How should we behave toward our father and mother? God Himself tells us. The fourth commandment is:
Children have three principal duties toward their parents:
To love them.
To respect them.
To obey them.
These words are simple, and everyone understands them. Yet how many sons and daughters fail in respect toward their parents, refuse to listen to their advice, and later leave them to end their days in abandonment. If God promises those who honor their father and mother a long life and a happy old age, He does not leave unpunished those children who despise this sacred duty. And when we speak of a long life, we speak above all of the happiness of eternal life, which will never end.
The fifth commandment is:
This commandment forbids us to take the life of another. But we can offend against it long before committing murder. We sin against it by striking in anger, by wishing harm upon someone, or by deliberately leading another into sin. To cause a brother to commit a grave fault is to endanger his soul with eternal death – it is a deeper wound than one inflicted upon the body.
The sixth and ninth commandments are:
These commandments forbid, the first, impure words, immodest looks, and indecent actions; the second, willingly entertained thoughts and desires directed toward what is impure. To avoid everything related to this grave sin of impurity, one must have great uprightness of soul, clarity, and openness with those who guide one’s conscience.
The pure soul is clear and radiant like the dew that, on an April morning, rests upon the leaves. If a drop of dew sparkles in the rays of the sun, the chaste soul surpasses the brilliance of the finest diamonds. The angels look upon it with admiration. But just as the slightest disturbance causes the drop of dew to fall and, upon touching the ground, to become mud, so the slightest breath of impurity – in words, actions, desires, or consenting thoughts – dims and stains the soul, making it repugnant in the sight of God.
The seventh and tenth commandments concern the same matter and complement one another:
The first forbids taking what belongs to another; the second forbids coveting it with the intention of obtaining it by unjust means. This prohibition is as strict as those concerning other sins. At all times, some have sought to soften or ignore these commandments, but the Church always answers:
“It is impossible. What is written in the Decalogue is written, and not even a single letter can be changed in the law given by God Himself to His people.”
These commandments are violated through theft, fraud, robbery – or even by the mere desire to take what we know does not belong to us.
In the Italian city of Bologna, there lived a noble and wealthy widow who had an only son, whom she loved tenderly and who was as the apple of her eye. The young boy was accustomed to playing in the public square with other children his age.
One day, a stranger passing through disturbed their game with evident ill will. The boy, lively and quick-tempered, told him to leave them alone and added a few harsh words. The intruder, no less hot-headed, immediately drew his sword, rushed upon the unfortunate child, struck him, plunged his blade into his chest, and left him lifeless on the ground.
No sooner had he committed this crime than he felt all its horror. With his bloodstained sword still in hand, he fled wildly until, seeing an open door, he rushed inside. It was, in fact, the very house of his victim. He quickly climbed the stairs, not knowing where he was going, and arrived in the apartment of the grieving widow, whom he did not know.
At the sight of this man – with drawn sword covered in blood – she stood frozen in shock. But this lasted only a moment. Hearing the stranger beg, in the name of God, for refuge from those pursuing him, her piety was moved to compassion. She hid him in a concealed place, promising not to betray him. She believed the crime to have been accidental or due to carelessness, knowing nothing of the circumstances or the victim.
Meanwhile, officers of justice had followed close behind. They saw him enter the house and soon entered themselves, calling out loudly and searching everywhere – under furniture and in every corner – but to no avail. As they were about to leave, one of them said:
“This lady must know that the one who has been killed is her own son; surely she would not wish to shelter such a murderer.”
At these words, immediately confirmed by the others, the poor mother felt as though her heart had been pierced by a mortal blow. She fainted. When she came to herself, it seemed impossible that she would survive such a shock.
Yet soon, a great strength descended upon her. Abandoning herself to Providence, she adored God’s eternal decrees and resolved, for love of Him, to forgive this terrible wrong.
More than that – grace working ever more deeply in her heart – she resolved to repay evil with good and to do for the murderer of her son what she would have done for her own child.
Without delay, she went to him in his hiding place. She uttered not a word of reproach. Instead, she gave him a purse of money and provided him with a horse she had prepared, urging him to flee and escape the consequences of his crime.
What was the reward for such an act of Christian magnanimity?
The pious mother, overcome with grief, had withdrawn to her room and was praying before an image of Our Lord for her beloved deceased son, when he appeared to her – radiant as the sun, his face filled with joy, holding in his hand the palm of victory.
“Good news, dear mother,” he said. “Dry your tears and put an end to your sorrow. Do not pity me, but rather envy my lot. The Christian generosity you showed has delivered me at once from Purgatory. Oh, how much more I owe you for having given me birth into eternal life than for having given me the life of the body! Divine justice had condemned me to long years of suffering for my faults, but your forgiveness completed my expiation in an instant. I am now with my God, where I shall remain for all eternity. Let us rejoice, then, and sing His praises.”