The first three Commandments given to Moses are about man’s relationship with God. There is only one God, and we are to have no other gods besides the triune God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the name of God is holy, to be honored and revered. His name is not to be misused or dishonored in any way. Thus, we are to remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day, dedicating it to Him, through worship and works of mercy and charity. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6: 24-34, Jesus describes the human condition in a way that might seem like he is commenting on our own times. He says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” He says, “Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will drink or what you will wear.” Rather, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you besides.” And one of my favorite Scripture verses comes from Psalm 127:2 which, in an older translation, says, “In vain is your earlier rising, your going later to rest, when he pours out gifts on his beloved while they slumber.” While we cannot do much on our own to change the world around us, we can ourselves be faithful to the Lord. In turn, He will bless us and use our lives and our faithfulness to build his kingdom because it will have been established first and foremost in our own lives! In all our lives we have numerous things on unwritten lists that we would like the Lord to “take care of.” Whether it is some health issue, a financial situation, or troubles in a relationship with someone else, in faith we often bring these intentions and concerns before the Lord, asking for his blessing. However, are we striving to be right with the Lord in upholding our duty to him as outlined in the first three commandments? We often want the Lord to bless us, even though we may persist in living outside his will, choosing to cling to sinful patterns, stubbornly justifying them rather than renouncing and confessing them. How can we expect God to bless us and answer our prayers if we remain defiantly in our sins, truly separated from his grace? In these days of Lent, a season of repentance, I submit that we would notice much greater progress in our spiritual lives if we simply renewed our efforts to put God first! Consider to what extent is there anything that comes before God in your life? God said to Moses, “I am the Lord, your God; you shall not have any other Gods beside me.” Anyone who does not have time for God has mistaken priorities. These days, more and more people seem to be doing EVERYTHING ELSE on Sundays without setting aside the day to worship and honor God. Challenged by this, we come up with excuses — excuses for having other gods by virtue of our priorities. Likewise, we want the Lord to bless us, but how often do we take the Lord’s name in vain? The way people use profanity and vulgarity these days is appalling! The careless use of God’s Holy Name to condemn others or curse them is a direct violation of the second commandment. In the New Testament, from the Letter of James (3:8-10), we read this: “No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers.” Putting God first must not only be in our actions, but in our praise and reverence of his Holy Name. The third commandment given to Moses likewise challenges us to put God first in our lives. We read in Exodus 20: 8, “Remember the Lord’s Day, to keep it holy.” In his Apostolic Letter Dies Domini, On Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy, dated May 31, 1998, Pope St. John Paul II expands our understanding of Sunday as the Lord’s Day. He writes, “Today, I would strongly urge everyone to rediscover Sunday: Do not be afraid to give your time to Christ! Yes, let us open our time to Christ, that he may cast light upon it and give it direction.” As far back as I can remember, the focus on Sunday Mass was not so much on its meaning as on the obligation to attend Mass. Many have no idea that each Sunday is understood in the Church to be another celebration of Easter, in which we celebrate Christ’s victory over our sins. In other words, Sunday is a day of joy as we rejoice in His mercy, receive His transforming love in His Holy Word and in the Eucharist, and respond to Him by serving others. Without the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday, we soon forget that we have a savior, that we have been saved, or that without a savior eternal life is not possible. This commandment to “keep the Lord’s Day holy” is so that we do not put other things before the Lord. Sunday is also a day of rest. In creating the world, the Lord God rested on the seventh day, to marvel at and rejoice in all that he created. For us, Sunday is a day of rest so that we might appreciate our many blessings and be renewed in mind, body, and spirit, in order to be at the service of others. Without Sunday, we can become slaves to work, to activity, to productivity, to economic profit, and to materialism. Sunday has an important role of balancing our lives through rest. Furthermore, Pope St. John Paul II teaches us that Sunday is what he calls “a day of solidarity.” He wrote, “Sunday should also give the faithful an opportunity to devote themselves to works of mercy, charity and apostolate.” I’ve always shuddered at the admonition that we should be able to give God “one hour on Sunday” when the Lord’s Day should flow from our worship and not be limited to simply an hour at Mass. Much more than getting to Mass on Sunday, St. John Paul II teaches us that “Since Sunday is the weekly Easter, recalling and making present the day upon which Christ rose from the dead, it is also the day which reveals the meaning of time.” Unless we observe Sunday as the Lord’s Day, we risk losing an understanding of the meaning of life itself: as a preparation for the day of “the Resurrection of the body and life everlasting.” Dedicating Sundays to the Lord reminds us there is an end (eternal life) to which we must all journey in faith. Without keeping the Lord’s Day holy, we soon risk losing the meaning of life itself. I firmly believe if we live the first three Commandments well, we will thrive in the Lord and enjoy his blessings, for God is ever faithful to his word, if we are but faithful to him!