The season of Lent invites us to reflect on the love, compassion and the mercy of God and also to prepare ourselves to receive the mercy of God through the Sacrament of Confession/ Reconciliation. In order to understand the love of God in a better way, it would be nice to reflect on the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments are the summary of the moral laws, which God gave to us through Moses on Mount Sinai. Fifty days after the Israelites departed from their slavery in Egypt, God called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai and gave him the Ten Commandments in two Tablets.
Jesus comprised these Ten Commandments into two precepts of love: one concerning the love towards God and the other concerning love towards one another. Of the Ten Commandments that God gave us, the first three are encompassed in the first precept of Jesus: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). The next seven of the Ten Commandments are covered in the second precept of Jesus: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). So, the whole law is founded on these two precepts.
We believe that the Commandments given to Moses have provided the foundation not only for the social and moral life of the Israelites but also have provided the basis for the personal and property rights found in our modern legal system. Here is the summary of the Ten Commandments:
- Do not have any other gods before God
- Do not take the Lord’s name in vain
- Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy
- Honor your Father and Mother
- You shall not murder
- You shall not commit adultery
- You shall not steal
- You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house
I would like to reflect on each of the Commandments in the weeks to come.
God bless you
Fr. Arul Joseph V.
0 Comments