Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time.

My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are six (6) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Tenth Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2554.
The Tenth Commandment, ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods’ forbids envy. Besides teaching us about the virtues and the vices, the good we should do and the evil we should avoid or repent, the Catechism also gives us ways to grow in virtue and to combat vice.
Envy is a sin against the Tenth Commandment. Sacred Scripture warns us against envy repeatedly (cf. Proverbs 3:31; 23:17; Romans 1:29; Philippians 1:15; 1 Timothy 6:4).
Good will combats envy. Sometimes ‘good will’ is called ‘brotherly love.’ When we wish our neighbor well we are of good will and love our neighbor.
Humility combats envy. Pride, the vice opposite humility, insists that the blessings enjoyed by our neighbors be ours not theirs, and is denounced roundly in Sacred Scripture (e.g. Proverbs 8:13; 16:18; 29:23). Humility recognizes that Christ became poor (recall no room in the inn, no clothes on the Cross, no tomb of His own…) to make us rich in His grace (which gives us place in His Church, in which He has clothed us in Baptism, that He might raise us to glory; cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9).
Abandonment to the providence of God combats envy. In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus gives a definitive word on God’s providence in describing the lilies of the field (cf. Matthew 6:28). God also teaches us about His providence in Sacred Scripture: Job 10:12; 2 Corinthians 2:12). The Jesuit Father Jean Pierre de Caussade (+1751) wrote the classic Abandonment to Divine Providence. In four chapters Caussade highlights the nature and excellence of abandonment, that is trusting in God’s care for His creation; the duties we have in relation to God and our trust in His providence; how trials will be a part of our lives as we rely on God’s providence; and how God’s Fatherly providence includes the graces given to remain faithful. More recently, Caussade is cited by the Dominican Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange (+1964) in his Providence: God’s Loving care for Men and the need for Confidence in Almighty God. For his part Garrigou-Lagrange highlights six aspects of self-abandonment to God’s providence, namely God’s trustworthiness especially in matters concerning our salvation; the trust we are to show in God’s promises; how we are to trust in God’s providence at each and every moment; how our fidelity to God’s providence even in the little things is a part of the grace God gives each moment; how God’s providence works in those who are completely abandoned to Him; and God’s providence along the way of perfection.
With God’s grace may we never tire of combating sin in our lives and in the world through humility and brotherly love, all the while trusting in divine providence.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr