Pop-Up Catechesis: The First Commandment and Our Attraction to God

Joe Paprocki Ten Commandments, Sin, & Morality

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki

The First Commandment is “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” Each of us has a natural attraction to God, who is always seeking to pull us closer to him as a magnet attracts a piece of metal. Unfortunately, we often let a lot of other things come between us and God. We are attracted to many things that we think will bring us happiness in life. When that happens, we are unable to connect with God as we should. The First Commandment reminds us that we shouldn’t let anything get in the way of our relationship with God. We are faithful to the First Commandment when we allow God to be the center of our lives, drawing us closer to him every day. “False gods” refers to any of those things that we allow to get in the way of our relationship with God: money, material things, power, popularity, success, and so on. They cannot bring us true happiness. Only God can fulfill us. That’s why we should have no other gods other than our loving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Join me in this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis as we explore the First Commandment and our attraction to God.

For more information about the First Commandment, check out the following links:

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About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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2 Comments

  1. I love the pop-up catechesis and I hope that very soon they will also in Spanish. I have a large Hispanic community and I would love to use the pop-up catechesis with them.

    Reply

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