Lenten Commentary on the First Commandment

As we look toward the Lenten season, I will publish each week a pre-Lenten/Lenten explanation of the timeless Ten Commandments that will help us to apply them in 21 st Century situations. I will take each commandment in turn, and the material will be grouped according to the seriousness of the sin. If the sin is listed in bold , it is grave matter and should be confessed as a mortal sin (a sin that destroys our life with God). Otherwise, consider it a venial sin (a less serious offense). Remember that, as Catholics, we know that three conditions have to exist for something to be a mortal sin: we have to have knowledge that “x” is a sin; the sin “x” has to be grave matter; and we have to want to do it. My feeling as a priest is that many people do not know how pervasive sin is in this broken and fallen world, so I hope that this explanation will be of some assistance.

The First Commandment states: “I am the Lord your God, you shall not have false gods before me.” The following would seriously offend against this commandment of God: Against Almighty God, e.g., hatred of God, or the saints and angels, disdain for God's law, despising the blessings and gifts that God has given our life, presumption, or despair of God's mercy. Sins against the Catholic faith, e.g., denying the Faith, quitting the Church (usually out of contempt or fear), teaching your family or community something that is contrary to the teaching of Christ, committing a sacrilege (i.e. receiving a sacrament while in a state of mortal sin, desecrating the Holy Eucharist, assaulting a sacred place, person, or object), failure to receive Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a year (the “Easter Duty”), and belonging to anti-Catholic organizations. More contemporarily – involvement with New Age practices, Eastern mysticism, agnostic or atheistic adherence. Finally, outright rejection of goodness through participation in demonic worship, witchcraft, sorcery, black magic arts, wicca, and divination via séances/tarot cards/ouija boards/palm reading. The abovementioned sins are highlighted in bold because they would constitute the matter or basis for a mortal sin by a baptized Christian.

However, consider the following from the perspective of venial sin: Against God: being indifferent to God and His will, lazy in my prayer, lukewarm or mediocre in my faith, trying to control God (you do this for me and I will believe in You, if not I will not believe), not trusting God, being angry with God, or putting other things before God like recreation, hobbies, computers, television, sports, etc. Against the Catholic Church, e.g., not willing to learn about my faith through the teaching of the Holy Father, not telling others about the goodness of the Catholic faith, standing up for the Church when it is being needlessly ridiculed, entertaining doubts against the Catholic faith (not to be confused with questions). And finally, in my personal life do I pray daily, offer up my sufferings in union with Jesus and His cross, care more about what others think of me than what God would think of me, examine my conscience every day to accuse myself of the sins I have committed, put off going to the sacrament of reconciliation when I know it would benefit me, or allow myself to get distracted at the Holy Mass? Do I make the distinction that God made me essentially and substantially good, but that I sometimes do the bad (and thus provide a defense against self-pity or depressing thoughts)?

This is just a reflection on the First Commandment and I am sure that a thoughtful reader will say, “Uh, Oh. I am in trouble.” Fear not, because as our ignorance vanishes, and our consciences become more finely tuned, we have a great opportunity for Reconciliation, and once absolved of sin, a greater chance for friendship with God. The fruit of this process will be liberation and joy, so let us move along. In the next Commentary, I will examine the Second and Third Commandments.

God bless you and pray well!

Father Mark

Lenten Commentary on the Second and Third Commandments

This is the second in a pre-Lenten/Lenten commentary series on the Ten Commandments, and in this section I would like to focus on the Second and Third Commandments . Some of the items discussed will be similar to the last installment's understanding of the First Commandment.

The Second Commandment tells us that we “shall not take the name of the Lord our God in vain.” Sins against the majesty of God would includes: i ntentionally using the name or the power of God as a curse on someone or something, slandering or insulting a sacred person or place, using God's name as part of an oath and then lying (i.e., in court,, legal papers, etc.), using God's name in an oath of a secret society, or in a broader sense, treating the true religion of the Catholic faith as if it was a personal plaything, or for personal advantage. These would constitute grave sin against the Second Commandment. But consider the following as venial sins and flaws: taking the name of God lightly, or using the name of God or our Lord Jesus in surprise or anger (swearing without thinking or because of habit), using the name of Mary or the saints in an irreverent manner (i.e., bad jokes), general irreverence toward the Church, the holy Bible, or the Holy Father.

The Third Commandment reminds us to “keep holy the Sabbath day.” I like to remind everyone that the Sabbath is a universal for the three great religious of the world: Friday for Muslims, Saturday for Jews, and Sunday for Christians. Growing up in my neighborhood, we had a devout Jewish family next door and they would fervently prepare themselves so that from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, all they would do was go to the Synagogue and then rest as a family. As Catholics, we could take a page out of their family practice and ask ourselves how faithfully we fulfill this great commandment of God. So, a serious sin against this commandment would be: missing the worship of God at Mass on Sundays or the designated Holy Days of the Church without a good reason (i.e., because of laziness, indifference, or a bad attitude). A Catholic does not incur a sin if they are sick, caring for someone who is sick or infirm, or in transit. If one is in this category, a good substitute would be saying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary in union with the Mass at one's parish. One can also create a schedule that would allow for Mass on the Saturday before Sunday (the vigil Mass). The other area that is a serious violation is the conduct of unnecessary business or work on Sunday. One of our parishioners recently curtailed Sunday hours at his family business because he wanted to obey this commandment fully and completely. This was quite commendable. Venial sins against this commandment would include: coming late to Mass or leaving early without a good reason (some people do this habitually), not paying attention at Mass, being irreverent, or distracting other people trying to worship God at Mass (this is particularly true by the way we dress for Sunday Mass). In addition, not using the rest of Sunday as a day of rest (and thus finding ourselves in a subtle form of slavery to the world), or letting other things like sports dictate how we use our Sabbath. Finally, do I engage in some form of inappropriate entertainment on a Sunday that would desecrate a holy day reserved for God?

We can be sure that as our knowledge of sin is widened, God will fill us with the grace to repent of it and to grow in strength. St. Paul said it so well: “Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more...” As we contemplate and pray about these first three commandments that regard our relationship with God, we have a moment to reshape our attitudes and let God be uppermost in our minds and hearts.

In my next installment, I will examine the Fourth Commandment and how well we understand its implications.

God bless you and pray well!

Father Mark

Lenten Commentary on the Fourth Commandment

We have spent the last two installments examining the first three of the Ten Commandments: our relationship and duties toward God, our Creator. Now, God invites us to consider the kind of attitude and action we display toward our fellows in day to day life.

The Fourth Commandment simply states: “Honor your Father and your Mother.” The honor which is due to our parents should spring from love, and be a reflection of respect and gratitude for the good things they have provided: life, education, upbringing, and our first knowledge of God and His loving plan for all of us. Mothers and Fathers should naturally be husbands and wives first, living in the state of grace provided in abundance by God in the sacrament of marriage. As Catholics, we are morally bound, under the pain of grave sin, to marry according to the rites of the Catholic Church. Sadly, in this day and age, many Catholics marry in another church, or even worse, in a ceremony before a civil authority. But fortunately, many of these same souls, becoming aware of their transgression, urgently seek out a priest or deacon and have their marriage blessed in the Church. The relief that these folks experience is quite wonderful to behold. If we know of anyone married outside of the Church, it is an act of charity to encourage them to contact their parish priest for help.

Recognizing that there are natural ebbs and flows in the family life, we should consider the following to be grave sins against this important commandment: wishing death or evil upon a parent, physically striking one's parent, serious disrespect toward a parent, teacher, or civil authority figure, and failure to provide care for aged or frail parents. Conversely, as a parent: serious abuse or neglect for one's child, failure to baptize one's child according to the rite of the Catholic Church, failure to provide for the education of one's child in the Catholic faith – all of these would constitute matter for a mortal sin.

Venial sins against this commandment would include: disobedience to one's parent (or one designated in authority over me), speaking badly about a member of the family, cultivating discord rather than peace in the home, being uncooperative and uncharitable in the home, taking one's spouse or children for granted, spoiling a child with excessive material items, and being either too lax or too strict in the normal discipline of a child.

In conclusion, parents should remember that God has given us children that really are His, and we have a useful prerogative over their upbringing. We are responsible for educating children up to the age of 18 years old. From that time on, if a child has not learned what you have tried to inculcate, your educational function ceases. The best that a parent can do for their child after age 18 is: to provide sage advice, pray for them, and display an excellent Christian moral example. They should not feel bound to any further education of an adult child. Attempts to do so could boomerang, and, in fact, engender resentment rather than further respect and appreciation.

Next installment: The Fifth Commandment.

God bless you and pray well!

