10 COMMANDMENTS
STARTER ACTIVITY:
Discuss these questions to begin with: What is your favorite game?
What is one rule that makes that game fun?
Describe a time when following the rules has kept you safe. Describe a time when you broke a
rule and it ended up hurting you.
Matthew 5:17-26 Teaching About the Law
➢ Read the passage slowly and out loud at least three times, maybe allow students to take turns.
➢ Ask students to pay attention for a word or phrase that sticks out to them.
➢ Ask them to write about that word or phrase.
Reflect : Have you ever played a game where there are no rules? It might sound fun at first, but
pretty quickly the game gets boring or even scary. Imagine you are playing soccer with your
friends. Suddenly, someone picks up the ball and runs away with it. Is that fun for the kids left
standing on the field? Without rules, that would be just fine. Every game we enjoy is fun because
of the rules. Rules are meant to keep us safe and happy. God gave us a set of rules, the Ten
Commandments, to help us be safe and happy too. Game rules help us to enjoy the game more,
and God’s rules help us to enjoy life more.
LESSON REFERENCE:
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church The Decalogue [or Ten Commandments] must first
be understood in the context of the Exodus, God's great liberating event at the center of the Old
Covenant. Whether formulated as negative commandments, prohibitions, or as positive precepts
such as: "Honor your father and mother," the "ten words" point out the conditions of a life freed
from the slavery of sin.
The Decalogue is a path of life: The "ten words" are pronounced by God in the midst of a
theophany (“The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the
fire."). They belong to God's revelation of himself and his glory. The gift of the Commandments
is the gift of God himself and his holy will. In making his will known, God reveals himself to his
people. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2057-2059)
The Ten Commandments were given after God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. The Ten
Commandments were given so we can love and live in freedom and peace with God and
neighbor. The Ten Commandments help us preserve human freedom and flourishing.
● Sin enslaves us, just like an addition.
● Sin breaks relationships and robs us of inner peace.
● The Seven capital sins are conditions of the heart that lead to other sins. They are: pride,
covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth.
Refer to this link for detailed understanding : Compendium of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church (Section 2 - The ten Commandments)
➢ The first three commandments help us to love God.
1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have other Gods before me.
God does not want us to worship anything that is not Him. This could be money, power,
pleasure, or fame.
2. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain.
It is forbidden to call on the Name of God to justify a crime. It is also wrong to use the holy
name of God in any improper way as in blasphemy (which by its nature is a grave sin), curses,
and unfaithfulness to promises made in the Name of God.
3. You shall keep holy the sabbath day.
We must go to mass on Sunday and not do work that interferes with the worship of God and time
as a family.
➢ The remaining seven commandments help us to love our neighbor.
4. Honor your father and mother.
It commands us to honor and respect our parents and those whom God, for our good, has vested
with his authority.
5. Thou shall not kill.
Human life must be respected because it is [Link] belongs to God, he is the sole owner of
human life. It is not lawful for anyone directly or indirectly to destroy an innocent human being.
(Eg. abortion, murder, etc)
6. Thou shall not commit adultery.
God has created human beings as male and female, equal in personal dignity, and has called them
to a vocation of love and of communion. Everyone should accept his or her identity as male or
female, recognizing its importance for the whole of the person. Sexuality becomes truly human
when it is integrated in a correct way into the relationship of one person to another. Chastity is a
moral virtue, a gift of God, a grace, and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Eg. LGBTQ+, extra marital
affairs, multiple sexual partners,etc)
7. Thou shall not steal.
The seventh commandment requires respect for the goods of others through the practice of
justice and charity, temperance and solidarity. It forbids theft, which is the taking or using of
another’s property against the reasonable will of the owner. This can be done also by paying
unjust wages; by speculation on the value of goods in order to gain an advantage to the detriment
of others; or by the forgery of checks or invoices.
8. Thou shall not bear false witness (lie).
Everyone has the duty to seek the truth, to adhere to it and to order one’s whole life in
accordance with its demands.
9. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
It forbids cultivating thoughts and desires connected to actions forbidden by the sixth
commandment.
10. Thou shall not covet thy neighbors’ goods.
This commandment, which completes the preceding commandment, requires an interior attitude
of respect for the property of others and forbids greed, unbridled covetousness for the goods of
others, and envy which is the sadness one experiences at the sight of another’s goods and the
immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself.
Jesus’s approach to the Ten Commandments is a bit intense. He says that anger is the same thing
as murder and lust is the same thing as adultery. But it is important to note that Jesus is as
concerned with the internal dispositions of the heart as he is with the external, legal violation of
a command. You may not have killed anyone, but no murder ever happened without anger
happening first. You may not have committed adultery, but no act of adultery ever happened
without lust first. We are used to reading the Ten Commandments as a list of Thou-shalt-nots. It
is worthwhile to look at the good thing that each Commandment protects. These are things so
important to God that he felt the need to protect them with a commandment. God values knowing
him, respecting the sacred, the Sabbath rest, honoring legitimate authority (especially within the
home), life, sexuality, marriage and family life, the truth, possessions, purity of heart, and simple
living. Those values show us a lot about who God is and how we can be happy.
GROUP ACTIVITY:
In groups provide paper bookmarks. Ask students to reflect on the importance of the ten
commandments and how they would change their lives from now on. Later, ask students to
create & write a message/quote about the reflections discussed (key-takeaways - which is more
personal to them) on the paper bookmarks; decorate it with color pens, sketchpens, etc.
CLICK GROUP PICTURES !
HOMEWORK:
Q. Reflect on how you would bring about a change in your life and habits by following the ten
commandments ? What are the practices you will undertake to follow the path of God ?