Monday, January 31, 2005
The 6th and the 9th Commandments
Congratulations Iraq!
At RCIA tonight, we will continue exploring the 10 Commandments. Tonight, we will cover the 6th and the 9th commandments: "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Wife." Here are some of the questions we are supposed to ask ourselves about these two commandments:
- Have I denied my spouse his or her marriage rights?
- Have I practiced birth control?
- Have I abused my marriage rights in any other way?
- Have I committed adultery or fornication?
- Have I touched or embraced another impurely?
- Have I sinned with others of the same sex?
- Have I committed masturbation or otherwise sinned impurely with myself?
- Have I harbored lustful desires for anyone?
- Have I indulged in other impure thoughts?
- Have I failed to dress modestly?
- Have I done anything to provoke or occasion impure thoughts in others?
- Have I read indecent literature or looked at indecent pictures?
- Have I watched suggestive films or programs?
- Have I permitted my children or others under my charge to do these things?
- Have I used indecent language or told indecent stories?
- Have I willingly listened to such stories?
- Have I boasted of my sins?
- Have I sinned against chastity in any other way?
We have a handout that says many people confuse "chastity" with "celibacy." Chastity is not the absence of sex, but the presence of a clean heart that leads to the proper use of sexuality. Chastity is about attitude -- like not exploiting others by treating them as objects. Chastity celebrates the value of a clean heart and pure intention. Chastity liberates us from lust and exploitation and the human destruction those two things cause.
