The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are a most beautiful outline of God’s divine laws, complete, perfect and given in infinite love.
Being that they are the only words written by the very hand of God is evidence of their importance, and being written on stone establishes them as timeless, for all generations.
Their existence begs the question, “Why did God give us the Commandments?” Merely to prove our obedience? Not hardly. God gave us so much more than a list of rules. Rather, He gave us his divine recipe for lives that are full, rich, and everlasting. He offers them to us to help us live in harmony with one another, to be free from the slavery of sin, paving the way for authentic friendship and everlasting joy. As we learn the Commandments and order our lives by the truth and wisdom they hold, the chaos and confusion of our world will be replaced with truth and clarity, peace and joy.
As you explore the Commandments below, look beyond the mere words to see how each of them protects what is holy and sacred and how they invite you into greatness. As you embrace the Commandments, you will discover a new dimension of God and His love for you. You will see how Jesus’ mission was, and still is, to teach us how to live the Commandments, and in our obedience to them, experience the fullness of oneness with Him and with one another that our hearts truly desire above all else.
The 10 Commandments
1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.
Jesus is love and the source of all things good, but we become distracted by the modern-day gods, such as money, work, materialism and entertainment. Being distracted and losing focus on the Truth, we become confused, make unwise choices based on human wisdom and then suffer the natural consequences.
The first Commandment establishes God as the one and only God, Creator of the universe and the one who redeems us from the worldly slavery of sin, into His eternal world of joy and happiness.
This first Commandment is the foundation that supports and gives meaning to all the other Commandments. If God is unimportant to us, we become our own god, and lying and stealing become strategies for serving our primary god—namely ourselves. Observing Sunday for worship becomes unimportant and using God’s name in vain is just an expression.
Conversely, when we place God front-and-center in our lives and love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, we grow in our love and trust in Him. With a heart for Jesus we see the purpose and beauty of being a person of integrity, and realize the damage caused to others by lying and stealing. In our love for God we no longer want to take what belongs to others, and instead we cultivate generosity to share with those in need. With God first, we naturally glorify God’s name instead of using it in vain.
Jesus warns us against the “And” when He says in Matthew 6:24, No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
The “And” is when we try to serve God And money. Or serve God And our work, or love God And entertainment. When we attempt this, God seems to just get in the way as we perceive any time, money and attention that is owed to God, as getting in the way of pursuing our preferred gods. Trying to serve two gods, making time for prayer at the start of the day prevents us from getting to work. Fitting in time to go to church on Sunday gets in the way of tailgating, shopping or simply vegging-out.
Therefore, to help us establish a firm foundation, upon which the other Commandments derive their purpose and meaning, this Commandment calls us to start with a commitment to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. With God firmly established we are well prepared to teach the Commandments to the children in our lives, so they too will have the proper foundation to put Jesus front and center in their lives and embrace His Commandments.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
With name calling so offensive, why is it that so many people don’t consider it offensive to abuse God’s name? We often hear people using God’s name in frustration or anger and dismiss it as just a form of expression. But names are very important and no one, especially God, should have their name abused and misused.
How we refer to God reveals the reverence we have for Him in our heart. Using God’s name irreverently is evidence that we lack proper love and reverence for Him. Conversely, when we genuinely and openly praise God’s name, it is a reflection of the honor and reverence we have for Him.
Disrespecting God’s name in front of others erodes their perception of Him and discourages them from wanting to grow closer to Him. Therefore, when we break the Second Commandment, we bear some responsibility for others’ lack of reverence and love for God.
Blasphemy and perjury are two serious ways people break the Second Commandment.
Blasphemy involves using God’s name in a curse, calling upon Him frivolously or behaving in ways that reflect poorly on Christ. Perjury is unnecessarily calling upon God in an oath to establish credibility, such as saying, “I swear to God I didn’t eat the last piece of pie.” Another form of perjury is making a serious oath, with God as a witness, and then breaking it, such as testifying in a court of law.
Addressing these offenses requires more than just watching our speech; it involves thoroughly examining our hearts and aligning our lives with God’s love for us.