Father Mark

Lenten Commentary on the Fifth Commandment

As we continue our examination of the Ten Commandments, we come now to Almighty God's supreme injunction – simply stated: “Thou shalt not kill.” God tells us throughout the Bible that He alone is the author of human life. From the Book of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, we see God dynamically acting in a creative and life-giving manner.

As faithful Catholics, we recognize God's ultimate prerogative over life, and the fact that as co-creators with God, human beings are given a useful prerogative over our own life, or the lives of others under our authority or care. By contrast, the devil is the author of sin and death. Jesus testified that the devil was a murderer and a liar from the beginning (John 8:44 ) . Jesus denounced the many ways that the evil one tried to prompt men to act against the Fifth Commandment: homicide, personal suicide, euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide, grave anger, revenge, calumny, leading a weak person into mortal sin, severe and debilitating abuse of one's body (or another's) through alcohol or drugs, inflicting serious physical injury to one's body or that of another, reckless or drunken driving, severe mutilation of one's body through excessive tattoos or excessive body piercing.

Naturally, embedded in this commandment is a strict prohibition against having an abortion (or assisting someone else in procuring an abortion). In order to impress upon the faithful the seriousness of this sin, the Catholic Church attaches a penalty of excommunication with this sin that can only be absolved in the sacrament of confession.

A corollary consideration is the sin of contraception . While all forms of contraception are gravely sinful, and must be confessed, in terms of the moral culpability of the sin, it descends as follows: sterilization of the reproductive organs for the sole purpose of contraception, use of birth control pills or morning after pills because these medications can frequently induce an abortion of an embryo, use of prophylactics and other barrier methods, and finally, interruption of the conjugal act. All of these constitute a grave sin against life, and for Catholic spouses, a violation of the vow they exchanged on their wedding day to be open to human life.

Conversely, in this modern technical age, even well-intentioned Catholic spouses can be tempted in another direction that militates against the dignity of human life. By way of introduction, a human child has an inherent right to be conceived naturally by a father and a mother, ideally living in a blessed married state, and with the intention of establishing normal family life. This is the essential model for all human society, and the progress of nations depends upon this basic order. However there are categories of people who have recourse to modern reproductive technologies that have been censured by the Church for denigrating the conception of a human child and lowering conception to the level of animal husbandry. This condemnation precludes recourse to artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, human embryonic stem cell harvesting, and human cloning. While there may be a very good intention behind recourse to some of these technologies (e.g., a temporary or permanent infertility of a married couple) through consultation with one's parish priest, other moral options can always be faithfully explored and accepted.

Two sidebars in our discussion will be helpful for understanding the broader implications of this important Commandment. For the good of society and country, the protection of innocent human life, and other narrowly defined circumstances, police officers and military personnel, as a last or necessary resort, are morally permitted recourse to lethal force. But an area that is continuing to develop is the use of capital punishment by the state.

While the Church leaves open the possibility for the use of capital punishment in just retribution for conviction of a heinous crime, in recent years several Popes and Church prelates have spoken of the urgency for modern societies to find means to limit the use of this penalty, and to seek alternative means of punishment for criminals. Rigorous limitations on the use of the death penalty are beginning to expand in response to the moral guidance of the Church.

Before moving onto venial sins against the Fifth Commandment, it is important to address one last issue that is becoming a serious problem: the disposition of the body of a deceased person.

We will recall that one of the corporal works of mercy for a Christian is to reverently bury the dead. This means that we will provide for a terminally ill person to see a priest prior to death in order to receive the last rites and sacraments of the Church and to prepare a soul to meet Christ our Savior. This visit by a priest can be extended to anyone – Catholic, Protestant, or any person of good will.

After death, we are morally bound to a proper burial of the individual. This would ideally include a funeral Mass for the deceased and the immediate burial of the body in a blessed grave. The issue that has caused concern in recent years is the growing recourse to cremation.

The Church provides for the possibility of cremation under the following guidelines which must be strictly adhered to (even if the deceased is not a Catholic): that the person is not cremated for non-Christian reasons (e.g. adherence to the rites of other groups like the Masons), that all of the cremated remains are placed in a dignified receptacle, and buried immediately in a blessed grave or columbarium. Under no circumstances is one permitted to scatter ashes, throw them into the ocean, shoot them into outer space (I am not making this up), or divide them up to be given to relatives or friends as a remembrance. All of these practices are objectively evil and are not to be done. In an effort to have a dignified remembrance of a loved one who is expected to be cremated, a lock of hair should be procured by the responsible family member, placed into lockets, and given to family or friends who would like to have a special reminder of the deceased. The locket should be kept in a special area of the home, perhaps near the Bible or family crucifix.

