COMMANDMENTS OF THE CHURCH

The life of each one of us is worthless, and worse than worthless, if it does not end in heaven. Although Jesus our Savior has opened the gates of heaven for us, we cannot on our own discover the way there, much less follow it. It has to be signposted for us, and we need to be helped along it.

Just as we have help above all in the teaching and sacraments of the Church that Jesus founded, so we have signposts in the commandments: “My son, keep my commandments, and you will live” (Prv 7:1-2); “The steadfast love of the Lord is upon those who remember to do his commandments” (Ps 103:17-18); “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Mt 19:17).
The modern mood does not easily take to the idea of being commanded or having to obey. Obedience is not a popular word; yet obedience to God, and to those through whom God’s will comes to us, is necessary for salvation. “Whoever does the will of my Father will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 7:21).

St. Paul, speaking about the civil-pagan authority of his time, is quite clear on the duty to obey it: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed” (Rom 13:1-2). He insists that obedience to such authority is for our own good, and should be given not mainly out of fear of punishment, but precisely as a response to the prompting of our own consciences. “Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. . . . Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience” (Rom 13:3-5).

The Authority of the Church • If authorities and laws and the free response of individuals are needed in civil society, they are no less necessary in the Church. Here authority is exercised even more directly in the name of a specific commission from Jesus Christ: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 18:18; cf. Mt 16:19); “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me” (Lk 10:16).

The Church, then, not only preserves and teaches the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament and the “new” commandment given directly by Jesus (cf. Jn 13:34) but has the mission and duty to give further commandments to guide us more particularly in the way of Jesus Christ. “Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account” (Heb 13:17).
In expounding the commandments of the Church (cf. CCC 2041-2043), the Catechism of the Catholic Church says their purpose is “to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor.”

A particular word should be said about the first three of these commandments (Mass each Sunday and holy day, confession if in the state of mortal sin, and Communion at least once a year). They indeed mark out the indispensable minimum if one is to keep one’s Christian life alive; less than that is bound to leave a person too weak to survive in the struggle against temptation and evil.
If a person wants not just to survive, however, but to grow in love for God and others, he or she will not be content with the minimum, especially regarding Communion and confession. Since these are the only two sacraments that can be received often, and since each sacrament gives strength as only God can give it, their frequent reception should be seen as essential to support the whole of Christian life, to ensure growth in holiness, and to keep us firmly on the path to heaven.

See: Church, Nature, Origin, and Structure of; Communio.
Suggested Readings: CCC 2030-2046.

Cormac Burke

Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine. Copyright © 1997, Our Sunday Visitor.

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Last Updated: Sunday, April 01, 2001 03:24:19 PM