As Christians, how we behave is a reflection of Jesus Christ and His name. Therefore, it is not just our words that potentially break the Second Commandment. We break the Second Commandment when we disrespect others by lying, stealing, willingly ignoring the Lord’s Day, or breaking any Commandment. Claiming to be Christians, while behaving contrary to Christianity, is hypocritical and reflects poorly upon Jesus and His name.
When Jesus taught us the perfect prayer, He began with “Our Father, who art in Heaven, holy be your name,” highlighting the sacredness of God’s name. The name of Jesus holds divine power to cast out demons, heal the sick, and mend relationships. As the Creator and Redeemer, the names of Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are to be honored and glorified above all others. Praising the name of Jesus glorifies Him and exalts Him for others to see and be drawn into relationship with Him.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
With the rotation of the Earth, God gave us day and night. With the moon revolving around the earth, and in the revolutions of the earth around the sun, He created the months and seasons of the year. However, nothing in nature defined a natural cycle of seven days. God created everything in six days and then, as a bonus, gave us the seventh day as an extra day. A God-given day of vacation every week to recall all He has given us, to praise Him, to rest and enjoy all His blessings.
But what if God didn’t create the extra day for rest, and instead just launched us right from Saturday into Monday? How fun would that be? Even after giving us all He created, He wanted to give us even more. In His infinite love and wisdom, He created an extra day to rest and enjoy His many gifts.
Unfortunately, our culture has made Sunday just another day of the week. A day to get caught up for the week ahead. The trap we too often fall into is that we focus first on all the other seemingly more important ways we should use our Sundays.
As we fill up Sundays with chores and worldly pursuits, we become too busy for God, our family and our friends. Between laundry, grocery shopping for the week, helping the kids finish their science project, soccer practices and games, attending Mass to receive Jesus and give thanks to God doesn’t make the list. We miss out on our divine day of vacation and our busyness distances us from God, leaving us tired, confused and tempted by worldly distractions.
In His infinite love and wisdom, God knew that we needed a break from life’s hard work to remember His love, praise Him, and seek His guidance for the week ahead. Each Sunday He gives us time to nurture and enjoy our relationships with family and friends and time to relax and prepare ourselves for the week ahead. So, let’s not waste such a precious gift? Set aside the grind of life and trust in God’s plan for Sundays.
If your job requires you to work on Sundays, such as responding to medical emergencies, set aside another day in the week as your sabbath and protect it as holy and sacred. Plan your sabbath around receiving Jesus’ love at daily Mass. Pause to just sit in the presence of Him, place your burdens and worries at the altar and rest in His peace. Don’t miss out on such a divine gift.
4. Honor your father and mother.
In recent decades, the parent-child relationship has shifted dramatically, with parents’ authority being undermined and children adopting an attitude of entitlement. How can we restore the family hierarchy as designed by our Creator and give children the example, discipline and love they need to become the best version of themselves? The answer lies in the wisdom of the Fourth Commandment.
At first glance the Fourth Commandment appears to be an instruction intended only for children. While it is clearly intended for children, it is equally intended for adults. The Fourth Commandment sets the foundation for strengthening marriages and raising children who are confident, joy-filled and prepared for a promising future and family of their own.
The Fourth Commandment implies that parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and all adults be examples treating others with Christlike honor and respect. With honorable examples, children learn how to honor and respect others. Furthermore, the honor and respect parents and grandparents show toward Jesus becomes a natural invitation for children to reserve a place of honor and respect for Him too.
The Fourth Commandment also includes a promise. Honoring our father and mother promises a “long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” This promise isn’t just to make the Commandment sound appealing; it actually paves the way for a long and happy life.
Children who learn obedience and respect are better equipped to make good choices leading to a better life for themselves and their future families. For example, a teenager who respects a parent’s curfew may miss out on some late-night fun with friends, but he or she may also avoid dangerous situations, such as encountering drunk drivers.
