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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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Sunday, February 13, 2011, 6th Sunday Ordinary Time
Sirach 15:15-20, 1 Corinthians 2:6-10, Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34, Matthew 5:17-37
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/nab/021311.shtml
LIVING THE IMPOSSIBLE
"I tell you, unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God." -Matthew 5:20
Jesus has higher standards than anyone who has ever lived. He has the highest standards for harmony in relationships (Mt 5:22), purity in sexuality (Mt 5:28), faithfulness in marriage (Mt 5:32), truth in speech (Mt 5:34), and love for enemies (Mt 5:39, 44). In Jesus, we don't just control our tempers but crucify them (Gal 5:24). Jesus commands us to destroy our bodies rather than look lustfully at someone else's body, and to divorce ourselves from unforgiveness and sin rather than from our spouses. Jesus commands us to express the truth rather than express our own agenda. We are to treat our enemies even better than we treat our friends (see Lk 15:20ff).
Jesus' standards are intentionally impossible. Humanly speaking, we cannot meet these standards, no matter how hard we try. To do so, we would have to be born over again into new creatures. Jesus is not into self-improvement, but self-denial. We're not concerned with behavior modification but rebirth. We don't try to educate our old nature but drown it in the waters of baptism. We're not trying to make ourselves better, but to let Him make us new.
Prayer: Father, by Your grace may I live the impossible and prove that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6).
Promise: "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him." -1 Cor 2:9
Praise: Praise Jesus, Whose impossible love has set us free!
(For a related teaching, order our leaflet "Be Holy, for I Am Holy".)
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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 February 1, 2011 through March 31, 2011
?Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July27, 2010
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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