Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 350.

YOUCAT Question n. 350 - Are the Ten Commandments a random list?

(Youcat answer) No. The Ten Commandments form a unity. One commandment refers to another. You cannot arbitrarily toss out individual commandments. Someone who breaks one commandment is violating the whole Law.     

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2069) The Decalogue forms a coherent whole. Each "word" refers to each of the others and to all of them; they reciprocally condition one another. The two tables shed light on one another; they form an organic unity. To transgress one commandment is to infringe all the others (Cf. Jas 2:10-11). One cannot honor another person without blessing God his Creator. One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures. The Decalogue brings man's religious and social life into unity.      

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) What is remarkable about the Ten Commandments is that all of human life is included within them. Indeed, we men are related at the same time to God (Commandments 1-3) and to our fellow men (Commandments 4-10); we are religious and social beings.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2079) The Decalogue forms an organic unity in which each "word" or "commandment" refers to all the others taken together. To transgress one commandment is to infringe the whole Law (cf. Jas 2:10-11). 

(The next question is: Aren’t the Ten Commandments outmoded?)