Another aspect of the Fourth Commandment is that it instructs us to honor and care for our parents as they age. Regardless of whether parents fell short in their parenting, we are all called to set aside disappointments and support them when they can no longer care for themselves. When this task seems overwhelming, we can draw strength from Sirach 7:27-28: “With your whole heart honor your father; your mother’s birth pangs do not forget. Remember, of these parents you were born; what can you give them for all they gave you?”
As children witness their parents setting aside disappointments and caring for the grandparents, they begin to understand their responsibility of honoring you when your health begins to fail. Thus, masterfully designed within God’s framework of the Fourth Commandment is the provision for all generations to be cared for in our twilight years.
5. You shall not kill.
While most of us aren’t directly involved in murder, we indirectly make life-and-death decisions more frequently than we realize. For example, investing in companies that develop and supply abortion equipment or service abortion clinics contributes to the murder of unborn babies. Similarly, texting while driving or supporting political candidates who favor abortion or assisted suicide also relate to the Fifth Commandment. Therefore, when making business decisions or voting, it’s incumbent on all of us to understand the practices of the businesses we support and the stances of candidates on the sanctity of life.
The Fifth Commandment is not limited to killing physically. In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus warns that harboring anger, jealousy, or greed can lead to destructive outcomes, as these sentiments are the root of our words.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill’; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”
Words spoken in anger can pierce the heart of a loved one, crush someone’s dreams, or damage their reputation, career, or marriage. Therefore, be aware of how the Fifth Commandment protects not only physical life, but also the hearts, dreams and reputations of others.
Consider the joy and excitement of a young couple having a baby and contrast it with the heartache and pain at the loss of a loved one. These experiences highlight how precious life is. The joy and sorrow experienced at the beginning and end of life make it exceedingly obvious that life is more than precious. Being a gift in the image and likeness of our Creator, human life is not only precious, but sacred. So sacred that Jesus came to sacrifice His life so that our lives can be saved.
Conversely, Satan’s mission is to bring death and destruction. The Fifth Commandment safeguards sacred human lives and protects the souls of those who might otherwise participate with Satan’s in the destruction of human life.
Spiritually adopting a baby is a beautiful way for individuals and families to learn about the miracle of life and more fully appreciate the miracle of human life.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
A Stradivarius violin is one of the most valued musical instruments. Its primary purpose is to produce beautiful music. However, if the owner decided to beat on it as though it were a drum, it would still produce music. But how would such ‘music’ compare to the music it was intended to produce and how disrespectful would this be to Antonio Stradivari, its creator.
How much more precious is the human body than a Stradivarius violin? Yet through adultery, pornography, sex change operations and contraceptives we degrade our bodies and disrespect our Creator. Instead of properly glorifying and respecting our sexuality, today’s culture desecrates it.
Our mission: To restore the preciousness and miracle of our bodies so our children and grandchildren understand why and how to avoid the heartache, depression and disappointment of the misuse of sexuality that rips families apart, requires children to grow up not knowing their father or mother and jeopardizes their souls.
The Sixth Commandment underscores the sacredness and purpose of our sexuality, warns us of the evil and dangers of adultery and calls us to glorify God through our bodies.
God created sex to be for a man and a woman, united in holy matrimony, as sacred and holy with the primary purpose of participating with God in His creation. Any deviation from this purpose or outside holy matrimony, degrades God’s purpose for our bodies, disrespects our Creator and jeopardizes souls.
To more fully appreciate the importance of the Sixth Commandment for ourselves, our families, and our souls, it is helpful to understand the relationships between Creation, Sexuality, Marriage, Chastity and Lust.
7. You shall not steal.
If Jesus were giving a sermon about the 7th Commandment is it likely that He would say, “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not steal.’ But I say… ?”
In line with the other Commandments that Jesus expanded upon in His Sermon on the Mount, He would likely challenge us to look beyond the simple words, “You shall not steal” to help us examine our underlying motivations. By examining our hearts, we discover what and who we love most and whether our love for others is genuine or overshadowed by selfishness and fear.
It is easy to imagine how Jesus would continue his sermon by encouraging us to go beyond “not stealing” and instead, to cultivate a heart of generosity and to joyfully share with others. In joyfully sharing the blessings God has bestowed on us, others experience the goodness and joy of God too.
