 The Commandments: Jesus’ Call to Love THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Call us to fulfill our most important task as God’s Children. Jesus’ law of love tells us that we cannot say we love God while we hate our neighbor. When we say that we love God yet hate others, our love for Him is NOT true  We must be… Respectful and always honor God with all our mind, heart and soul. St. John of God shows that love for God and neighbor are inseparable ST. JOHN OF GOD John did everything he could for the poor, the needy, and the suffering because of his great love for God.  LESSON 3: Jesus’ Call to be Free God, our Father, wants us to live a happy and fulfilled life. Dt 30:16  FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY TO SIN Jn 8: 31-36 “You will be My true disciples, if you keep My word. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Doing good actions sets us free The Commandments can help us freed from sinning. The Commandments free us to seek and serve God. It also helps us to discover our true selves and realize our true destiny.  In the Gospel of John “You will be My true disciples, if you keep My word. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  The Commandments frees us from a self-centered love that seeks only our own personal welfare. To be free is to dedicate our life to Jesus and obey His teachings. ST. CLAIRE OF ASSISSI “We are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.”  LESSON 4: Jesus’ Call to Love our Neighbor No Greater Love Jn 15: 12-17 Love one another as I love you Our calling as followers of Christ is to love our neighbor. The LOVE command not an emotional affection or liking someone. The LOVE command Refers to willingly and consistently saying YES to our calling to follow Christ.  LOVE must be shown in ACTS OF MERCY and KINDNESS ACTS OF MERCY and KINDNESS Should not be an act of receiving praise and admiration of other people. To be a winner in the eyes of Jesus We must Love as He had Loved us. We must be willing to take sacrifices.  The COMMANDMENTS Kindness is shown when we help protect the LIFE, PROPERTY and GOOD NAME of others. St. Paul Miki “…after Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all…” Saying Following Jesus means saying YES to His call to love.