Article 10: The Tenth Commandment

Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part Three › Section Two › Chapter Two · Article 10 (§§2534–2557)

Paragraphs · 24

The Catechism's text is under copyright, so each paragraph is quoted briefly here with a link to the full text at vatican.va.

§2534 — The tenth commandment unfolds and completes the ninth, which is concerned with concupiscence of the flesh. It forbids coveting the goods of another, as the root of theft, robbery, and fraud, which the seventh commandment forbids.vatican.va

§2535 — , the desire to eat when we are hungry or to warm ourselves when we are cold. These desires are good in themselves; but often they exceed the limits of reason and drive us to covet unjustly what is not ours and belongs to another or is owed to him.vatican.va
§2536 — The tenth commandment forbids greed and the desire to amass earthly goods without limit. It forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power.vatican.va
§2537 — It is not a violation of this commandment to desire to obtain things that belong to one's neighbor, provided this is done by just means.vatican.va
§2538 — The tenth commandment requires that envy be banished from the human heart. When the prophet Nathan wanted to spur King David to repentance, he told him the story about the poor man who had only one ewe lamb that he treated like his own daughter…vatican.va
§2539 — Envy is a capital sin. It refers to the sadness at the sight of another's goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly.vatican.va
§2540 — Envy represents a form of sadness and therefore a refusal of charity; the baptized person should struggle against it by exercising good will. Envy often comes from pride; the baptized person should train himself to live in humility:vatican.va

§2541 — The economy of law and grace turns men's hearts away from avarice and envy. It initiates them into desire for the Sovereign Good; it instructs them in the desires of the Holy Spirit who satisfies man's heart.vatican.va
§2542 — The Law entrusted to Israel never sufficed to justify those subject to it; it even became the instrument of "lust." The gap between wanting and doing points to the conflict between God's Law which is the "law of my mind," and another law "making me…vatican.va
§2543 — "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe."vatican.va

§2544 — Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that of the Gospel.vatican.va
§2545 — All Christ's faithful are to "direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty."vatican.va
§2546 — "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The Beatitudes reveal an order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor, to whom the Kingdom already belongs:vatican.va
§2547 — The Lord grieves over the rich, because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods. "Let the proud seek and love earthly kingdoms, but blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."vatican.va

§2548 — Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God.vatican.va
§2549 — It remains for the holy people to struggle, with grace from on high, to obtain the good things God promises. In order to possess and contemplate God, Christ's faithful mortify their cravings and, with the grace of God, prevail over the seductions of pleasure and power.vatican.va
§2550 — On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them to perfect communion with God:vatican.va

§2551 — "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Mt 6:21).vatican.va
§2552 — The tenth commandment forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power.vatican.va
§2553 — Envy is sadness at the sight of another's goods and the immoderate desire to have them for oneself. It is a capital sin.vatican.va
§2554 — The baptized person combats envy through good-will, humility, and abandonment to the providence of God.vatican.va
§2555 — Christ's faithful "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24); they are led by the Spirit and follow his desires.vatican.va
§2556 — Detachment from riches is necessary for entering the Kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are the poor in spirit."vatican.va
§2557 — "I want to see God" expresses the true desire of man. Thirst for God is quenched by the water of eternal life (cf In 4:14).vatican.va