In cultivating generosity, it is important to note that the 7th Commandment includes both material possessions and intangibles, such as time, encouragement, prayers and gratitude. In many ways, intangibles that are more valuable than money or possessions.
To cultivate generosity, the Seventh Commandment calls us to emotionally detach from the things of this world, so our possessions don’t impede us from setting our hearts on pursuing treasures in Heaven. The Seventh Commandment teaches us to be grateful for the big and small blessings each day offers, and it teaches us to trust that God will always provide what we need.
Conversely, stealing is evidence that we love ourselves more than others and that we love the created more than we love the Creator. Stealing exhibits a lack of trust that God will provide what we need, it shows we lack generosity and it turns us inward, setting us up to be discontent and never satisfied.
Stealing takes many forms, some obvious and others subtle, such as keeping something that isn’t ours. Examples include keeping money found in a wallet or the extra change from a cashier. Gossiping steals someone’s privacy and reputation, while being mean robs the victim of our anger of their dignity and the enjoyment of a good day.
The Seventh Commandment teaches that all of God’s creation is intended for everyone’s benefit, not just a select few. For a variety of reasons, some have too little and struggle to see God’s goodness because they are focused on surviving. Others have too much and struggle to see God’s goodness because they are focused on safeguarding their possessions and accumulating more. This Commandment calls for moderation, having what we need and sharing the rest with those in need. Through moderation and generosity, we participate in God’s plan of salvation for ourselves and our neighbors.
Jesus charges us to prioritize our tangible and intangible possessions according to the Greatest Commandment: to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, which we demonstrate through tithing to His church. He also directs us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, enlightening us to not just share from our leftovers, but to be intentional about planning for the needs of others, just as we plan for our own needs.
The Seventh Commandment is a call to greatness and an invitation to participate in God’s plan of joy, freedom and salvation through our work and our generosity.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
The Eighth Commandment reveals that truth is sacred and therefore must be revered and protected. When God created the universe and everything within it, God established what is true and good. When He created the solar system, He established the truths of gravity, electricity and combustion. Similarly, within creation He determined the truth and goodness of male and female and the chemistry of molecules and atoms. And when He sacrificed Himself for us, He substantiated the truth of His love for us. These foundational truths endorse Jesus’ declaration, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Therefore, any deviation from truth is a deviation from God. Deviations from truth introduce chaos and undermine the harmony necessary for humanity to live peacefully. Truth is essential for fostering respect, and trust within marriages, communities, and commerce and is an essential ingredient for peace and joy.
However, our selfishness and pride often tempt us to deny or distort the truth, creating chaos and confusion. Lies breed fear, disagreements, and division, growing more complex as we fabricate new lies to cover up earlier falsehoods. Each lie diminishes our humanity and dignity, making it increasingly difficult to recognize the truth and drives us away from the Author of Truth.
Satan invented the lie and first tested it in the garden of Eden when he sprinkled a little doubt by asking Eve, “Did God really say you would die?” He then declared a new ‘truth’ saying, “You certainly will not die!” and followed that up with the false promise of “Once you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods.”
As the father of lies, Satan delights in the confusion, division and death caused by lies. Once they became the victims of Satan’s lies, the harmony that Adam and Eve enjoyed was lost and they began to blame one another and blame God. They were stripped of their freedom and banished from the garden. Satan continues to deploy the same three-step strategy on us today resulting in the confusion, disharmony and division we see in the world today.
Lies always result in negative consequences and often have devastating lifelong impacts that span generations. Alternatively, committing to truth and goodness frees us from the bondage of lies allowing us to experience authentic joy and harmony.
The dilemma as to what constitutes a lie and whether some lies are permissible has been debated by theologians for centuries. The Catholic church, in Paragraph 2483 of the Catholic Catechism offers the following to help us quickly identify and avoid temptations to lie.
