The Fourth CommandmentThe Fourth CommandmentStrengthen Your FamilyStrengthen Your Family

USCCA Chapter 28USCCA Chapter 28

Tuesday, April 18, 2023Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

1. The Fourth Commandment, honoring our father and mother, supports the family as the domestic (or home) church.

a. A family is “a man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children (USCCA p. 376).”

b. Families are called to be schools of virtue, of love and an icon of the Trinity.

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

1. The Fourth Commandment, honoring our father and mother, supports the family as the domestic (or home) church.

c. Families are the first place where the love of God is announced to children.

d. “The family is the first and vital cell of society (FC #42).”

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

2. Children are called to have a grateful heart to their parents, who gave us life.

a. Children’s love for their parents is shown through obedience.

b. God offers grace to each family member to help the family grow as the domestic church.

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

2. Children are called to have a grateful heart to their parents, who gave us life.

c. Adult children are called to care for their elderly parents.

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

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3. Parents are called to care for the physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional and moral needs of their children.

a. Parents are to give a proper example to their children, especially in the area of virtue.

b. As primary educators, parents should pray with and for their children from the earliest age possible.

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

3. Parents are called to care for the physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional and moral needs of their children.

c. Parents are to assist in guiding, not forcing, their children into the right vocation, including discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

4. Civil authorities are called to defend the family.

a. They are to safeguard the family as the permanent and exclusive union of a man and a woman.

b. They are to establish laws that reflect and protect proper moral order.

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

4. Civil authorities are called to defend the family.

c. Citizens should refuse to obey laws that go against the moral order.

d. The Church and every lay Catholic has the duty to shape public life in light of Catholic teaching.

Session 1: The Fourth CommandmentSession 1: The Fourth Commandment

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

For Discussion:For Discussion:

1. See the section ‘Witness Fidelity in Marriage’ beginning on page 381-382 of the USCCA. What is the next step for your family to take to grow in its identity as the domestic church?

2. How can you better support the Church’s definition of family in the public forum?

3. Reflecting on the Meditation by Pope Paul VI on p. 383 of the USCCA, what lessons can we learn about family life from the Holy Family, even though little is recorded about their daily activities?