Finally, venial sins against the Fifth Commandment include routine anger, harsh words, bitterness, bigotry, casual physical or emotional injury to another, and leading a weak person into minor sin.

In the next installment, we will continue the commentary as we review God's Sixth Commandment.

God bless you and pray well!

Father Mark

Lenten Commentary on the Sixth Commandment

We now consider one of the most important of the commandments. God commands us : “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” We recognize not just the inherent sinfulness of adultery , but a plethora of other sins (again in bold type) that are associated with sexual immorality . However, embedded in this commandment is a veritable gold mine of positive virtues to be learned and lived – modesty, chastity, and the respect we show to our neighbor.

Our discussion presupposes that a man and woman understand basic human love, and are united in the bond of holy matrimony according to the rites of the Catholic Church. So, by way of introduction, we must remember that God has given the human race a great gift – the ability to be co-creators with Him of human life. When a human life is created in the womb of a mother, a new person has begun – with a body and an immortal soul which are pleasing to God. Because of this, every precaution that we can take to fulfill the Sixth Commandment will be a source of grace and peace.

I will, of course, list all the various sins against this key commandment at the end of this article, but I would also like to digress into a few “sidebar” considerations that may be helpful to parents, junior high school and older children. These constitute the some of the frequently asked questions that priests field from time to time.

Sex Education - There has been a lot of talk in the last couple of decades about sex education and the necessity to have it in schools, sometimes at ridiculously young ages. This is social foolishness on a level that is unnecessary, counter-productive, and immoral. It is appropriate for parents to pass along to children, at proper points in their development, information that will help them understand the gift of life and how to please God in using the gift. In fact, parents are the best and first teachers in the ways of the faith and life, and should not feel reluctant to discuss sensitive topics with their children at the right time. Of course, if their child feels that they have committed a sin against the Sixth Commandment (usually a sin springing from curiosity), a parent can sensitively help a child to understand the seriousness of the offense, and can easily direct the child to the sacraments for help and grace.

Looking back at my own youth, my father explained to me, when I was a freshman at Bishop Ireton, the birds and the bees. He took five minutes to do so. He told me that it does not take a young teenager long to understand the mechanics of the conjugal act. He said the difficult part was imbuing an on-going sense of morality, righteousness, and self-control. He added that God wanted all teen boys and girls to maintain our virtue and virginity in an effort to please Him, and to keep ourselves free of the emotional, spiritual and psychological damage of sins of inappropriate sexuality. In an effort to help me understand that aspect, we spent hours talking about strategies to be strong, upright, and morally virtuous during high school and college years. The information that formed that part of my personality was invaluable. I was so grateful to my father for his help and guidance.

But, like all sinners, I had my moments. I thought I was pretty hot stuff my senior year in college. I was old enough to drink at a bar, and in a departure from my parental training, I foolishly dared my college roommate to see an X rated movie at a theater next to the local watering hole that we used to frequent. Big mistake! I had never seen anything so horrible in my life and I did not know what to do! I brought “Bob” along because I wanted to impress him with how “cool” I was, but now all I wanted to do was get the heck out of that theater. After about twelve minutes, I turned to my friend and asked if he wanted to leave. To my relief, he was feeling as sick to his stomach as I was.

I was disgusted with myself, and I urgently telephoned a priest friend the next day and asked for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I confessed going to the movie, and leading my friend (who was not a Catholic) into the same sinful situation. I then listened intently for the advice that Father John would give me. He started by saying that he thought everyone should go to that theater and see that movie. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor!! I asked him why, and poking fun at my sinful failure he said: “To find out what a waste of good money it is!” We both chuckled at the truth of that statement, and then he launched into a serious reiteration of our Catholic creed that living a life of purity and self-control is its own reward. The soul that is in a state of sanctifying grace is so free and liberated from the chains of this world that it can soar into the presence of Almighty God and be pleasing to Him. Hearing the holy words of absolution that day was such an immense relief for me, and to this day, I have never given a thought to one of those miserable movies.

But times have changed from physically entering a blue movie theater to partake in that kind of crudity. The opportunities to offend God in the Sixth Commandment have proliferated in the last two generations on a scale unheard of in times past. It is now in our homes and offices!! With the advent of the internet, cell phones, and other electronic media, we are confronted with the sins of online pornography , use of cell phones for the production of lewd photos and videos , use of cell phones for simulated sex acts via text messages and voice , calling 900 numbers , and video/computer “games” that celebrate violence and sexual deviance. Is this what God wants from us? We know the answer.

