THE NINTH COMMANDMENT

“YOU SHALL NOT COVET

YOUR NEIGHBOR’S WIFE.”
EXO DUS 20:14
 This com m andm ent concerns the
in te n tio n s o f th e h e a r t a n d th e n
sum m arizes all the precepts of the law .
St. Paul says: "I say then, Walk in the
Spirit and not gratify the desires of the
fle s h , th e fle s h lu s ts a g a in s t th e S p ir it
and the Spirit against the flesh: and
these are opposed to each other, you
not doing what you want".
(Galatians 5:16-17).
"The lamp of the body is the eye. W hen your eye
is sim ple, even your whole body is bright, but if
it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
Take heed therefore that the light is in thee be
not darkness" (Luke 11.34-35). It is envy that
m akes the evil eye, because w ithout inner
righteousness, every attitude and every w ord
w ill be in vain, since each one is tem pted to
lust, and enticed. The reduction of the person
to whom devote object of lust, it can be done by
anyone, because our hunger and our thirst, in
relationships with others, can lead to behaviors
cunning and ingenuity to take advantage of the
w eakness of others, to deceive.
The desire always precedes action, th e will
always precedes th e work, especially in the
field I am the desire, if accepted by the m ind,
can hardly be stopped. It is therefore
necessary not to im pose th e w ill and try to
have at all co sts that do not belong to us.
Prudence, if im plem ented, w ill help us make
no m istake.
T h is com m a n d co n n ects to th e six th , in w h ich
among other failings is condem ned adultery.
If, in fa c t, a sin to ta k e th e w ife o f a n o th e r ,
sin is th e d e s ir e to ta k e it, b e c a u se y o u ju s t
want to do som ething a little less action
accom plished.
 MORAL DUTIES AND
PROHIBITIONS
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife also means
not reduce the person from subject to subject. This sin can also occur
within marriage when one spouse wants the other only as a means to
satisfy his lust.
The ninth commandment requires to overcome the
lust in that
heart carnalrequires
thoughtsclarity
and desires. The struggle
of purpose, against such
transparency of the eye, the
concupiscence entails apurifying
discipline of feelings the
n d imagination with the practice of temperance.
T h e n i n th a n d tenth c o m m a n d m e n t s a re c h e c k i n g all the others: w h o
really looks out of conviction ca nno t observe these two, because all the
law, b u t particularly the P ro p h e ts w e re called to the faith of the heart
against the externals.
N e w T e sta m e n t T e a c h in g s
In the gospels, Jesus affirmed the commandment against adultery and
seemed to extend it, saying, "But I say to you, anyone who looks on a woman
to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." He
taught his audience that the outward act of adultery does not happen apart
from sins of the heart: "From within people, from their hearts, come evil
thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from
within and they defile. "However, some commentators, including Thomas
Aquinas, say that Jesus was making the connection with the commandment,
"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife."
Matthew 5: 27-28
 C h u rch tea ch in g s
The Catechism interprets the ninth commandment as
forbidding “concupiscence” and requiring the
disciplining of sexual desires that can lead to sin. It
urges Christians to cultivate “purity of heart”. To be
pure of heart is to treat all others as neighbors with
love
and respect. The quest for purity is described as a
“battle” that can only be won with great effort.
 C h u rch tea ch in g s
The Catechism interprets the ninth commandment as
forbidding “concupiscence” and requiring the
disciplining of sexual desires that can lead to sin. It
urges Christians to cultivate “purity of heart”. To be
pure of heart is to treat all others as neighbors with
love
and respect. The quest for purity is described as a
“battle” that can only be won with great effort.
M O RAL I M PE RAT I V E S
Seek Forgiveness
Go for Counseling
Be Honest about Your Hurts
Be Open to Listening and Acknowledging Wrong
Recognize Negative Relationship Patterns
Agree to Establish Healthy Patterns in the Relationship
Create Opportunities for Intentional Time Together
 MORAL ISSUES:
Little “white lies” like this seem rather harmless, but how often do we
skirt the truth, hide the truth, or neglect to tell the truth? The reality is
that God loves the truth, delights in the truth, and upholds the truth
because He is the God of truth. As the sovereign Creator of all things,
He
established truth and has revealed His truth generally in creation and
specifically in His Word (Ps. 19). This God of truth calls us to love the
truth, delight in the truth, speak the truth, and walk in the truth. If the
church is to be “a pillar and buttress of truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), we need to
know the truth and cultivate the moral fortitude of upholding the truth
in a world of lies.
O ur first parents w ere tem pted through the
lie of Satan, th e “father of lies” (John
8:44). It is no wonder that God would
establish His concern for truth in His
W ord. In h i s w e l l - k n o w n h y m n “A M ig h ty
Fortress Is Our God,” M artin Luther wrote:

L et g oo d s a n d k in d red g o, T h is m o rta l life

also; The body they may kill: God’s truth
abideth still, H is kingdom is forever.
 INCEST,ETRAMARITAL SEX,
DIVORCE/ANNULMENT
First, sexual sin is sin, and separates us from God. Second, since God
loves us and wants our happiness, disobedience to his plan for us
will necessarily bring us unhappiness. Worldly statistics confirm
this heavenly logic: every one of the sins that adulterate sexual love
brings with it a catalog of miseries. For instance, divorce, which is
the suicide of the “one flesh” created by marriage.
 INCEST,ETRAMARITAL SEX,
DIVORCE/ANNULMENT
Second, sexual sin has obvious and radical health effects: the
epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases now affecting over half -7-
of all sexually active people, the fear of AIDS, and the rising
infertility
rate.
“By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of
the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. ‘Both the
Magisterium [teaching authority] of the Church, in the course of a
constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been -13-
in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an
 INCEST,ETRAMARITAL SEX,
DIVORCE/ANNULMENT
“Pornography consists in removing real or
simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the
partners in order to display them deliberately
to
third parties.… It perverts the conjugal act, the
intimate giving of spouses to each other.… It is a
grave offense.
 INCEST,ETRAMARITAL SEX,
DIVORCE/ANNULMENT
Homosexuality “Homosexuality refers to [sexual]
relations between men or between women who
experience…sexual attraction to persons of the same
sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the
centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological
genesis remains largely unexplained.”
 INCEST,ETRAMARITAL SEX,
DIVORCE/ANNULMENT
Divorce The Church cannot allow divorce, as almost all Protestant
churches do, because she does not have the authority to
contradict
Christ her Master (see Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-9; Mark 10:9; Luke
16:18.) “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the
Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. He abrogates the
accommodations [for divorce] that had slipped into the old
[Jewish] Law”175 (CCC 2382).
 INCEST,ETRAMARITAL SEX,
DIVORCE/ANNULMENT
An annulment is not a divorce. It is a finding that
there never was a valid marriage to begin with,
because one of the essential -23- ingredients
that
make a valid marriage was missing from the
beginning.
 SEXUAL HARRASSMENT
Sexual harassment can take the form of personal comments;
sexually charged language, jokes, and gestures; indecent
exposure; displayed pictures; persistent, unwanted flirting; or
threats of physical harm. No matter what form it takes, sexual
harassment is a violation of the biblical principles of modesty,
purity, and respect for others. Any “sexual contact or behavior
that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient”
(from
the U.S. Department of Justice website) or forced physical
contact moves beyond sexual harassment to sexual assault.
 CYBER SEX

Sexual arousal using computer technology,

especially by wearing virtual reality
equipment or by exchanging messages
with
another person via the internet.
 THE WORD FOR THE
DAY

"WHEN ADULTERY WALKS IN,

EVERYTHING WORTH
HAVING
WALKS OUT."
- WOODROW KROLL