To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth. (Catholic Catechism 2483)
This definition should make us all more aware of our attempts to hide the truth and why others have the right to the truth. But let’s apply this definition to the Polish family’s deception when asked if they were hiding Jews. Because the soldiers had evil intentions of killing the Jews, they forfeited their right to the truth. Therefore, those hiding the Jewish family were not guilty of lying. The Catechism’s explanation provides some clarity, but choosing to lie in some situations increases the possibility of erroneous rationalizations, emotional decisions, and the risks of becoming a habitual liar. Therefore, St. Augustine warns us to never deviate from the truth.
To help detect and avoid lying, below is an overview of lies we all can relate to. As you review the list, make note of those that make you feel uncomfortable. Reflect on them and develop a plan for properly avoiding them in the future.
White Lies – False responses given to avoid hurting others’ feelings, e.g., “Yes, I really do like your new haircut. (Gag, cough, smile.)” To avoid white lies, we should be loving, respectful and sincere in giving a true response that will be helpful and not hide the truth.
Fib/Exaggeration/Boasting – False statements meant to impress or discredit others, like claiming, “I’ve done that a million times,” or, “You never arrive on time.” Fibs, exaggerations and boasting can easily become habitual.
Half-truth – Withholding important information to mislead, such as telling your boss that third quarter preliminary sales are up by twenty percent but intentionally omitting that final results will be notably lower.
Gossip/Fabrication/Plotting – Speaking about someone intending to damage their reputation or boost your own, like saying, “Did you hear Bob might lose his job again?
Flattery – Insincere compliments meant to make someone feel better or to gain favor, such as, “Your cooking is absolutely the best,” when it isn’t true.
Compulsive/Habitual – Frequent use of any one or multiple forms of lying. Habitual lying is a symptom of severe confusion and insecurity.
Breaking Promises – Making a promise with little or no intention to keep it, such as, “I promise to make it up to you”, but not following through.
Living a Lie – Presenting a false image of yourself or living in denial, such as, spending beyond your means to impress others or being in denial of your talents.
Disclosing Secrets – Sharing confidential information, like saying, “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but…”
Euphemisms – Using flowery or vague language that masks the real meaning. Examples of this are “reproductive rights” for abortion, “death with dignity” for euthanasia, and “right-sizing the workforce” for layoffs.
Bold-faced/Blatant lies – Direct false statements, we know are not true, intended to mislead.
9 & 10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
Coveting is a disordered emotional desire to pursue something of lesser value that jeopardizes something of great intrinsic value. For example, pursuing an affair jeopardizes marriage, family and health. Another is pursuing wealth, power or prestige jeopardizes integrity, freedom and friendship. And most importantly, such pursuits jeopardize our souls for salvation.
The object of disordered desires can be a person, a tangible item or something intangible such as prestige, recognition, pleasure, entertainment or success.
Disordered obsessions blind us to the true goodness and purpose of the object of our desire, leading us to jeopardize our relationships, health, dignity, and our future. Coveting puts the weapons of lying, stealing, committing adultery, and even killing into our hand to enable us to obtain what we desire. And, most harmfully, coveting causes us to violate the 1st Commandment by replacing God with ‘strange gods’.
Recognizing that coveting drives us to break the other Commandments allows us to turn this awareness to our advantage. By identifying what we covet, we can then reassess our priorities and motives, starting with restoring Jesus as our greatest love. Choosing to have Jesus as our highest priority, we can more easily and properly reassess how we spend our time, money, and attention in relation to how they help us grow in union with Jesus. As we reassess, we can determine if and how the possessions, people, pleasures and ambitions that fill our lives draw us closer to Jesus, or draw us away.
Identifying and reassessing what fills our lives provides a clear and better direction, but then we have to choose making the adjustments of how we spend our time, money and attention so that they align with what is truly most important. Making this choice, and persevering, can be difficult, but we don’t have to go there alone. In prayer, we can ask Jesus to take us by the hand to help us through the tough spots. Accepting Jesus’ invitation to receive the grace and forgiveness He offers us in the sacraments of Mass and Reconciliation, help to grow in virtue and strength to face the distractions and temptations. Also, surrounding ourselves with authentically holy friends, who encourage us through their example and wisdom, provide encouragement and insights.
