Catechism: The Fourth Commandment, part 1
CCC 2197 The 4th Commandment part 1 ➜
The Fourth Commandment in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is: "Honor your father and your mother." It emphasizes the importance of family relationships and respect for authority. This commandment extends beyond just parents—it calls for honour, affection, and gratitude toward elders, ancestors, teachers, employers, leaders, and civil authorities. Sister Lucia dos Santos, one of the three children who witnessed the Marian apparitions at Fatima, died in 2005. But before her death she wrote a prophetic letter to Cardinal Caffarra of Bologna. In it she said, “Father, a time will come when the decisive battle between the kingdom of Christ and Satan will be over marriage and the family. And those who will work for the good of the family will experience persecution and tribulation. But do not be afraid, because Our Lady has already crushed his head.” Cardinal Caffarra believed these words of Sr. Lucia are being fulfilled in our present age. He wrote, “Today, what do we observe? Two terrible events. First, the legitimization of abortion. That is, abortion has become a subjective right of woman. Now, ‘subjective right’ is an ethical category and therefore we are here entering into the world of good and evil, and we say that abortion is a good; it is a right. The second thing we see is the attempt to equate homosexual relationships with marriage.”
Although the Cardinal mentioned those two problems, there are many more such as absent fathers, infidelity, divorce, lack of family prayer, attendance at church or reception of the sacraments, to name but a few. When we looked at the sacrament of confirmation earlier in this Catechism course, we noted that it was intended to strengthen those who received it in order that they might evangelise. But in reality, reception of the sacrament is often a rite of passage out of the Church. Once they are confirmed, the children no longer appear in Church, just like their parents. In this way the parents fail as Christians to pass on their faith as the Catechism advises by means of “example, prayer, family catechesis and participation in the life of the Church.”
For those who are interested the Iona Institute for Religion and Society, here in Ireland, have a very informative website which provides a good deal of helpful information, of a factual kind, about marriage and the family from a Christian point of view. For example, it includes one article entitled, “Social Trends in Ireland” which shows that between 1985 and 2020 the rates of divorce/separation; single parent families; cohabiting couples; and births outside marriage all increased sharply.
The traditional adage says, “the family that prays together stays together.” So, it is
understandable that Pope St John Paul II said at a general audience on the 11th of August 1976: “Mothers, do you teach your children the Christian prayers? Do you prepare them, in conjunction with the priests and schoolteachers for the sacraments that they receive when they are young. . . And you, fathers, do you pray with your children...your example of honesty in thought and action, joined to some common prayer is a lesson for life, an act of worship of singular value. In this way you bring peace to your homes.” When he spoke at Limerick, before leaving Ireland, St John Paul said, “Your homes should always remain homes of prayer. As I leave today this island which is so dear to my heart, this land and its people which is such a consolation and strength to the Pope, may I express a wish: that every home in Ireland may remain, or may begin again to be, a home of daily family prayer. That you would promise me to do this would be the greatest gift you could give me as I leave your hospitable shores.”
I think I mentioned in a previous session that my parents died many years ago. Thank God they had a harmonious marriage. I can remember asking my mother on one occasion what was the secret of her good relationship with my father. I was deeply moved when she said: “on the day your father and I married, we agreed that we would pray together every day as long as God spared us together.” I went on to ask whether they had stuck to their agreement. “Yes,” my mother replied, “we prayed together every day, except for the time your father had to visit America on business. Pat your father and I were anchored in God.” It was true. I can recall that many was the night I heard them saying the rosary together in bed. Not only that, I can also recall how my father arranged that, after the evening meal, we would spend a short time in prayer together. More often than not we recited the rosary. Only a minority of Catholic families still do this. But those that do will resist the vicious attacks of the devil.It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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