Modesty - Another sidebar issue that needs clarification is the natural goodness of modesty. The virtue of modesty governs the way we dress and comport ourselves in the world. For instance, from our earliest upbringing, we know there is a moral difference between nudity and nakedness. Adam and Eve were nude from the glorious moment of their creation until the original sin. After their fall, nakedness and shame forced them to clumsily cover themselves and hide from God. The Church helps us to understand this difference between nudity and nakedness in the life of virtue we are called to live in this world. Obviously, there is no sin in a two year old scampering through the house in his birthday suit. There is no sin in parents putting all the little kids in the tub for a bath. There is no sin in the normal nudity of a locker room, dormitory or military barracks in which persons must share facilities for the sake of cleanliness and good health. There is no sin in the treatment of the nude body by a health care professional.

On the other hand, there are sins against modesty and charity for an act of public nakedness, exhibitionism, voyeurism, removal of clothing to entice the prurient interest (so called “adult clubs”), pornography, and nakedness associated with an immoral act, and nakedness (or near nakedness) associated with modern fashions and beachwear.

I have always liked the concept of schools requiring a uniform for the students to wear. Yes, I admit they are sometimes dull and uninspiring, but they do serve a useful purpose. They eliminate clothing that is provocative and immodest, and they help students look beyond the clothing a person is wearing and celebrate the goodness of the individual. This same attitude would serve us well when attending Mass. As an act of charity, we should dress in our very best to avoid giving even the slightest scandal to someone looking at us. As an act of worship, we want to give to God our very best. So, as we consider this commandment, our Sunday best, clean and modest, should be worn to every Church event in our lives .

Homosexuality - Continuing in sidebar notes, there has been a lot of talk in recent years concerning homosexuality and the prevalence of homosexual activity in our modern age. There are social and scientific investigations about whether the condition is innate or acquired . The innate argument, though inconclusive, remains part of public debate, but as for acquired, there seems to be considerable evidence: the vast majority of studies done indicates that a person was vulnerable due to poor conditions in their upbringing, and was introduced to same sex activity by another person at some point in their basic sexual development, which leads in many instances to confusion, misdirection, and sin.

The Church traditionally makes a distinction when it comes to the issue of homosexuality, and categorizes it in much the same way it analyzes heterosexuality: tendency, attraction, and action. Tendency can occur in anyone, and is merely the mental, emotional or psychological consideration of a homosexual act – there is no moral quality to this area. It represents a temptation, which when quickly dismissed, is a cause for rejoicing. The second is attraction, and this can often be the realm of supernatural merit. There are homosexual persons in heaven today because they recognized that they had a more or less enduring attraction to members of the same sex, but used every means of grace available to them in the sacraments of the Church to live a holy and pure life. And finally, there is homosexual action , and it is the sad state of souls living the so-called “gay lifestyle” that has been the source of such suffering and moral depravity.

The Catholic Church wants to reach out to homosexual persons and lend a helping hand of compassion and grace. One organization that has done a wonderful job of this is called Courage. Founded by Fr. John Harvey, OSFS, under the patronage of the late Cardinal Terrence Cooke, Courage provides a joyful and faith-filled lifestyle for same sex Catholic individuals who need the peace and support of like-minded brothers and sisters. The knowledge that they can integrate their personalities, talents and gifts with the virtues of chastity and modesty creates a sense of liberation and happiness that is remarkable. The grace of Divine hope is the hallmark of groups like Courage, and it is little wonder that Pope John Paul II gave his blessing and approval to this work of God. For more information, see the Courage website at www.couragerc.net .

Now having covered these important sidebar issues, and provided allusions for some sins already, grave sins against the Sixth Commandment include: adultery, fornication (either heterosexual or homosexual), masturbation, oral or anal intercourse, pornography, rape, prostitution, bestiality, incest, use of so-called “sex toys”, sexual abuse of a minor, willfully leading another soul into sexual sin, lusting after another in one's heart, co-habitation for purposes of sex, transvestitism, polygamy, and sexually explicit words, thoughts, touches or actions either in private or in public. When confessing these sins, a penitent is required to state the nature of the sin and the number of times it was committed. A penitent should also tell their priest any mitigating circumstances surrounding the sin: inebriation, fear, fatigue, weakness, etc.

