January 8, 2013 – Catechism 2064 – 2074

I had never thought about the connection and unity of all the commandments.  The paragraphs talk about this in a positive way, honor your father, also honors God, but I thought it was easier to see in the negative.  If you kill someone, you are not honoring God.  Breaking any one of the commandments, breaks them all.  Does that really work.  Let’s take though shall not steal.  If a person steals, they are not honoring God or their parents, they are coveting their neighbors things, but are they killing.  If you take it literally, no one might die because of your theft, so no.  But if you look to Christ explanation, that thou shall not kill applies if you hold any ill will against another, then I would say yes it applies.  You took something from them, and even if you might not know them, to did harm to them.  Take is another step, they will hold ill feelings to the person that stole, even if they don’t know them, so you are causing another to break the commandments, which is also wrong.  The commandments are all entwined.  Think of other examples of how breaking one might break the other.  I imagine you might have to stretch to apply them all, but it doesn’t take long to see their unity.