The simplest sin against the First Commandment is the rejection of God. Ultimately, this is a sin of pride that finds its roots in humanity's first struggle to accept God's dominion over us. We are often tempted to put ourselves in God's place. Sins of superstition and sacrilege are also directly opposed to true worship of God. In superstition one seriously attributes to created persons or things powers to shape events or to foresee the future that are proper to God alone.
Sacrilege is a mistreatment of what is sacred, of persons or things consecrated to divine worship.
An especially serious sin is the sacrilegious reception of sacraments, approaching those sacraments that signify and require love of God in one's heart, such as in the Eucharist, confirmation, orders or matrimony, when one has committed grave sin and has not repented. The First Commandment teaches us that God is not only our beginning but also our final and lasting goal, for God moves and stirs the deepest longings and aspirations in each of us. When we live according to the commandments, we return our love to God in a way that manifests the sincerity in our hearts. All rights reserved. See Terms and Conditions of Use for details.