The First Commandment

The First Commandment
 

Submitted by Thomas Stidl

         What is the first commandment?  Thou shall not have strange gods before Me, meaning the Triune Godhead.  What do we place before God as what pertains to worship and the giving of our time and talents?  What are our idols?  God should always be first in our lives.  In modern daily life sometimes circumstances interfere with our worship and our relationship with God.  As important as it is to resolve those circumstances, we must always pay tribute to God even while resolving the problems of daily life.  After all who gives us the inspiration, knowledge to resolve problems.  Naturally, the Holy Spirit comes to mind. 

         For myself I have created a habit that I follow.  I try to put one hour aside every morning for prayer and meditation.  This includes reading the scripture verses of the day.  With prayer in the morning I try to say at least one or two acts of perfect contrition followed by one or two Acts of Spiritual Communion with the associated prayers of Thanksgiving.  This puts me in touch with the Divine Powers of the Holy Trinity.  The peace and calm that I receive helps me cope with the problems of the day.  There is Grace before and after meals when I remember to say them.  Like you, I am by no means perfect and I am a work in progress.  In the evening I pray three rosaries a day to our Blessed Mother along with the chaplet of Divine Mercy. 

         I conclude my day with more meditation and prayer that includes an examination of conscience as to where I put other things first instead of God during my day.  By this I mean work and all material things.

         Please do not get the wrong impression.  We all need food and money to live, especially in these hard times of inflation and recession.  We should always try to rely on God for our needs through our supplications.  Remember that God is not a walking ATM machine.  The trick to manage all these things is to bring God with you in all that we set out to accomplish either in work or play.  Let all who surround us sense that God is with you and inside of you.  Some people will be uncomfortable while in your presence and may insult you.  Do not be worried about that.  Our Divine Savior went through a lot worse than that to save our souls from eternal death. 

         Include in your night prayers another act of perfect contrition and another Act of Spiritual Communion before you sleep.  Try to unite yourself with the Spirit of God so that any sinful thoughts will be purged from your mind.  Also place all the worries that you have at his feet.  When you do this, you will experience a sublime peace that surpasses all understanding.  Let God guide you on the path on the path that He wants for you.  As for your supplications, your prayers will be answered in what God sees fit for your life.  Then there will be no idolatry in your life.

         Until next time, Laus Tibi, Christe.  Deo Gratias.  Gloria Tibi Domini.  Praise be to God.  See you in Paradise.