When something is precious, valuable, or sacred, we create rules to protect it.
Think about it: you can’t touch the Declaration of Independence or the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Flash photography is forbidden around the Shroud of Turin. Even in everyday life, we establish boundaries—no food or drink in the library, no playing ball in the house, and in our family, my son’s monster trucks are strictly inside toys.
Why do these rules exist?
Because we instinctively protect what matters. Whether it’s history, art, or a child’s favorite possessions, rules serve as a safeguard.
The same is true for our souls.
The Ten Commandments, the precepts of the Church, and her moral teachings are not arbitrary restrictions designed to stifle joy or “suck the fun out of the room.” They exist for a far greater purpose: to guard what is most precious—our relationship with God and the grace that sustains us.
Too often, we learn this truth late, if at all. Rules are not obstacles; they are shields. They remind us that what is most sacred deserves protection.
We guard what we value. Let’s value what we guard.