531. What is required and what is forbidden by the tenth commandment? (part 2 continuation)

531. What is required and what is forbidden by the tenth commandment? (part 2 continuation)     

(Comp 531 repetition) This commandment, which completes the preceding commandment, requires an interior attitude of respect for the property of others and forbids greed, unbridled covetousness for the goods of others, and envy which is the sadness one experiences at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself.

“In brief”

(CCC 2551) "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Mt 6:21). (CCC 2552) The tenth commandment forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power.      

To deepen and explain

(CCC 2536) The tenth commandment forbids greed and the desire to amass earthly goods without limit. It forbids avarice arising from a passion for riches and their attendant power. It also forbids the desire to commit injustice by harming our neighbor in his temporal goods: When the Law says, "You shall not covet," these words mean that we should banish our desires for whatever does not belong to us. Our thirst for another's goods is immense, infinite, never quenched. Thus it is written: "He who loves money never has money enough" (Roman Catechism, III, 37; cf. Sir 5:8).      

Reflection

(CCC 2537) 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. Traditional catechesis realistically mentions "those who have a harder struggle against their criminal desires" and so who "must be urged the more to keep this commandment":… merchants who desire scarcity and rising prices, who cannot bear not to be the only ones buying and selling so that they themselves can sell more dearly and buy more cheaply; those who hope that their peers will be impoverished, in order to realize a profit either by selling to them or buying from them… physicians who wish disease to spread; lawyers who are eager for many important cases and trials (Roman Catechism, III, 37). [IT CONTINUES]    

(The question: What is required and what is forbidden by the tenth commandment? continues)