The Tenth Commandment
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
In its section on the tenth commandment, the Catechism of the Catholic
Church begins with this: “The tenth commandment unfolds and com-
It forbids coveting the goods of another, as the root of theft, robbery
and fraud, which the seventh commandment forbids. ‘Lust of the eyes’
three prescriptions of the Law. The tenth commandment concerns the
intentions of the heart; with the ninth, it summarizes all the precepts of
the Law.” (CCC 2534)
It is not wrong to desire nice things. In fact, the Catechism states, “It
is not a violation of this commandment to desire to obtain things that
belong to one’s neighbor, provided this is done by just means.” (CCC
2537)
Violations of the tenth commandment include “greed and the desire to
amass earthly goods without limit…avarice arising from a passion for
riches and their attendant power…and envy, a capital sin. It refers to the
sadness at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire
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them for oneself, even unjustly.” (CCC 2536-2540)
In the spiritual life, attachment to worldly things will only keep us further
from God. In number 2556, the Catechism sums it up this way: “Detachment
from riches is necessary for entering the Kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit.’”
For further study:
CCC 2534-2557