Faith Formation, Commandments 2 & 3

October 20, 2014  St Francis Parish Faith Formation Group 

V:  O God, come to my assistance

R:  Lord, make haste to help me.

V:  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

R:  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia. 

AH 461  Holy God We Praise Thy Name

Psalm 123 (124) Our help is in the name of the Lord

V:  Our help is in the name of the Lord. 

If the Lord had not been with us

(so let Israel sing),

If the Lord had not been with us

when men rose up against us,

they might have skinned us alive,

such was their anger.

The waters could have drowned us,

the torrent poured over us,

the foaming waters poured over us.

Blessed be the Lord, who saved us

from being torn to pieces by their teeth.

We have escaped, like a bird

from the snare of the fowler.

The snare was broken,

and we escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth. 

(Together) Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.  Amen. 

V:  Our help is in the name of the Lord. 

The Second Commandment 

Exodus 20:7  - forbids irreverent use of the Divine Name, especially in legal contexts (oaths); also, to inject the divine name into foul, hateful, or blasphemous speech is to abuse it and to offend the lord who bears it.

1.       Why is a name so important that God devoted one of the 10 Commandments to it?

2.       What is the meaning of vain?

3.       How is God’s name taken in vain?

a.       Blasphemy

b.      Oaths (false and foolish)

c.       Perjury

d.      Cursing

4.        How do we take God’s name justly?

a.        Oaths

b.      To sanctify

c.       To expel our adversary

d.      To confess God’s name

e.      To defend ourselves

To make our works complete 

The Third Commandment 

Exodus 20:8-11 – requires a Sabbath (also applies to Holy Days of Obligation) rest for households and herds; as a memorial of  the world’s creation and of Israel’s redemption.  So important, that it is repeated 6 times throughout Exodus. 

1.        Why the shift from Sabbath to Sunday?

2.       What are the reasons for this commandment? 

3.       What is meant by the “Sunday Obligation?”

4.       How do we keep the Sabbath holy?  (what does “holy” mean?)

a.        What should we avoid?

1)      Servile work

2)      Sin

3)      Idleness

b.      What should we do?

1)      Offer sacrifice

2)      Hear God’s word

3)      Contemplate divine things

4)      Eternal rest

5)      Sunday is traditionally dedicated by Christian piety to good works (CCC 2186)