Coveting is a condition of the heart. When we become aware of what we covet, we begin to foresee when we are approaching a danger zone (near occasion of sin) and can then reassess and reprioritize. To help us become aware, below is a list of various symptoms of coveting.
Discontentment makes us undervalue what we have, leading us to complain and feel sorry for ourselves. Instead of celebrating others’ successes, we might even take pleasure in their failures.
Greed makes us feel that no amount of money, time, knowledge, food, sex, entertainment, or prestige is ever enough. Greed turns us bitter and self-centered, causing us to neglect important responsibilities and the needs of others.
Envy is the most dangerous symptom of a covetous heart. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines envy as “sadness at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly.” This intense emotion can distort our view of reality, leading to poor judgments and malicious actions towards others.
Misplaced Trust in worldly things such as money, careers and intelligence, is another sign of coveting. Eve’s covetousness gave Satan the opportunity to deceive her into trusting Satan over God. Her covetousness demonstrates how life-changing it is to misplace our trust.
Coveting gets its start when we drift from holding fast to the first three Commandments allowing us to become distracted with strange worldly gods. These worldly gods begin to consume us and, as we are consumed by these false gods, they push Jesus and His authentic love further out of focus and to the margins of our hearts and minds. Over time, these false gods leave us feeling empty, hungry, confused, afraid and lost. In our confusion we become vulnerable to Satan’s deceptions and the sins of Commandments four through ten. Conversely, by prioritizing our life with Jesus first, front and center, revere and honor His name and rest in Him on the Sabbath, He fills us peace, friendship, and the clarity to order our lives according to His Commandments so we can enjoy His recipe for a wonderful and joy-filled life.
Continue Your Rediscovery of the Commandments
Memorizing the Commandments and having them top-of-mind to apply in daily decisions is a great foundation. But stopping there would be like memorizing the table of contents of a book, and never exploring the stories and treasures that lay within the pages. Therefore, build upon the foundation you have laid by exploring the variety of resources available to you here on our website.
Praying the Ten Commandments
A daily examen for learning and living the Commandments.
Rediscover By Video
Guides for individuals, families and parishes to learn, understand and apply the Commandments
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Praying the Ten Commandments
Living the Commandments requires more than memorization. They must be assimilated into our character so we can quickly recognize and successfully navigate daily situations and challenges. As we assimilate the Commandments into our character, we build strength making it easier to order our lives according to God’s truth and wisdom. However, we can’t rely on our own strength. We need to call upon Jesus to give us the grace and fortitude to put aside our selfish desires, freeing us to make decisions based on authentic love for God and others.
The Praying the Ten Commandments prayer offers several ways to grow strong in the Commandments and call upon God for the grace needed to live according to His law of love. The prayer also invites us to go beyond the Commandments and into the greatness we were designed and called to become by our Creator, living Catholic virtues and experiencing authentic happiness.
Praying The Ten Commandments
Creator of the universe and Redeemer of my soul, give me Your grace to grow in Your Commandments each day and in Your mercy when I stumble.
(1) You are the Lord my God. I will not have any gods before You.
(2) I will not use Your name in vain but will glorify Your name in all my words and actions.
(3) I will keep holy the Lord’s day by preserving it only for worshiping You, resting in You and for relationship with family and friends.
(4) I will honor my father and mother and teach my children to do the same.
(5) I will not kill but will honor and protect life from conception to natural death.
(6) I will not commit adultery, but instead I will honor our bodies for the sacred purpose of new life within Marriage.
(7) I will not steal, but instead I will cultivate a heart of generosity.
(8) I will not lie, but rather honor truth in all my words and actions.
(9 & 10) I will not covet my neighbor’s spouse nor covet the things of this world. Rather, I will set my heart on building treasures in Heaven. Amen.
We encourage you to print the Praying the Ten Commandments prayer and pray it at the beginning of your day to help you make good choices throughout your day. Then, as an examination of conscience, pray it at the end of the day to see how closely you lived according to the Commandments.
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