Faith - The Catholic Catechism tells us that our moral life has its source in faith in God who reveals his love to us. St. Paul speaks of the "obedience of faith" as our first obligation. He shows that "ignorance of God" is the principle and explanation of all moral deviations. Our duty toward God is to believe in him and to bear witness to him. We as Catholics must always stay faithful to God. We must never fall into despair, and never lose faith in God.
Hope - The Catholic Catechism tells us that the first commandment is also concerned with sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption:
By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is faithful to his promises - and to his mercy. We must always believe that God will keep His promises and that he would never desert us.
Charity - In the Catholic Catechism, it says faith in God's love encompasses the call and the obligation to respond with sincere love to divine charity. The first commandment enjoins us to love God above everything and all creatures for him and because of him. We must love each other with charity, and be free to give ourselves to others. We must give to others and to God.
Adoration - On adoration, the Catechism says adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. To adore God is to acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve," says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy. We must give God our praise regularly. We owe God our endless adoration and praise.
Prayer - When speaking of prayer, the Catechism says The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments. "[We] ought always to pray and not lose heart." Prayer is essential to our faith life. It brings us closer to God. It is necessary for us to have a healthy relationship with God.
Sacrifice - Regarding sacrifice, the Catechism tells us that it is right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude, supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice."
Promises and Vows - When speaking of promises and vows, the catechism says in many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of personal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for a faithful God. When we make a promise to God, we must try our best to keep it and to be faithful to Him. God never fails in keeping His promises, so why should we?
The Social Duty of Religion - The Catechism says, "All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it." This duty derives from "the very dignity of the human person." We as Catholics must uphold the dignity of every human person. It is our mission to keep human rights validated.
Superstition - The Catechism teaches that superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition. It places a practice above faith in God. It replaces faith in God with belief in strange supernatural forces. This is a form of idolatry and violates the first commandment.
Idolatry - The Catechism says the first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols, [of] silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their worshippers empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them." God, however, is the "living God" who gives life and intervenes in history. Idolatry, whether it be worship of false gods, or overvalue of money, drugs, sex, etc., is in direct violation of the first commandment. We must not place anything before God in our lives. He must come before all things.
Divination and Magic - When speaking of divination and magic, the Catechism says God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility. We must not put faith in magic or supernatural forces before faith in God. If faith in anything comes before faith in God, it is a form of idolatry. God will reveal his plan for us in due time.
Irreligion - The Catechism states that God's first commandment condemns the main sins of irreligion: tempting God, in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony. We must not put God to the test. We must not make unholy what is holy, or offend God. That is in direct violation of the first commandment. We also must not misuse sacred objects for superstitious purposes. Holy objects are holy, but they are still only objects and we must not place too much importance on them.
Atheism - On atheism, the Catechism says since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion. If we don't acknowledge God's existence, then that violates the first commandment gravely (I am the Lord your God). When we recognize the existence of God we can love Him and serve Him through others.
Agnosticism - When speaking of agnosticism, the Catechism says agnosticism can sometimes include a certain search for God, but it can equally express indifferentism, a flight from the ultimate question of existence, and a sluggish moral conscience. Agnosticism is all too often equivalent to practical atheism. If we are unsure of the existence of God, then we cannot put complete faith in Him, which violates the first commandment. We must also acknowledge his existence to be able to love Him with all our hearts.
The first commandment might seem simple, but it actually covers a wide variety of issues, all pointing to the same major duty for us as Christians: we must love God and put Him above all things.
No comments:
Post a Comment