Showing Our Respect For God

Catechism Readings:  Paragraphs 2142 – 2195

Jesus summarized the commandments into just two:  Love God and love neighbor.  In fact, the two tablets which God gave to Moses had the commandments broken out just that way:  one held the first three commandments, focused on God, and the other held the last seven commandments, focused on neighbor.  Last week we focused on the first commandment, and the love due to God.  After the depths of that commandment, it almost seems like we should ask: “What else important is there to say about God?”  Yet the second and third commandments, which we look at today, add some unique and important --- they are commandments – aspects of our love relationship: our respect for God.

The second commandment is: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.  “The second commandment prescribes respect for the Lord’s name. 2142 The gift of a name belongs to the order of trust and intimacy.  The Lord’s name is holy.  For this reason man must not abuse it.  He will not introduce it into his own speech except to bless, praise, and glorify it.” 2143

I guess we don’t often think of this aspect of a name, its intimacy.  We expect strangers to call us Mr. X or Miss X, and it is a sign of closeness when we ask them to address us by our first name, but we don’t much think on this.  But the proper use of a name denotes respect, and who deserves more respect than God?  And a name itself is important.  “The name one receives is a name for eternity.” 2159  And unlike us humans, God already has been for all eternity.  Our name is important, but His is doubly so. 

The doctrines associated with the second commandment and using God’s name include those referencing promises, oaths, or vows, and blasphemy, which is directly opposed to the second commandment.  “A false oath calls on God to be a witness to a lie.” 2151  “When an oath is required by illegitimate civil authorities, it may be refused.  It must be refused when it is required for purposes contrary to the dignity of persons or to ecclesial communion.” 2155

“In Baptism, the Lord’s name sanctifies man, and the Christian receives his name in the Church.  This can be the name of a saint, that is, a disciple who has lived a life of exemplary fidelity to the lord, (or) express a Christian mystery or Christian virtue.  Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to see that a name is not given which is foreign to Christian sentiment. 2156  The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: ‘in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.’  The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God.” 2157 

I thought it an interesting reminder that the Sign of the Cross is neither about the sign nor the cross, but about the name of God which we are invoking.  The first commandment told us of the importance of God, but the second told us of the importance of even His name, which reminds us of Him.  When I think of Jesus’ words in describing some other commandments, where he says not only breaking them is a sin, but even thinking about breaking them (in our heart) is a sin, it makes me believe that if we truly understood the importance of the first commandment in all its depth, we wouldn’t need the second one, but it is there to stress the importance of the issue.

So few Christians would think of breaking the fifth commandment, yet how easily they break the second.  Which, I wonder, is more important in God’s eyes?

The third commandment is: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work.

I view this commandment as almost a transitional one: the first two spoke strictly about God, but this one speaks to God and man, and their relationship here on earth.  “God entrusted the Sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable covenant.  The Sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on behalf of Israel.  God’s action is the model for human action.  If God ‘rested and was refreshed’ on the seventh day, man too ought to rest and should let others, especially the poor be refreshed.” 2171-2

“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 – Sunday. 2174  The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship. 2176

The catechism, quoting St. John Chrysostom, goes on to describe not only the commandment, but the need to attend Eucharist with your parish family.  “You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests. 2179  The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice.  For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation unless excused for a serious reason.  Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin. 2181 

Next week we will look at the beginning of the section of the commandments focused on our love of neighbor, starting with the fourth commandment, and its definition of our most special neighbors: our father and mother.

The First Commandment

Catechism Readings:  Paragraphs 2052 - 2141

This week we began the study of the Ten Commandments.  The opening paragraphs define the Commandments in total, and then we began a study of the various implications of the First Commandment.

We open with Jesus’ words from Matthew, where he answers the rich man’s question:  “What must I do…? Jesus’ reply is that he obey the commandments, and more, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess … and come, follow me.”  (Mt 19:16-19)  The catechism explains this answer: “The Law has not been abolished, but rather man is invited to rediscover it in the person of his Master who is its perfect fulfillment.  Jesus’ call to the rich young man to follow him … is joined to the call to poverty and chastity.  The evangelical counsels are inseparable from the Commandments. 2053  The word “Decalogue” means literally “ten words.”  God revealed these ten words to his people on the holy mountain, … but it is in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ that their full meaning will be revealed. 2056  The Decalogue must first be understood in the contest of the Exodus, … the “ten words” point out the conditions of a life freed from the slavery of sin.  The Decalogue is a path for life: If you love the LORD you God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statues and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply.” 2057

