Saints Light
The Commandments · Lesson 9 of 12

The Eighth Commandment: Living in the Truth

Do not lie, and do not damage anyone's good name with false stories, careless gossip or harsh assumptions. Speak the truth in love, and keep silent when charity calls for it.

This is a summary of Lesson 9 of The Ten Commandments. The full lesson takes about 3 minutes in the Saints Light app.

Moses Presenting the Tablets of the Law, a painting by Philippe de Champaigne
Moses Presenting the Tablets of the Law, Philippe de Champaigne, c. 1648

What this lesson teaches

  • The eighth commandment calls us to live in the truth, because God is truth.
  • Rash judgment, detraction and calumny damage others' reputations and are real sins.
  • A lie is speaking falsehood with the intention to deceive; its gravity depends on the truth, intent and harm.
  • Honesty does not require revealing everything; discretion and keeping confidences are part of charity.

Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites

  • CCC 2464-2470
  • CCC 2477-2479
  • CCC 2482-2487
  • CCC 2488-2492

CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.

Scripture read in this lesson: Ephesians 4:25; Proverbs 12:22; John 8:32.

A sample question from this lesson

You tell coworkers about a colleague's real but private mistake, though they had no need to know. Which sin is this?

  1. Calumny
  2. Rash judgment
  3. Perjury
  4. Detraction
Show the answer

Detraction. Detraction is revealing someone's real faults without a valid reason. Calumny would be spreading something false (CCC 2477).

The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.

Words to know

Detraction
Revealing another person's real faults to people who have no need to know.
Calumny
Harming someone's reputation with false statements.

More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.

Read the full lesson in the app

"The Eighth Commandment: Living in the Truth" is lesson 9 of The Ten Commandments. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.

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