The Ten Commandments: Laws of the Heart

The individuals who harp to have the 10 Commandments put in public spaces should read this very comprehensive historical text from Moses to present day application.

The Ten Commandments is a concise study of the Ten Commandments, as given to Moses on his first trek up Mount Sinai. Chittister does in only 150 pages what most writers have been unable to do in lengthy tomes. She discusses the commandments from a historical standpoint, attempting to analyze them in light of the culture in which they were written. She gives us a contemporary situation in which we can see how the commandment plays out in today's world. She also gives us pithy snippets for us to meditate on to increase our understanding of each commandment. In doing so, she opens up our understanding of the Ten Commandments, taking them out of "bible-speak" and making them relevant as guidelines that we can use to guide our pathway toward gaining a deeper understanding of our relationship to God and to our fellow people. If you are interested in gaining a better understanding of our place with God and each other, this book is a very worthwhile read.

Sister Joan Chittister for a generation now has written beautifully about the meaning of our Faith and its practice, in particular the Benedicitne charism. She also recently co-authored the great and necessary work for peace and unity: The Tent of Abraham: Stories of Hope and Peace for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Here in this present substantial and significant volume published by the great Catholic printing house Orbis Books, she opens up for us today the profound and eternal meaning of the Ten Commandments. Some nowadays fight for public display of the Ten Comandments in order not to have to read them and practice them. Others ask where do you find these commandments listed as such in the Holy Bible. Others attempt to retranslate these commandments to fit their own loopholes and prejudices and permit such extraordinary and sinful horrors as modern warfare and capital punishment. Sister Joan quietly and thoughtfully simply calls us home to the Commandments, gently and deeply explaining their meaning to us. You find here each commandment as traditionally written, appending the "Great Commandments" spoken of in the Gospels, to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and all of your might and all of your soul, and your neighbor as yourself. Each commandment in this fairly thick volume receives its own chapter, clearly entitled to establish themes and perspectives. For instance, the commandment to Honor thy father and thy mother is called The Law of Caring. The beautiful chapter discussing the commandment so important for our times: THOU SHALT NOT KILL! is entitled The Law of Life. Read it. Clearly this is a book valuable for every Catholic and everyone to read, to pray, to meditate and to put into practice. It serves as an excellent prreparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation; it is perfect lectio divina. Please gift anyone you love with this strengthening and guiding book from the wisdom, eloquence and Faithfulness of Sister Joan. This book is a pillar of our Faith, a place of rest and refuge for our troubled times, a way home once more.

This book is an excellent one on the Ten Commandments. It has an historical part, an explanation and a series of questions about what the commandments mean in our world today. It has the usual insights of Joan Chittister and makes one think hard about what the commandments mean in our world today.