Christian Moral Life:
The Beatitudes and the Ten
Commandments
-God created us to know, love, and serve him
in this life and to be happy with him forever in
the afterlife
The Beatitudes
-Jesus shared them at the Sermon on the
Mount
-Show us how to fulfill our desire for
happiness and teach how we should live in
order to reach our eternal destiny of union
with him
The Beatitudes
-Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven
-Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the land
-Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied
-Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown
mercy
The Beatitudes
-Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will
see God
-Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be
called children of God
-Blessed are they who are persecuted for the
sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven
1. How can living the Beatitudes bring
happiness?
2. Which Beatitude do you believe is most
essential for the world to practice?
3. Why do you think Jesus’ preaching of the
Beatitudes in Matthew is set on a mountain,
while in Luke it is set on a plain?
I, the Lord, Am Your God, You Shall not Have
Other Gods Besides Me
-practice the virtues of faith, hope, and charity
-Theological virtues lead us to the moral virtues
and to the virtue of religion.
-helps give to God what is his just due - reverence,
love, and worship
-Apostacy
-Despair
Condemns the worship of false gods and
these sins:
1. Superstition
2. Idolatry
3. Divination
4. Irreligion
5. Sacrilege
6. Simony
7. Atheism
8. Agnosticism
You Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord,
Your God, in Vain
-Through Baptism, the Lord makes our name holy
-Outlaws any wrong use of God’s name or the
names of Jesus, Mary, or any saint
-Taking of an oath shouldn’t be necessary for a
Christian
-Perjury
-Blasphemy
Remember to Keep Holy the Sabbath Day
-Related to two truths in the Old Testament God “rested” after he completed the work of
creation -God gave the Chosen People the
sabbath day as a sign of the covenant he made
with them
-Catholics are obligated to go to Mass on
Sundays and holy days of obligation
-Best way to make the Sabbath holy is to receive
God in the Eucharist
1. What are some superstitions you have
practiced?
2. Do you think it is sinful to read the daily
astrology charts? Would it be sinful to take them
seriously?
3. What are some ways that people your age
search out spiritual meaning for their lives?
4. Give some examples of the “false gods” people
worship today.
5. Would it be wrong for you to work on Sunday if
you do not have to? Why or why not?
Honor Your Mother and Father
-Charity begins at home
-Domestic Church - family, community of faith,
hope and charity that teaches virtue, respect, and
love
-Both parents have to respect and provide for their
children and children have to respect their parents
and eventually provide for them as they age
You Shall Not Kill
-Teaches respect for the sanctity of human
life
-all direct and intentional killing is a violation
-Does not condemn killing in self defense -as
a last resort - individuals must always use
bloodless means to defend if at all possible
-War must be reasonably avoided at all costs
You Shall Not Kill
-Strictly Outlaws:
1. Direct Abortion
2. Intentional Euthanasia, which is murder
3. Suicide
4. Scandal
5. Immoral Medical Procedures
You Shall Not Commit Adultery, You Shall
Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife
-teach us how to use our sexuality in accord
with God’s plan
-exercise virtues of chastity, purity, and
modesty to live moral lives
-Chastity -married couples should be faithful to
each other, single people, religious and vowed life,
and engaged couples should refrain from sexual
relations
-Virtues of purity and modesty help us combat
lust
Lust - vice of a disordered craving for or enjoyment
of sexual pleasure, apart from how God intended us
to use our sexual powers
-Virtue of purity helps in the struggle against lust
by attuning our minds and hearts to God’s
holiness in all aspects of our lives
-Purity requires modesty, a virtue that protects the
mystery of persons and their love
Lust leads to these sinful abuses of God’s gift
of sexuality:
-Masturbation
-Fornication
-Pornography
-Prostitution
-Rape
-Homosexual Activity
-Sexual Intercourse and all acts leading to it,
express the total commitment of love between a
mane and a woman in marriage
-Sexual intercourse in marriage has two
purposes:
-unitive
-procreative
-Couples may abstain from sexual relations or
employ Natural Family Planning
-Artificial Means of birth control and Sterilization
are condemned
-Children are a gift of marriage
-May use moral methods of increasing fertility
-Donating sperm or eggs, human cloning all
contradict God’s plan for bringing forth new life
-Couples with difficulty having children are
encouraged to adopt or serve others in creative
and compassionate ways
Following acts go against God’s intention
for marriage:
Adultery
Divorce
Polygamy
You Shall Not Steal, You Shall Not Covet
Anything That Belongs to Your Neighbor
-Seventh commandment teaches us to be good
stewards of our material possessions
-related virtue of temperance teaches us that we
should not become too attached to our belongings
-Tenth commandment teaches that when we covet
the goods of others we might commit immoral
acts -outlaws greed, avarice, and envy
-Encourage justice for all people
Types of justice:
-Commutative Justice
-Legal Justice
-Distributive Justice
-Social Justice - applies the teachings of Christ
and the Church to the political, economic, and
social orders
-Social teaching involves three elements:
-principles for reflection, criteria for judgement,
guidelines for action
-condemnation of any political, social, or
economic system that is contrary to the dignity
of the human person is a fundamental theme of
Catholic social teaching
You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your
Neighbor
-Teaches the value of truth-telling
-Calls us to avoid the following:
1. False witness in court and perjury
2. Rash judgement
3. Detraction-reveals faults of someone else
without a good reason
-People do not always need to know everything
1. It is better to let 1,000 guilty persons go free
than to condemn to death an innocent person.
Agree or disagree?
2. What support should the Church as a Christian
community provide to teens who are
contemplating an abortion?
3. In light of all the evidence showing the high
correlation between smoking and cancer, is it
immoral to smoke? Why or why not?
4. What would our society define as immodest
clothing for girls? For guys?