“The first phrase of the Decalogue, the first word of God’s commandments, bears on freedom: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  The Commandments properly so-called come in the second place: they express the implications of belonging to God through the establishment of the covenant.  Moral existence is a response to the Lord’s loving initiative.  The covenant and dialogue between God and man are also attested to by the fact that ll the obligations are stated in the first person (I or you). 2061-3  The Ten commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor.  The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor. … The Ten Commandments were themselves given on two tablets.  Three were written on one tablet and seven on the other.” 2067 

“To transgress one commandment is to infringe all the others.  One cannot honor another person without blessing God his Creator.  One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures.  The Decalogue brings man’s religious and social life into unity. 2069  The commandments of the Decalogue, although accessible to reason alone, have been revealed: A full explanation of the commandments of the Decalogue became necessary in the state of sin because the light of reason was obscured and the will had gone astray.”  2071

“Since they express man’s fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, the Ten Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations.  They are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere.  No one can dispense from them.  The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart. 2072

You Shall Love the Lord Your God
with All Your Heart, and with All Your
Soul, and with All Your Mind

“God’s first call and just demand is that man accept him and worship him (the opposite of which was the original sin in the Garden of Eden). 2084  Man’s vocation is to make God manifest by acting in conformity with his creation “in the image and likeness of God.” 2085

“The first commandment embraces faith, hope, and charity. 2086  FAITH: St Paul speaks of the ‘obedience of faith’ as our first obligation.  He shows that ‘ignorance of God’ is the principle and explanation of all moral deviations. (Rom 1:18-32)  Our duty toward God is to believe in him and to bear witness to him.  2087  HOPE: Hope is the confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God’s love and incurring punishment.  2090  The first commandment is also concerned with sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption.  By despair man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, contrary to his goodness, to his justice, and to his mercy. 2091 There are two kinds of presumption.  Either man presumes upon his own capacities (to save himself) or he presumes upon God’s almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit).2092  CHARITY: The first commandment enjoins us to love God above everything and all creatures for him and because of him.  One can sin against God’s love in various ways:  indifference, ingratitude, lukewarmness, or acedia (or spiritual sloth), or hatred of God.” 2093-4

“The theological virtues of faith, hope and charity inform and give life to the moral virtues.  Thus charity leads us to render to God what we as creatures owe him in all justice.  2095  ADORATION: To adore God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the ‘nothingness of the creature,’ who would not exist but for God.  To adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself. 2097  PRAYER: The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in prayer ( via prayers of praise, thanksgiving, intercession and petition). 2098  SACRIFICE: Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice.  The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor.  The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross.  By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.” 2100

“All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it.  The duty of offering God genuine worship concerns man both individually and society. 2104-5  Nobody may be forced to act against his convections in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others, within due limits.  This right is based on the very nature of the human person, whose dignity enables him freely to assent to the divine truth which transcends the temporal order. 2106  The right to religious liberty is neither a moral license to adhere to error, nor a supposed right to error, but rather a natural right of the human person to civil liberty, i.e., immunity, within just limits, from external constraint in religious matters by political authorities.” 2108 

“The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people.”  2110  Forbidden sins include: superstition, idolatry, divination and magic, irreligion, sacrilege, simony, atheism, or agnosticism --- all of which are explained in detail in the catechism (2111-28).  “The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols.  Indeed, ‘the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype,’ and ‘whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it.’  The honor paid to sacred images is a ‘respectful veneration,’ not the adoration due to God alone.  Religious worship is not directed to images in themselves, considered as mere things, but under their distinctive aspect as images leading us on to God incarnate.  The movement toward the image does not terminate in it as image, but tends toward that whose image it is. (Thomas Aquinas) 2132

Next week we move on to the second and third commandments.     

How Do I Know The Bible is True?

Catechism Readings:  Paragraphs 2012 - 2051

The sections covered this week are on Christian Holiness and The Church, Mother and Teacher.  Compared to last week’s depth, this section is almost a breather.  Much was not new to most Catholics.

