Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on 33rd 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 2555.
The Tenth Commandment, ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods’ instructs us to have our passions and the covetousness of our flesh crucified with Christ (cf. Galatians 5:24). Saint Augustine (+430) highlights the relationship between the three temptations which the Lord Jesus faced at the beginning of his public ministry which have been identified as the pride of life, concupiscence of the eyes and of the flesh and how we are to be detached from the goods of this passing world (cf. Matthew 4:2–10; 1 John 2:15–17). The Greek terms epithumia and epithumeo are sometimes translated as “concupiscence” meaning a longing especially for what is forbidden. Concupiscence of the eyes involves an unwholesome curiosity and a disordered love the goods of this world. The devil showed and offered the Lord Jesus all the kingdoms and splendors of the world but the Savior was not swayed. Nor should we be swayed. Concupiscence of the flesh involves the inordinate love of sensual pleasures to which our fallen nature is inclined. The Lord Jesus was offered to turn stones into bread to satisfy bodily hunger but He did not yield to the devil’s promptings. Nor should we.
The classical term passion(s) refers to strong and barely controllable emotion(s) and comes from the Greek paschein and the Latin passio/pati, meaning to suffer. Saint Thomas Aquinas, OP (+1274) treats the passions in his Summa Theologiae I-II Q. 22–48. The passions are to our soul what the appetite is to our body, drawing us or repelling us accordingly. Our moral life in Christ includes the regulation and direction of our desires. When our desires are contrary to reason (e.g. gluttony, greed, lust…) they are sinful. When they correspond with our human nature we are on the right track. When considering the our neighbor’s goods our desires need to be kept in check.
Saint Thomas has identified six concupiscible passions or those that deal with craving desires namely: love, hatred, concupiscence, delight, goodness or malice, pain or sorrow, goodness or malice; and five irascible passions or those which help us to resist an impending danger, have also been identified: hope, despair, fear, daring, and anger.
As followers of Jesus Christ, crucified and glorified, we are led by His Spirit and follow His desires. Whenever we sin we disregard the Holy Spirit and His holy promptings and follow the evil spirits, devils and Satan himself. One the one hand it is not a sin to have nice things or to want nice things. On the other hand we do not need to have the finest clothes, homes, transportation… When we break the Tenth Commandment we risk placing material possessions and desire for them before God or neighbor or both.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr