You
shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything
that is your neighbor's.298
Every
one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in
his heart.299
2514
St. John distinguishes three kinds of covetousness or concupiscence: lust of
the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.300 In the Catholic catechetical
tradition, the ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence; the tenth
forbids coveting another's goods.
2515
Etymologically, "concupiscence" can refer to any intense form of
human desire. Christian theology has given it a particular meaning: the
movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human
reason. the apostle St. Paul identifies it with the rebellion of the
"flesh" against the "spirit."301 Concupiscence stems from
the disobedience of the first sin. It unsettles man's moral faculties and,
without being in itself an offense, inclines man to commit sins.302
2516
Because man is a composite being, spirit, and body, there already exists a
certain tension in him; a certain struggle of tendencies between "spirit"
and "flesh" develops. But in fact, this struggle belongs to the
heritage of sin. It is a consequence of sin and at the same time a confirmation
of it. It is part of the daily experience of the spiritual battle:
For
the Apostle it is not a matter of despising and condemning the body which with
the spiritual soul constitutes man's nature and personal subjectivity. Rather,
he is concerned with the morally good or bad works, or better, the permanent
dispositions - virtues and vices - which are the fruit of submission (in the
first case) or of resistance (in the second case) to the saving action of the
Holy Spirit. For this reason, the Apostle writes: "If we live by the
Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."303
I.
Purification of the Heart
2517
The heart is the seat of moral personality: "Out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication...."304 The struggle against
carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance:
Remain
simple and innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the
evil that destroys man's life.305
2518
The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God."306 "Pure in heart" refers to those who have
attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in
three areas: charity;307 chastity or sexual rectitude;308 love of truth and
orthodoxy of faith.309 There is a connection between purity of heart, of body,
and of faith:
The
faithful must believe the articles of the Creed "so that by believing they
may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts,
and with pure hearts may understand what they believe."310
2519
The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face
and be like him.311 Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God.
Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as
"neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's
- as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.
II.
The Battle for Purity
2520
Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But
the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and
disordered desires. With God's grace, he will prevail
-
by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us love with upright and
undivided heart;
-
by the purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with the simplicity of vision, the baptized person seeks to find and to fulfill God's
will in everything;312
-
by the purity of vision, external and internal; by the discipline of feelings and
imagination; by refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to
turn aside from the path of God's commandments: "Appearance arouses the yearning in fools";313
-
by prayer:
I
thought that continence arose from one's own powers, which I did not recognize
in myself. I was foolish enough not to know . . . that no one can be continent
unless you grant it. For you would surely have granted it if my inner groaning
had reached your ears and I with firm faith had cast my cares on you.314
2521
Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the
intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain
hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It
guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the
dignity of persons and their solidarity.
2522
Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience
and moderation in loving relationships; it requires that the conditions for the
definitive giving and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled.
Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or
reserve where there is an evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.
2523
There is a modesty of the feelings as well as of the body. It protests, for
example, against the voyeuristic explorations of the human body in certain
advertisements, or against the solicitations of certain media that go too far
in the exhibition of intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which
makes it possible to resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of
prevailing ideologies.
2524
The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere,
however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity proper to man.
It is born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject. Teaching
modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the
human person.
2525
Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. It requires of
the communications media that their presentations show concern for respect and
restraint. The purity of heart brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids
entertainment inclined to voyeurism and illusion.
2526
So-called moral permissiveness rests on an erroneous conception of human
freedom; the necessary precondition for the development of true freedom is to
let oneself be educated in the moral law. Those in charge of education can
reasonably be expected to give young people instruction respectful of the
truth, the qualities of the heart, and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.
2527
"The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen
man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flow from the ever-present
attraction of sin. It never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of
peoples. It takes the spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and
nation, and with supernatural riches, it causes them to blossom, as it were, from
within; it fortifies, completes, and restores them in Christ."315
IN
BRIEF
2528
"Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart" (⇒
Mt 5:28).
2529
The ninth commandment warns against lust or carnal concupiscence.
2530
The struggle against carnal lust involves purifying the heart and practicing
temperance.
2531 The purity of heart will enable us to see God: it enables us even now to see things
according to God.
2532
Purification of the heart demands prayer, the practice of chastity, purity of
intention and of vision.
2533 The purity of heart requires modesty which is patience, decency, and
discretion. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person.
GO TO:
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER TWO YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
CHAPTER TWO YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
Thou shall honor your father and your mother
Thou shall not murder
Thou shall not commit adultery
Thou shall not steal
Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor
Thou shall not covet thy neighbors property
Thou shall not covet anything of they neighbor
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
PART THREE LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
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