A key take-away of the section on holiness is its constant repetition of a key fact:  you must grow in holiness.  It is a lifelong journey, and like any long journey, we may sometimes get a bit lost, or stop to enjoy the scenery.  But the growth, the journey, must continue, and we should not be frustrated that it is not progressing as fast as we would like.  We are reminded to “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).  But “in order to reach this perfection (we must do) the will of the Father in everything, wholeheartedly devoting ourselves to the glory of God and to the service of neighbor.  Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints.” 2013

“Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ.  This union is called ‘mystical’ because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments. 2014  (But) the way of perfection passes by way of the Cross.  There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.  Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes.”  2015

 “In the liturgy and the celebration of the sacraments, prayer and teaching are conjoined with the grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity.”  2031  Relative to the Magisterium of the Church:  “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone.  This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.  Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant.  It teaches only what has been handed to it.  85-6  Mindful of Christ’s words to his apostles: “He who hears you, hears me (Lk10:16)” the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.” 87  Here is a key teaching which sets apart Catholics and their Christian brethren:  There is a recognized teaching authority in the Magisterium.  Not Sola Scriptura which each person interprets, but a unified interpretation for believers. 

“The Church, the ‘pillar and bulwark of the truth,’ ‘has received this solemn command of Christ from the apostles to announce the saving truth (1Tm3:15)’.  To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human person or salvation of souls. 2032  The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are ‘authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice.” 2034 

The next section discusses a much confused doctrine:  infallibility.  “The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility.  This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed.  2035  In recalling the prescriptions of natural law, the Magisterium of the Church exercises an essential part of its prophetic office of proclaiming to men what they truly are and reminding them of what they should be before God.” 2036  The conscience of each person should avoid confining itself to individualistic considerations in its moral judgments of the person’s own acts. As far as possible conscience should take account of the good of all, as expressed in the moral law, natural and revealed, and consequently in the law of the Church and in the authoritative teaching of the Magisterium on moral questions.  Personal conscience and reason should not be set in opposition to the moral law or the Magisterium of the Church.” 2039    This last paragraph makes clear that such statements (often heard in our society) as: “Well, that may be your truth, but it is not mine” are individualistic statements of conscience, and the basis of relativism --- the belief that there is no absolute truth.  The Catholic Church emphatically denies such statements, and as this paragraph suggests, they are the result of a conscience not fully considering the revelation of God and the teachings of His Church.

“The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by the liturgical life. (They set the) very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor.  The precepts are:  You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor, You shall confess your sins at least once a year, You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season, You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church, and You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.” 2042

“Q: Why does the Church also make declarations about ethical questions and about matters of personal conduct?  A: Believing is a path.  One learns how to stay on this path, in other words, how to act rightly and to lead a good life, only by following the instructions in the Gospel.  The teaching authority (Magisterium) of the Church must remind people also about the demands of the moral law.  YOUCAT Q344  Q: Why is “not practicing what you preach” such a serious deficiency in a Christian?  A: Agreement between one’s life and one’s witness is the first requirement for proclaiming the Gospel.  Not practicing what you profess is therefore hypocrisy, a betrayal of the Christian duty to be the ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world.’” YOUCAT Q347

Next week we move on to the section of the catechism covering the Ten Commandments, or the Decalogue, as the catechism often terms them.  The first week covers the overview, and the First Commandment.  

Am I Saved?

Catechism Readings:  Paragraphs 1987 – 2011

You just call out my name,
And you know wherever I am,
I’ll come running,
To see you again.

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall,
All you have to do is call,
And I’ll be there, yes I will.

You’ve got a friend.
            You’ve Got a Friend  -- Carole King, ©1971, as sung by Anne Murray

It was a quiet Tuesday night as I began the Intercessory Prayers before beginning the catechism lesson, alone --- but fortunately I started with Anne Murray’s soft singing, which reminded me that I was not really alone, and I thought of my departed sister who had given me this wonderful album.

Things should have progressed rapidly this night, but I found I had so many friends and neighbors and strangers to pray for, and for the Church which needed so many blessings and graces in this its time of trial.  And yet, I found so many things to be thankful for also.  I thought on all these things at length, and God and I chatted a bit.  It is a good thing to do, when you are home alone in the evening.  I think both of us found we had time on our hands, and we could think on things, bad yes, but good also.  God has so much about Him to think on that is good.  And in all things, He makes good.

When I finished prayers, I began to read again the catechism paragraphs scheduled for tonight:  Justification.  As I began reading the catechism, I saw that the pages of this topic were heavily underlined and highlighted --- I had read this before many years ago, and based on all my markings I learned much then.  And I have forgotten much.  It is a complex topic to explain.

