Lesson 2

                          Once ,Jesus was teaching the people in the temple of Jerusalem.Many listened to Him.Some asked Jesus certain questions.Jesus replied them.Then a lawyer came and asked Jesus:”Which Commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered “The first is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all yoursoul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.”(Mk 12:29-30).

The First Commandment

                        The Israelites suffered a lot under the long Egyptian captivity.It is the Lord God who liberated them. He revealed to them that He is God.God is the Creator and Preserver of the universe and all the creatures.God has authority over every thing.

                      We must know and adore God.He is Lord God of our forefathers,Abraham,Isaac and Jacob.The first Commandment,God gave to the people of Israel,Whom He chose and nourished specially,was this:“I am the LORD,Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;you shall have no other Gods before me”(Exodus 20:2-3).

Sins Against the First Commandment

                 We must believe in one God alone.The central message of this Commandment is that we should not worship false Gods and idols.Those who do not accept this all-powerful,loving God and do not trust in His divine providence,violate this Commandment.

Atheism

         Atheism is the act of denying or rejecting the existence of God .This is a sin against the first Commandment and faith in God.

Idolatry

                Idolatry is worshiping persons or creatures instead of God,considering them as God.When we give the prime place,which God alone deserves,to any person or thing,we are worshiping idols.Excessive desire for wealth,prestige,position,comforts and conveniences also may turns to be idol worship.Obsession with or excessively passionate to persons and cinema stars or sport stars also come in the line.

Sorcery

                 Sorcery,witchcraft,black magic etc.are those acts intended to destroy others or to attain worldly gains by depending on evil power.This is a great evil done against God ,who is the fullness of every goodness.

Superstition

                    Superstition is the belief in these things which do not go along with the true faith and which do not have real basis.It is evil to accept such false beliefs.If we try to arrange our lives based on such ungodly,false symptoms and signs against true faith,we are in superstitions.Making of birth star noting,believing in omens,consulting horoscope and idolatry come under this.Things like palmistry,going after astrologers,consulting certain birds etc. are also sins against the first Commandment.

Blasphemy or Sacrilege

                      Blasphemy or Sarcrilege is the abusive,contemptuous and irreverent acts against God and the persons,places and objects consecrated to God.Celebrating and receiving the sacraments unworthily is blasphemy or  sacrilege.Condemnations or desecration of person,place or object dedicated to God is also sacrilegious sin.

Devil Worship and Spiritism

                               Devil worship is  worshiping Satan by mocking God,saints and holy objects,doing all kinds of evil deeds.Spiritism is the act of communicating with the dead by conjuring them up by magic and sorcery.This is being done with the hope of getting materials benefits.These are very grave sins against the first Commandment.

                            The above mentioned acts obstructs us from loving and worshiping God whole heartedly.That is why they become grave sins.We can fully oberve the first Commandments only when we accept God as the Lord and Master of our life.

Divine Virtues

It is God’s will that we live with true faith,hope and love in God .He revealed Himself with this purpose.Faith,Hope and Love-the divine virtues-are the basis of Christian life.They are the gifts of God.

Faith

Faith is the total surrender and response of man to God who reveals Himself.God is our Creator and Protector.We must know Him,love Him and live in unity with Him.Faith is the divine virtue that helps us to lead a holy Christain life.

Hope

Faith leads us to hope.Hope is the firm conviction that the Almighty,Merciful and Ever Faithful God,who is faithful to His promise will gives us the grace and blessings needed for our life.It is also a confidence that God will prepare the way to enable us to live like the children of God and help us to attain eternal salvation.Hope gives us the realization that God is protecting us always and every where.Despair is a sin against hope.

Love

Love is the virtue that enables us to love God above everything else and to love others as we love ourselves..God is love and He loves us.We are obliged to love God in response to this love.We must love Him with our whole heart.

Worship of God:Our Duty

               God alone deserves worship.It is our duty to worship God.Prayer and worship is an expression of our faith.We must offer worship,praise and thanks to the Lord our God.The first Commandment expects of us,creatures,to worship God our Creator.The Holy Mass or Eucharist and the other liturgical celebration help us to do this.

                    Once  Satan asked Jesus to prostrate before him and worship him.Then Jesus said to him:“Away with you, Satan! for, it is written, Worship theLord your God and serve only him”(Mt 4:8-10).Through this,Jesus teaches us the importance of worshiping God.We must overcome the temptations to worship any other object other than God.Then only we will be able to keep the first Commandment

Veneration of the Saints

                       We must worship only God.But in churches and houses,we keep the pictures or statues of saints.Its purpose is not to worship them but to revere and respect them.It will help us to remember their holy lives,to imitate their example and to seek their intercession.They lived on this earth,led good Christian lives and became models for us.They can intercede for us since they lived according to the will of God and attained heaven.Hence veneration of saints does not become idol worship or violation of the first commandment.

                   Through the first Commandment God ask us to recognize and accept God as our Lord,the creator and protector,with humble heart, love Him with all our strength, give Him first place throughout our lives.This Commandment which God gave to the Israelites in the old Testament was properly interpreted by Jesus in the New Testament.When we live it in true sense,we will become true Christians.   

Let us Pray 

O Lord,our God, help us to proclaim

always that you are our God and our Lord.

Read the Word of God and Narrate

Dan 3: 1-30.

Word of God for Guidance

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your

Let us Do