"Peace and Creation" at:
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Pope Benedict XVI, Shepherd of Truth is designed as a bulletin insert
which you can use at your local church to keep up to date on what the Holy
Father is saying. You are free to reproduce it for this purpose.
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Monday, January 18, 2010
1 Samuel 15:16-23, Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23, Mark 2:18-22
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/nab/011810.shtml
SCARED OUT OF YOUR SKIN?
"No, new wine is poured into new skins." —Mark 2:22
Before we accepted Jesus as Lord, Savior, and God by His terms, we had an
old nature, an "old self" (Eph 4:22). "We lived at the level of the flesh"
(Eph 2:3); we had "old skins" (Lk 5:37), that is, an old fleshly nature.
When we accepted Jesus, we laid "aside [our] former way of life and the
old self which deteriorates through illusion and desire, and [acquired] a
fresh, spiritual way of thinking" (Eph 4:22-23). We "put on that new"
skin, the new nature in Christ (Eph 4:24).
If you try to dabble in Christianity without radically changing your life,
beware! The Holy Spirit will not only see right through you; He will
"burst" right through you (see Lk 5:37). The abundant, new wine (Jn 2:7ff)
of the Spirit "will spill out" (Lk 5:37) and you will lose what little
spiritual life you thought you had (Mt 13:12). In fact, you will lose your
taste for the things of God. You will say, " I find the old wine better"
(Lk 5:39). That is to say, you will prefer your old lifestyle of sin to
the life in the Spirit you tried to dabble in. The same principle applies
to the new wine of Jesus' eucharistic cup. If you receive the new wine of
the Eucharist unworthily, that is, with old skin, you may be drinking a
judgment on yourself (1 Cor 11:29) and might even be bringing illness upon
yourself (1 Cor 11:30).
Jesus' plan is not to just add a little flavor and richness to the old
wine; rather, His new wine is so rich and explosive that our old skins
can't begin to contain it (Mk 2:22). His plan is good; it is for our
welfare, not for our destruction (Jer 29:11). Receive your new skin today!
Receive the rich new wine of life in the Spirit.
Prayer: Father, I am totally Yours. Do with me what You will.
Promise: "Obedience is better than sacrifice." —1 Sm 15:22
Praise: Feeling herself slip back into her "old ways," Maureen went to
Confession and received a new heart for Christ.
(This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant my
permission to publish "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from
December 1, 2009 through January 31, 2010
†Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of
Cincinnati, June 4, 2009
The rescript is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be
free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have
granted ecclesial permission agree with the contents, opinions, or
statements expressed.
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