“The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us (I looked up a definition at this point, to make sure I didn’t get lost right at the beginning.  Justify: To judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation.), that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us ‘the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ’ and through Baptism. 1987  Through the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ’s Passion by dying to sin, and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life. 1988  Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high.  ‘Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.’ 1989   Justification detaches man from sin (and) follows upon God’s merciful initiative of offering forgiveness.” 1990

“Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ.  Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith.  It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy.  It’s purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life. They are justified by his grace as a gift ...  1992   The possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery is offered to all men.” 618

“Justification establishes cooperation between God’s grace and man’s freedom.  On man’s part it is expressed by the assent of faith (like the Baptismal promises) to the Word of God, which invites him to man’s heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and yet without God’s grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God’s sight.1994  The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them.  … all men may obtain salvation through faith, Baptism, and the observance of the Commandments.” 2068

“Our justification comes from the grace of God.  Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.  Grace is a participation in the life of God.  It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life.” 1996-7  (I guess, looking at it another way, grace helps us to know WWJD.)  The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it.  It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism.  It is in us the source of the work of sanctification.” 1999  (My margin comment here was: “What causes us to gain heaven, i.e., to be sanctified?  A: It does not begin with us or our actions!  But our good actions are needed.)

“God’s free initiative demands man’s free response.  He has placed in man a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy.  2002  Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us.  But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church.  There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacrament.  There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning ‘favor,’ gratuitous gift,’ ‘benefit.’  Charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church”. 2003

Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith.  We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved.  However, according to the Lord’s words – ‘Thus you will know them by their fruits’ – reflection on God’s blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us.  (Therefore, as I understand this doctrine, we can’t be sure we are saved, but reflection on God’s blessings are an indicator.) 2005  The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory”. 1832

(In answer to the question:  Can man merit heaven? This next section speaks to “Merit”).  “With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man.  Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator. 2007  The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace.  The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man’s free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful.” 2008 

 “Filial adoption, in making us partakers by grace in the divine nature, can bestow true merit on us as a result of God’s gratuitous justice.  This is our right by grace, the full right of love, making us ‘co-heirs’ with Christ and worthy of obtaining ‘the promised inheritance of eternal life.’  The merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness.  ‘Grace has gone before us; now we are given what is due … Our merits are God’s gifts.” 2009 

“Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification at the beginning of conversion.  Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life.  Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God’s wisdom.  These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer.”  2010  

(As usual, YOUCAT put much of the complex doctrine in simple words.)  “God’s grace makes us capable of living in God’s love and acting on the basis of this love.  Grace is infused in us from above and cannot be explained in terms of natural causes (supernatural grace).  It makes us --- especially through Baptism --- children of God and heirs of heaven.  It bestows on us a permanent disposition to do good (habitual grace).  Q340  Q:Can someone earn heaven by good works?  A: No.  No man can gain heaven merely by his own efforts.  The fact that we are saved is God’s grace, pure and simple, which nevertheless demands the free cooperation of the individual.  Although it is grace and faith through which we are saved, nevertheless, our good works ought to show the love produced by God’s action in us. Q341  Q: Are we all supposed to become ‘saints’?  A: Yes.  The purpose of our life is to be united with God in love and to correspond entirely to God’s wishes.  We should allow God ‘to live his life in us.’  That is what it means to be holy: ‘a saint.’  Every man asks himself the question:  Who am I and why am I here, how do I find myself?  Faith answers: Only in holiness does man become that for which God created him.  Holiness, however, is not some sort of self-made perfection; rather, it is union with the incarnate love that is Christ.  Anyone who gains new life in this way finds himself and becomes holy.”  Q342

Wow!!  This was one of our shorter lessons to date, and one of our longer “summaries.”  But while I was in the chapel yesterday my thoughts turned to this subject again, and I came away with a different way to look at this teaching ---- one that perhaps I’ll remember this time. 

Justification:  We begin standing in a room of darkness.  Justification is as if God shows us a light through the doorway into our room of darkness –- His grace first invites us to come to Him, something we are inclined to do.  We respond, saying we wish to go to the light --- we commit to Him in faith.  Then He comes to us and takes our hand --- the sacraments give us further graces, and He comes to us, and leads us to Him.  In the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, He comes to us.  Then together we go out of the darkness into His light.

As the catechism explained, He is the one who first invites us, with grace.  He is the one who constantly encourages us with His Word and sacrament.  But still, it is us in freedom who commit to go with Him.  By our actions, our works, are demonstrated our movement toward Him.  But still, we can choose the darkness, if we wish, but He gives us every opportunity to be justified in Him.

