The New Saint Joseph Baltimore
Lesson 15
The First Commandment of God
Jesus worshipped His, not Satan.
1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.
At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"
Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
Explanation
God is above all
God is our Creator. He made us and all things. We owe Him our Love and service. Our Lord showed us by His example how to love and serve God above all things. When the devil tempted Him by offering Him “all the kingdoms of the world,” Jesus refused to “fall down and worship Him. He loved and served only God, His Heavenly Father. Jesus did His will even to death on the Cross to save us. Our Lord said, “I do always the things that are pleasing to Him (the father)” (John 8, 29).
We follow Christ
Our Lord showed us how to obey the first commandment. He told the devil to go away. He did not give in to temptation.
Do we follow Christ? Do we refuse to listen when the devil tempts us? Do we place God first? Do we serve God by faith, hope, and charity?
We save our soul
Jesus said, “For what does it profit a man, if He gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16, 26). If we follow Christ, we shall never place anyone or anything above God. We shall love and serve Him alone. And in doing this, we shall save our soul. We shall earn heaven. We shall have happiness with God forever.
Practice: Resolve to please God in everything today.
CATECHISM
88. What is the first commandment of God?
The first commandment of God is: I am the Lord your God; thou shalt not have strange Gods before me.
89. What are we commanded by the first commandment?
By the first commandment we are commanded to offer to God alone the supreme worship that is due Him
90. How do we worship God?
We worship God by acts of faith, hope, and charity, and by adoring Him and praying to Him.
91. How does a catholic sin against faith?
A Catholic sins against faith by not believing what God has revealed, and by taking part in non-catholic worship.
92. What are the sins against hope?
The sins against hope are presumption and despair.
93. What are the chief sins against charity?
The chief sins against charity are hatred of God and of our neighbor, envy, sloth, and scandal
Charity means love. Hatred is against love, envy is being displeased at another’s success. Sloth is laziness. Scandal is bad example.
Discussion Questions
1. What did the devil tempt Our Lord to do?
2. What did Our Lord do?
3. What should we do when tempted to sin?
4. Why do we owe supreme worship to God?
5. What do we earn by loving and serving God alone?
Yes or No
1. Did Our Lord do what the evil wanted?
2. Did Our Lord always do what pleased the father?
3. Does prayer help when we are tempted?
4. Does charity mean only giving money to the poor?
5. Do we obey the first commandment when we give God the worship he deserves?
Fill in the Blanks
1. Presumption and despair are sins against ……………....
2. When we do not believe all that Jesus told us we sin against ………….
3. Hatred of God or against God or of our neighbor is a sin against …………….
4. If we resent somebody else’s blessings we commit the sin of …………….
5. If we do not give God our love and service we sin against the ………… commandment of God.
Other Readings
1. What St. Paul
2. What St. Paul
3. What St. Paul
Class Liturgical Action
Learn say Psalm 42, the opening of mass, which expresses our desire to worship God.
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