Venial sins include: brief impure thoughts, impure glances, excessive food, alcoholic drink, or use of tobacco, prolonged kissing, indecent dancing, and suggestive talk.

The season of Lent is the perfect opportunity to rid oneself of the filth of sexually impure sins. Courageously accept God's never failing love and mercy, and bring these sins to their proper end in the grace of a good sacramental confession.

Our next installment will review the Seventh Commandment. God bless.

Father Mark

Lenten Commentary on the Seventh Commandment

As we continue our Commentary, we see that the Seventh Commandment tells us that “Thou shalt not steal.” This law of God involves the protection of the property of another individual that has been properly worked for and acquired. Property can be both tangible and intangible, and in this modern world, sins against the Seventh Commandment can come in different forms, some familiar, and some less so. Before listing the sins against this commandment, let us consider a few sidebar issues.

One area that has been in the news recently is cheating . This sin can be light or serious depending upon the situation. A grade school child copying the homework of a classmate probably has committed a venial sin. But a high school student who contrives to cheat on the SAT has committed a mortal sin. Cheating in a game of “Monopoly” would be venial, but cheating in a high stakes poker game would be grave. When more is at stake, the greater is the gravity of the offense.

Plagiarism is another area of concern. There have been charges in the news media recently of political figures in the White House and on the campaign trail that have resorted to plagiarism. This involves the theft (in part or in whole) of the intellectual property of another person and claiming it as your own. As such, plagiarism violates both the Seventh and Eighth Commandments. If the material is protected by a copyright, it can also be against the civil law. All of us remember the pain of writing footnotes and bibliographies when we were in high school and college. These lessons were designed to reinforce the importance of original work on our part, and the just recognition of the work of others whom we quoted and referred to.

Speaking of intellectual property rights, there has been a growing trend toward the theft of another person's property via the internet. This would include the sins of internet piracy (the wholesale downloading of another person's programs, games, music, etc., without proper reimbursement), identify theft, computer fraud, and similar offenses. When estimating the seriousness of the sin, one must evaluate the relative cost of the item stolen, and then decide to confess it as a light or serious matter in the confessional.

With the prevalence of shopping malls, there is a constant temptation to the sin of shoplifting. I have counseled many a teenager against this sin over the years, and one of the things that surprise me is the motivation for shoplifting. Many youths have enough money to buy the item that was stolen, but often do it for the “thrill” of trying to get away with something. This is true foolishness, and can lead to serious consequences.

Having a vision of sharing them with his buds, one of the teens I knew in another parish decided to shoplift ten imported cigars from a humidor in the store he was hanging out in, but was not aware that security was watching him on a hidden camera. He was apprehended in front of the store, and the value of the ten stolen cigars was $120. He was charged with a felony, and arrested. He was taken to the local police station, booked, fingerprinted, strip searched, and incarcerated for one day because his father (ironically a federal law enforcement officer) was out of town at the time of the arrest. Later, the court judge was lenient, and only gave him 40 hours of community service, but it was a lesson this young man never forgot.

Finally, is it possible to steal time? When we think about it, one can say “yes.” It is hard to quantify the seriousness of the offense for purposes of an examination of conscience, but I would imagine that it can range from light to very serious. One often hears the expression “a sports widow.” This refers to the sad state of a man (or woman!) who spends excessive amounts of time immersed in sports (either via television or participatory) to the exclusion of his/her wife/husband and children. Another area would be “a computer widow,” in whom a spouse, or more often today, children, spend many hours looking at the “ones and zeroes” of a computer screen image rather than interact in a healthy, normal, and human fashion with their family and loved ones. Finally, there is the “church phantom.” This is the person who steals time from God. “I am too busy to attend Sunday Mass, or too busy to pray, or too busy to volunteer in my parish…” Or, if this person does come to the parish, it is begrudgingly and with an eye to returning quickly to the same, enslaving activities and sins mentioned earlier. The Holy Spirit can help us to reflect more deeply upon how this situation can insinuate itself into our lives, and give us the grace to move beyond it into a more normal, healthy form of Christian living centered upon prayer, family and apostolic living.

So, having considered some of these sidebar issues, serious sins against the Seventh Commandment would include: theft, robbery, buying/receiving stolen goods, vandalism, blackmail, bribery, fraud, forgery, denying a just wage to an employee, serious cheating, excessive gambling to the detriment of one's family or livelihood, evasion of taxes, failure to pay a just debt or fine, failure to make restitution of another's property, and failure to pay spousal or child support.

