Pop-Up Catechesis: The Tenth Commandment and Avoiding Comparisons

From the time we are toddlers right up to the present day, it is common for us to compare ourselves to others. I know that this past Christmas, my wife and I were happy to have our grandchildren open their Christmas presents on separate days so that they wouldn’t compare their gifts to their cousins’. We may think that this is only a problem that children have; however, there is a reason we have the […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Ninth Commandment and Misplaced Desires

Something does not need to be lost in order to be classified as “misplaced.” We typically think of those two words as synonymous; however, there is a difference. If something is lost, it means that we are having trouble locating it. If something is misplaced, it simply means it is in the wrong place such as a, misplaced comma in a sentence (such as the one I inserted in this sentence). It is with this […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Eighth Commandment and Honoring Truth

One of the most profound statements that Jesus Christ made about himself is the following: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) In this statement, Jesus is not just describing himself as a truthful person. He is identifying himself as truth itself. This should make us think twice about how we do or don’t honor truth in our everyday lives and interactions with others. While humankind has always struggled with telling […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Seventh Commandment and Sharing God’s Abundance

The Seventh Commandment teaches us that we need to share the abundance of God’s creation. We are called to respect what belongs to others and to be satisfied with what we have for ourselves, knowing that most of us have more than we will ever really need in this life. The Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal,” reminds us to thank God for what we have, to share what we have with others, and to respect what belongs to others. […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Sixth Commandment and Relationships

Take a moment to complete the following simple word analogies. Hot is to cold as up is to ___________. North is to south as east is to ___________. Good is to bad as small is to ___________. Those were easy! (The answers, of course, are down, west, and large.) Analogies are all about relationships between words. The Sixth Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” teaches us about relationships, not between words, but between people. Just […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Fifth Commandment and Nurturing Life

We humans tend to be minimalists. And so, when we are given a rule or a law to follow, we tend to look for a minimalist approach to interpret it in such a way that it doesn’t require much of us. A good example is the Fifth Commandment, “You shall not kill.” If this commandment is simply about refraining from committing murder, few of us have any reason to worry; we will most likely not […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Fourth Commandment and Listening

It seems like podcasts are all the rage these days. There is no shortage of voices we can listen to concerning any subject. Whereas, in conversation, we often ask people what they are reading, today it is also common to ask people who they are listening to. Interestingly enough, this was a question that God had for Adam and Eve when he found them hiding in the bushes after eating the “forbidden fruit.” God asks, […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Third Commandment and the Importance of Being

It’s funny how so many people think of the Ten Commandments solely as prohibitions—rules that say no to everything. While the majority of the Commandments are indeed phrased in the “Thou shall not…” form—prohibiting actions from which we should refrain—the Third Commandment is unique in that it doesn’t tell us to avoid a specific behavior nor does it tell us to perform a specific action. In fact, the Third Commandment, “Remember to keep holy the […]

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Second Commandment and Living Up to Our Name

I remember one time in grade school when I was called on the carpet by the school principal, Sr. Salome, for some type of misbehavior (nothing too serious, I’m sure). As Sr. Salome verbally chastised me, the words that stung the most were, “That’s not what I’d expect from a Paprocki.” Ouch! As the seventh of nine children who all went to the same Catholic elementary school, I had to live up to the reputation that […]

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

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 […]

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