YOUCAT Lesson 334
YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth
334 What connection is there
between the “natural moral law” and the Law of the Old Testament?
The Law of the Old Covenant expresses truths that by nature
are evident to human reason yet are now proclaimed and authenticated as God’s
Law. [1961-1963, 1981]
Dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees by Gustave Dore
(1832-1883).
The Greatest
Commandment: When the Pharisees heard
that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking,
“Teacher,* which
commandment in the law is the greatest?” He
said to him, “You shall love the
Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second
is like it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. The whole
law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”—Matthew
22:34-40
Teaching
about the Law: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the
law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until
heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a
letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks
one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these
commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter
into the kingdom of heaven.-- Matthew
5:17-20
“God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in
their hearts.” St. Augustine (354-430)
[1961-1963, 1981]
II. THE
OLD LAW
1961 God,
our Creator and Redeemer, chose Israel for himself to be his people and
revealed his Law to them, thus preparing for the coming of Christ. The Law of
Moses expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason. These are stated
and authenticated within the covenant of salvation. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition
1962 The Old Law is the first
stage of revealed Law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten
Commandments. The precepts of the Decalogue lay the foundations for the
vocation of man fashioned in the image of God; they prohibit what is contrary
to the love of God and neighbor and prescribe what is essential to it. The
Decalogue is a light offered to the conscience of every man to make God's call
and ways known to him and to protect him against evil:
God wrote on the
tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts.( St. Augustine, En. in Psalm. 57,1:Patrologia Latina
36,673.)13 –CCC
1963 According
to Christian tradition, the Law is holy, spiritual, and good,( Compare Romans 7:12,14,16.)14 yet still imperfect. Like a tutor(Compare Galatians 3:24.)15 it shows what must be done, but does not of
itself give the strength, the grace of the Spirit, to fulfill it. Because of
sin, which it cannot remove, it remains a law of bondage. According to St.
Paul, its special function is to denounce and disclose sin, which constitutes a "law of
concupiscence" in the human heart.( Compare Romans 7.)16However, the Law remains the first stage on the
way to the kingdom. It prepares and disposes the chosen people and each
Christian for conversion and faith in the Savior God. It provides a teaching
which endures for ever, like the Word of God. –CCC
IN BRIEF
1981 The Law of Moses contains
many truths naturally accessible to reason. God has revealed them because men
did not read them in their hearts. --CCC
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