Wednesday of the
Third Week of Lent
(Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)
Natural law is human participation in God’s eternal
law. Humans are able to reason from
their observance of nature to what God commands or prohibits. The essence of Israel’s law – the Ten
Commandments – are said to constitute a privileged summary of the natural law.
Some natural law tenets are that people should help and not kill one
another.
Jesus claims in today’s gospel that he intends to bring
Israel’s law to completion or perfection.
He will go beyond natural law in a few cases so that his followers can
live in perfect harmony. He modifies the
law against adultery to include looking lustfully at a woman. He also thickens the natural law precept of
love to include one’s enemies.
In recent years many societies have eschewed natural
law. They have allowed abortion and
approved cohabitation among other deviations from right reason. The Church cannot help but lament these
practices as leading toward the dissolution of society itself. We believe that we will thrive only by
following the sagacity of Jesus call to perfection.
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