Venial sins would be the theft of an item of small value, cheating in a light manner, and laziness.

Next installment: We will delve into a consideration of a very important commandment: The Eighth Commandment.

God bless you and pray well!

Father Mark

Lenten Commentary on the Eighth Commandment

The Eighth Commandment reminds us that we “shall not bear false witness.” We must not lie, but instead live a life of honesty and virtue. The person who does so will be held in great esteem and be trusted with increasing responsibility for the good of the Church and the larger society. Let me digress into a few sidebar comments before listing the mortal (again in bold print) and venial sins associated with this commandment.

Honesty – I always fondly remember the story told in my youth of George Washington. He received a brand new hatchet as a child of nine, and promptly tested it out by chopping down his father's prize ornamental cherry tree. When his father asked him who chopped down the cherry tree, George reportedly said: “I cannot tell a lie…. I did it.” Now, we know that George got a good tanning for chopping down the tree, but his father respected his son because he was willing to suffer punishment rather than tell a lie.

Telling the truth is its own reward. It builds our character, and allows us to see the world as it really is, rather than the way we want it to be. Being truthful should be a badge of honor that we wear each day with pride.

Perjury – A big problem we face is the perennial trend by government, business, and academic types to commit perjury. This is a grave sin, since we know that it can have such dire consequences if it is not discovered and severely sanctioned. There is a sweet moment in the movie “Miracle on 34 th Street ” in which the 6-year old son of the District Attorney is subpoenaed to testify as to the existence of Santa Claus. Judge Harper asks him if he knows the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie, and Tommy responds: “Sure, everyone knows you shouldn't tell a lie, especially in court!” So, we must always be on guard and be vigilant in telling the truth – in court, in official documents, job applications, and financial affairs.

Hypocrisy – One frequent area of concern is hypocrisy. People often confuse the concept of hypocrisy with other weaknesses of character. Hypocrisy is a willfully dishonest condition in which a person claims to be virtuous in public (and demands respect for this mask he is wearing), while in private he is full of vice. Our Lord had a righteous anger at the Jewish authorities of His day where were very much like this – claiming to be men of God all the while planning the murder of God's Son. Hypocrisy can be deadly if not vigorously rooted out and checked.

Parents can sometimes be accused by their children of being hypocrites, but unless the criteria mentioned above is evident, most often there is some confusion in play. A parent, acting in the capacity of a parent, who teaches their child the objective truth of a situation but does not follow it, is not being a hypocrite, but weak. For instance, my mother was hooked on cigarettes for most of her adult life. Growing up in the house, she would remind us constantly that we should not smoke, and that cigarettes were bad for you, all the time with a Tarreyton hanging out of her mouth. Mom was not being false. She had tried many times to quit, but the addiction to nicotine kept bringing her back. She was sharing with us the objective truth –cigarettes are bad for you – Mom wasn't a hypocrite, she was a teacher. Thank God she finally won the battle, and it has been 20 years of excellent health for her.

Feat of being honest – Is it possible to tell a lie to God? People occasionally conceal a sin in the Sacrament of Confession because they are too embarrassed to admit what they have done. The prospect is too painful to consider, when in reality, God and the priest are there to help get over even the most hidden of sins and to impart liberation and grace. Yes, confession can be painful, but it is a pain that lasts but a moment.

As a diabetic, I have to have my blood drawn periodically to ensure that my medications and diet are effective. I always go to Quest Labe in the mid-morning to avoid the early rush, and I frequently find myself sitting with young mother and their infants. The little ones are invariably happy, bouncing around and playing with a toy. Then, the nurse or attendant says: “Mrs. Jones, can you bring ‘Michael' back?” A minute later I hear the inevitable crying, and then Mrs. Jones carries ‘Michael' out with a little tear coming down his cheek from the pain of his inoculation. Objectively speaking, that mother is being abusive, since she willingly allowed her son to be subjected to pain. But she knows that if she allows that brief moment of pain, she has saved him from a lifetime of agony because of rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, etc. In a similar way, Holy Mother Church invites her own children to understand that a good confession, while momentarily painful and even worrisome, saves us from an eternity of pain and damnation.

