“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16).  The question of the rich young man is the same question all of us will ask God in our lives.  The great desire in our souls seeks to be with God in heaven, yet we at times struggle with the journey to find eternal life.  Jesus’s initial answer seems simple, but it is packed with so much.  He says “if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).  From this statement, we can see that following the Commandments is the basic path to eternal life.  He states more when the young man presses Him, but for all of us beginning with a basic understanding of the Ten Commandments aids us to begin the journey towards eternal life.

              The origins of the Commandments begin with Moses on Mount Sinai.  God “gave Moses the two tablets of the commandments, the stone tablets inscribed by God’s own finger” (Exodus 31:18).  From this one line, we can see that the Commandments are not something Moses or any human created to keep law in the world.  The Commandments come from God, which means that He reveals something about Himself in the Commandments.  God reveals His love in the Commandments, which is often forgotten.  Most of the time we see the Commandments as a bunch of rules that we have to follow.  Do’s and don’ts that restrict our lives.  God’s law does not seek to restrict, but liberate.  They liberate us from the temptations and sins of the world.  From evil that lurks.  From satan. 

              The Ten Commandments are not numbered in the Scripture (Exodus 20:1-17).  Due to this reality, there are several different numbering systems the Commandments follow.  In the Catholic Church, we traditionally follow the numbering established by St. Augustine as he prepared catechumens to be baptized.  The Commandments received an important place in the preparation of those to be baptized with St. Augustine.  The Council of Trent teaches the commandments are obligatory for Christians to follow and the Council of Vatican II teaches that salvation is obtained through “faith, Baptism, and observance of the Commandments” (Lumen Gentium, 24).  Through the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, we can see that living the Commandments are essential for salvation, and the Commandments are intimately bonded with faith and baptism. 

              With these in mind and in preparation for the Lenten Season that begins in about a month, our reflection will center on the Ten Commandments and how we are called to live them in our daily lives.  They aid us to love God and love our neighbor, and as Christ himself says living them is the basic requirement for eternal life.