 of the Son of the Holy Spirit. It seems very appropriate that the first reading today is an account of the Ten Commandments as we are taking time to review what God has asked of us in these commandments. Today we'll take a closer look at the fourth and fifth commandments. And I stress the word commandments. These are given to us by God who expects us to abide by them to live our lives doing or avoiding what they direct. Remember they are the Ten Commandments, not the Ten Suggestions. We don't get to pick and choose which or how much of each we will follow. Remember God gave them so we might be truly free, freedom being the ability to do what is right. And the commandments point us to the right way to live. With that said, let's look at the fourth commandment. Honor your father and mother that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Thus opens the second tablet given to Moses which deals with man's relation to his fellow man. In this commandment God wills that we honor our parents who have cooperated with him in our creation and who have handed on to us our knowledge of God. We are also to honor and respect those whom God, for our good, has vested with his authority. You notice that unlike the other six commandments on this tablet, this one is expressed in the positive and contains a promise if we would fulfill it. While it is seemingly addressed to children in their relationship to their parents, it requires all of us to give honor, affection, gratitude to our leaders, ancestors, teachers, employers, our country, and to those who administer it. In keeping this commandment we will receive spiritual fruits, peace, and prosperity. Disobedience will lead to harm coming to our communities and to us as individuals. This commandment speaks to the family defined as a man and woman united in marriage and blessed with children who represent the domestic church. It sees the family as the original cell of society, lending it authority, stability, and the foundation for freedom. Family is the unit from which we learn moral values, the honor and love of God, and the proper meaning of freedom. While the family members have the responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor in society, society and the political community have the duty to support the institution of family and to acknowledge the true nature of marriage. Specific family members have certain duties germane to their state. Children will respect true facility and obedience to their parents and to the teachers to whom their parents have entrusted them. As they mature and obedience towards parents decreases and unceases, they still owe them respect and should seek their parents' advice. They owe their elderly parents people like myself to the extent that they are able material and moral support. Parents must respect their children as they are children of God entrusted to them. They are responsible for the education, spiritual care, and physical protection of their children. Parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their moral convictions. They have a grave responsibility to give good example and to evangelize them into mysteries of the faith. Parents should be the first to teach their children how to pray. Parents and children should be generous and forgiving of one another. And while parents should not exert pressure on their adult children in the choice of a profession or in that of a spouse, this does not mean that they should not seek to give them meaningful advice. A true Christian family must always put love and obedience to God first as our Heavenly Father is the ultimate Father for all of us. The Fourth Commandment enjoins us to honor all who for our good have received authority in society from God. That said, no one can command or establish what is contrary to the dignity of persons and the natural law. Political authorities are obliged to respect the fundamental rights of the person according to the common good. Citizens, while respecting those in lawful authority, have the duty to voice criticisms of that which seems harmful to the dignity of persons and to the good of the community. They are morally obligated to pay taxes, to vote, and to defend their country in time of need. This commandment obliges the more prosperous nations to welcome the foreigner in search of security or means of livelihood which he cannot find in his own country. The nation under this commandment, however, has the right to enact laws regarding immigration that respect and protect the common good. The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow directives of civil authorities when they are in contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the gospel. Under the Fourth Commandment, it is the church's mission to pass moral judgment even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of a man or the salvation of souls require it. So I think you can see that this commandment has a wide-reaching scope that touches numerous areas of our life. The Fifth Commandment is no different in this respect. While a mere four words, thou shalt not kill, it covers a great deal of ground, as you will see. Its human life from its beginning involves the creative action of God who is at soul end, it is sacred. And no one under any circumstances can claim for himself the right to directly destroy an innocent human being. Therefore, the deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator, and the law forbidding it is universally valid, always and everywhere. The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against murder, as the act of self-defense can have a double effect. First, the preservation of one's own life, and second, the killing of an aggressor, the former being intended while the latter is not. In fact, the legitimate defense of others and of the common good give me a grave duty for those who are responsible for the lives of these others. With respect to capital punishment, in particular the death penalty, the traditional teaching of the church did not exclude it if this was the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. However, today with the means which the state possesses for effectively rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm, the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are rarely seen and are practically nonexistence. Consequently, the church teaches in light of the gospel that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide. The Fifth Commandment declares that the direct and intentional killing of another is a grave sin that calls out to heaven for vengeance. The moral law prohibits exposing someone to moral danger without grave reason, as well as refusing assistance to another in danger. The church teaches that life commences at conception and at that instant there is present the right of every innocent being to live. Therefore, direct abortion willed either as an end or as means is gravely contrary to moral law. Formal cooperation in abortion likewise constitutes a grave offense and carries with it the canonical penalty of excommunication. The inalienable right to life of every person at all stages must be respected by civil and political authority. Prenatal diagnosis is morally illicit if it respects the safety and health of the human fetus. However, it is morally illicit when it is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion based on the results. It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material. Sick or handicapped persons deserve special respect and should be helped to lead as normal lives as possible. Direct euthanasia or an act or a mission which of itself or by intention cause death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes an act of murder. Even if death appears imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. However, the use of painkillers even if they might carry the risk of shortening life can be morally in conformity with human dignity. While we are each of us responsible for our own lives, we are in fact stewards of those lives, not owners. Therefore, suicide is gravely wrong. It is contrary to love of self and of neighbor as it breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and those human societies to which we have obligations. According to the catechism, however, we should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives as by ways known only to God alone, he can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. This commandment calls us to respect the souls of others, thus scandal which is the deliberate leading of another into grave sin by deed or remission is included. The specter of scandal can extend to those who establish laws or social structures that lead to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice or that make obedience to the commandments difficult and practically impossible. The fifth commandment demands that we take care of the life we were given. This includes avoidance or abuse of or excesses in the use of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. The use of drugs except for strictly therapeutic reasons constitutes a grave offense as does the clandestine production of and trafficking in these substances. Experimentation on human subjects that exposes their lives to physical or psychological integrity to disproportionate or avoidable risks or as done without informed consent flies in the face of human dignity and is immoral. That said, organ donation with the appropriate consent can be not only morally acceptable but may represent an expression of generous solidarity. Also under the mantle of the fifth commandment I found the acts of kidnapping, hostage-taking, terrorism, and torture as these all run contrary to respect for the person and their human dignity. Further, unless performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law. This commandment calls for those in danger of death to receive the sacraments to prepare them for their eternal journey. It then calls for respect for the body of the deceased. Cremation as long as it does not deny faith in the resurrection of the body is permitted by the church. Unjustified anger, especially that which reaches the point of deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound another, is gravely against charity and is mortally sinful. Hatred is a sin when one deliberately wishes that evil or harm come to another. This commandment obliges all citizens and all governments to work for peace and an avoidance of war. But should war be inevitable, the Catechism in Section 2309 clearly delineates the elements of a just war. It should be noted that blind obedience to commands that are deliberately contrary to the dictates of human dignity, such as genocide, is to be condemned as gravely sinful. Further, the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man which merits unequivocal condemnation. All this, all that I've said falls under the veil of those four little words, thou shalt not kill. It is important that we understand the far reach of God's commandments. He gave them to mankind that men might know how to lead lives that could merit eternal reward and avoid eternal damnation. To that end, from time to time, we all need to review the scope of the Decalogue as it is impossible to avoid sin if we don't know the extent of the law. And remember, the moral law is written on each man's heart and ignorance of it is not an excuse before God. All that I've spoken of today can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and I would strongly encourage you as authentic biblical Christians to review its section on the commandments so you might live with life consistent with God's holy will. I leave you with this first from Deuteronomy. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts, impress them on your children, talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. May God bless you.