So, having considered these sidebar issues, mortal sins against the Eighth Commandment include: lying in a serious matter, perjury and false oaths, serious gossip, detraction (revealing the sins or weaknesses of another) , calumny (intentionally harming the good name or reputation of another by lying about them ), and revealing secrets that have been entrusted to oneself without a just and important reason (e.g. a teen revealing to a parent that a friend is secretly contemplating suicide. Revealing this kind of information to an authority figure is just and laudatory.).

Venial sins against this commandment include: small lies (fibs, “white lies,” exaggerations, etc.), bragging, boasting, light gossip, unwarranted flattery, and complaining, or drawing attention to oneself in an unnecessary manner.

In our last of these commentaries, I will combine the Ninth and Ten Commandments.

God bless you and pray well!

Father Mark

Lenten Commentary on the Ninth and Tenth Commandments

In this last commentary on the Ten Commandments, I will combine the ninth and tenth and look at both from the respective sins that they can engender. The Ninth Commandment states: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife” … the Tenth : “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.”

To covet means to have an unjust desire for a particular thing or person, and the sins that covetousness create includes greed, jealousy, and envy. In the more serious form, these sins can be mortal, and cause much damage to the person committing the sin, and to persons who are the object of the sin. [There is a deviant sexual component to this sin as well, but I have already covered those sins in some detail in my previous article, so I will remain focused on the abovementioned sins.]

We all know the story of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and the figure of Ebenezer Scrooge. When we are introduced to him, we see Ebenezer as a sick old man who has let avarice totally dominate his life to the point that he has lost his humanity. He is blind to the suffering around him, deaf to the entreaties of his business colleagues for the relief collection for the poor at Christmas, and so cruel that he fires his faithful clerk Bob Cratchet on Christmas Eve over a trivial matter. He is then visited that same night by four spirits: the apparently damned spirit of his former business partner Jacob Marley, who warns him from the grave what his fate will be, and then the spirits of Christmas past, present and future. We discover that Scrooge had a bittersweet childhood, mixed with good and bad experiences that every soul is bound to confront from time to time. Later in life, he sinfully chose to let those experiences warp him into the miser he became. But in the end, faced with the prospect of dying in disrespect, and being forgotten, and missing the opportunity to save the angelic Tiny Tim from an early death because of poverty, Scrooge is redeemed and becomes a model of Christian charity.

Anyone who reads A Christmas Carol (or who watches one of the classic movie renditions) finds time to become introspective, and ask God whether they have become Scrooge-like in their own lives. Do I resent the good fortune of another person? Am I jealous that another has a better life (spouse, children, home, career, etc.) than I do? Do I seek to acquire what another person has in an unjust way? Do I even wish harm on another person because of his good fortune? These would all constitute a violation of these Ten Commandments and they harm the goods of charity and solidarity with our fellow man.

Or, looking at my own behavior, have I become greedy and grasping? Have I decided that I will win at any cost, regardless of the damage that I do to another person's life, reputation, or well-being? Do I conspire to be the most beautiful, the most popular, the wealthiest, or most celebrated? Have I abandoned the virtue of humility?

I often broach these questions to kids in the Confirmation class and try to warn them not to go down this path in their high school years. If this becomes a consistent pattern of behavior, and endures into their adult years, the warping of their goodness and modesty is inevitable. I always tell the kids that high school is the most artificial environment they will ever experience. When they ask me what the most important thing is for an average high schooler, I tell them, “To be cool!” I always see the knowing smiles and nods. Then they ask me what the most important thing is from high school graduation on, and I say, “To survive!!” No one will ever care or remember that you were the most popular kid in the school, or the best cheerleader, or the best athlete, because after high school, the tough work of adulthood begins .

If the Christian virtues of charity, compassion, modesty and holiness are not instilled and cherished in these formative years, then your 20s, 30s, and 40s will be a time of misery and unfulfilled expectations. If we give in to the sins of jealousy, envy and greed, we may not be visited by spirits in the night, but we will see the negative effect these sins have in our own lives and the lives of others, to the detriment of the common good. The best antidote to these sins in one's formative and adult years is to remember, like old Ebenezer, that you can't take it with you. Living a life of “outrageous generosity” to the poor, to the Church, and to the larger community makes one a true giant of Christian living. You become an apostle of charity and goodness, ensuring that your memory will be a benediction long after you have gone to meet your Creator.

A Commentary on the Sacraments of the Catholic Church will soon be available. I hope it will give a fuller understanding and appreciation of these Christ-instituted means of grace.

God bless you all!

Father Mark