CHAPTER SEVEN Love for God

Nothing More to Give God, who is Love, has given every creature the greatest gift of all, his Son, Jesus Christ.

Theological Virtues

The strongest possible pledge and agreement between two parties Keeping the Commandments covenant The strongest possible pledge and agreement between two parties

Often called the Decalogue Keeping the Commandments The 10 Commandments Often called the Decalogue Means 10 words

Keeping the Commandments

Keeping the Commandments

Keeping the Commandments Church Tradition The Decalogue is a unity. Each commandment refers to each of the others and to all collectively. To break one of the commandments is to break the whole Law.

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve. This commandment teaches us to accept the one true God of love. This means we must worship God. The theological virtues enable us to relate to God and carry out this command.

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Faith This virtue empowers us to say “yes” to God. It enables us to believe everything God has revealed to us.

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Faith Ways to strengthen faith: Prayer Read the Bible Celebrate the sacraments Study your faith Associate with and listen to people of faith Put your faith into action Avoid temptations and sin that threaten to destroy the gift of faith

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Faith Avoid these temptations and sin that threaten to destroy the gift of faith: voluntary doubt – the decision to ignore or a refusal to believe what God has revealed or what the Church teaches. incredulity – a mental disposition that either neglects revealed truth or willfully refuses to assent to it. heresy – outright denial by a baptized person of some essential truth about God and faith that we must believe. apostasy – The total rejection of Jesus Christ (and the Christian faith) by a baptized Christian. schism – refusal to submit to the pope’s authority or remain in union with members of the Catholic Church

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Hope We trust that God controls the future and is watching out for us. Hope gives us confidence that God keeps all his promises Ways to violate the virtue of hope: Despair – losing hope that God can save us Presumption – we can save ourselves without God’s help or God will automatically be merciful if we don’t repent.

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Charity Agape – selfless, giving love Agape love is the type of love Jesus has for us, and the kind of love we should show others. Latin word for love, caritas, means “holding someone close to one’s heart.” Charity involves: Reverence Sacrifice Beginning Rooting out sin: Indifference Ingratitude Lukewarmness or spiritual laziness Hatred of God

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Living the First Commandment Adoration Acts of Religion Prayer Sacrifice

Idolatry (the worship of false gods) The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Avoiding Offenses Against the First Commandment Idolatry (the worship of false gods) Superstition, divination (attempts to unveil what God wants hidden by calling up demonic powers, consulting horoscopes, the stars, or mediums, palm reading, etc.) , and magic

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Avoiding Offenses Against the First Commandment Irreligion – tempting God, sacrilege (profane or unworthy treatment of the sacraments, other liturgical actions, and persons, places, and things consecrated to God.), and simony (the buying or selling of spiritual goods.) Atheism (denies God’s existences) and agnosticism (claims ignorance about God’s existence claiming it cannot be proved.)

The First Commandment and the Theological Virtues Avoiding Offenses Against the First Commandment Forms of non-belief in God: Humanism – a belief that defies humanity and human potential to the exclusion of any belief in or reliance on God. Freudianism – claims belief in God is mere wishful thinking Materialism – a belief that the physical, material world is the only reality, and that spiritual existence, values and faith are illusions.

The Second Commandment You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. This commandment stresses the importance of respecting God’s name. By respecting God’s name, we show respect for the mystery of God himself. By taking care of how we invoke God’s name, we recognize that some things are sacred and holy. This commandment also underscores the holiness of our own name because we are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Breaking promises made in God’s name The Second Commandment Avoiding Offenses Against the Second Commandment Breaking promises made in God’s name Blasphemy (hateful, defiant, reproachful thoughts and words, or acts against God, Jesus, his Church, the saints, or holy things.)

Taking the Lord’s name in vain: The Second Commandment Avoiding Offenses Against the Second Commandment Taking the Lord’s name in vain: swearing (misuse of God’s name in making false promises, cursing other people, or using God’s name frivolously), perjury (when one fails to keep a promise sworn under oath or when one takes an oath with no intention of keeping it.), obscenity (indecent, lewd, or offensive language, behavior, appearance, or expressions), cussing (an informal word that means the same thing as cursing, the calling down of evil on someone), and vulgarity (tasteless or coarse behavior or language).

The Third Commandment Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day. This commandment stresses the value of play (recreation) and prayer on the Sabbath day. It is important to use this day as a day to praise, worship and adore God. Sabbath is our small gift to God in thanksgiving for all of his gifts. For Christians, the Sabbath is Sunday, commemorating Easter and the beginning of the week.

The Third Commandment We go to Mass to give as well as receive. Why We Go to Mass We go to Mass to give as well as receive. Jesus wants us to come together to experience him in the Eucharist, his scriptural word, and in each other. As a community of believers, we thank God together through the Eucharist.

Vocabulary Agape Caritas Idolatry Faith Divination Hope Sacrilege Simony Humanism Materialism Blasphemy Swearing Obscenity Cussing Vulgarity Faith Hope Charity Covenant Decalogue Voluntary doubt Incredulity Heresy Apostasy Schism Despair Presumption