That is my way of looking at Justification.  By Jesus’ incarnation and cross, He first opened the door to my life, so His light could shine through.  Justification is my taking God’s hand and being led out of the darkness into His light. I want it, but He made it possible.  Praise God!         

Social Justice and The Moral Law

Catechism Paragraphs 1928 – 1986

I had expected more of these two catechism doctrines.  “Social Justice” is such a rallying cry in the Public Sector that I expected much detail on what the Church’s teaching was, and how it differed from the meaning of the same term used by so many today.  Over the years, the term “Social Justice” seems to have been deliberately used for another meaning, much like the word “gay” has a new meaning in our society.  I expected much, but these doctrines as presented in the catechism are the foundational teachings of the Church; much more detail and interpretation has been written elsewhere, and to find the applications I sought you must do other homework.

“Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. 1928  Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature.  They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority.”  1931  Talking about Equality and Differences Among Men, the catechism notes that “these differences belong to God’s plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular ‘talents’ share the benefits with those who need them.  These differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods.”  1937  “God wills the interdependence of creatures.  No creature is self-sufficient.  Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.”  340  The doctrine looked at this way espouses the principle of subsidiarity, we are to love one another --- something no government can do.

Speaking on Human Solidarity, the catechism notes that “The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of ‘friendship’ or ‘social charity,’ is a direct demand of human and Christian brotherhood.  Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work.  It also presupposes the effort for a more just social order where tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts more readily settled by negotiation.  1939-40  Solidarity is an eminently Christian virtue.  It practices the sharing of spiritual goods even more than material ones.”  1948

“The moral law is the work of divine Wisdom.  Its biblical meaning can be defined as fatherly instruction … the rules of conduct that lead to the promised beatitude.  1950  There are different expressions of the moral law, all of them interrelated:  eternal law – the source (in God) of all law; natural law; revealed law – comprising the Old Law and the New Law (or Law of the Gospel); finally, civil and ecclesiastical laws.”  1952

“The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie.  The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man.  1954  The natural law hinges upon the desire for God and submission to him.  Its principle precepts are expressed in the Decalogue.  It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties.  1955-6  In the diversity of cultures, the natural law imposes on (men) beyond the inevitable differences, common principles.  The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of history.  The rules that express it remain substantially valid.  The natural law provides the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices.  Finally, it provides the necessary basis for civil law with which it is connected."  1957-9

“The Decalogue is a light offered to the conscience of every man to make God’s call and ways known to him and to protect him against evil:  God wrote on the tables of the Law what man did not read in their hearts.  1962  The New Law is the work of the Holy Spirit and through him it becomes the interior law of charity.  It uses the Sermon on the Mount to teach us what must be done and makes use of the sacraments to give us the grace to do it.  1965-6   The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear, (and) inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity and, finally, lets us pass from the condition of a servant who ‘does not know what his master is doing’ to that of a friend of Christ.”  1972

Once again we found that YOUCAT, the youth catechism, stated some principles simply and more easily remembered:  “Human rights are an immediate consequence of human dignity, and no State can abolish or change them.  A society is not perfected by laws, however, but rather by love of neighbor, which makes it possible for everyone to ‘look upon his neighbor (without exception) as another self.’” Q329  “Nothing is really ours until we share it. (C.S. Lewis)”  “There is another sort of inequality among men that is quite in keeping with God’s will:  inequality in talents, initial conditions, and opportunities.  These are an indication that being human means being there for others in charity so as to share and to promote life.” Q331  Principle of Solidarity:  (from Latin solidus: thick, firm, strong): a principle of Catholic social teaching that aims at strengthening community and promoting a ‘civilization of love.’” (Pope John Paul II)

Next week we’ll go through Grace and Justification, catechism paragraphs 1987 – 2011.  These are deep doctrines, and often a point of confusion between Catholics and their Protestant brothers.  I’m reminded of the discussions between Catholics and Protestants titled “That They Might Be One,” initiated by Fr. John Riccardo.  I was present at the talks (which can be obtained at Ave Maria radio) and recall fondly when the topic moved to “Justification by Faith Alone” (Protestant words) vs “Justification by Faith and Works” (Also, as it turned out, Protestant words).  When the Protestant and Catholic views on Justification were orated, it was Fr. John who got up afterwards and asked: “Did you hear what they said?  It was the same thing.  We believe the same thing!!”  And everyone in that SRO church stood and applauded.  It was a great moment.