“I FIRMLY RESOLVE” - One Bread, One Body, 03/12/2022

Saturday, March 12, 2022,

Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
Matthew 5:43-48
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"I FIRMLY RESOLVE"
"Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping Your statutes!" —Psalm 119:5

Is your Ash Wednesday Lenten resolve still firm or are temptations wearing down your self-denial? Our weak flesh is vulnerable to the relentless pressures of temptation. We desire to do what is right, but we don’t have the power (see Rm 7:18). Our old, sinful nature rebels against our new, redeemed nature. There’s a civil war raging inside us (see Jas 4:1). What wretches we are! (Rm 7:24) “Who can free” us? (Rm 7:24)

Jesus has set us free (Jn 8:36). He freed us for lifelong liberty (Gal 5:1). He shattered the bonds of sin that held us bound, and gave us new life and risen power (Col 2:13-14). Praise Jesus!

Yet we still live in human bodies and are weak flesh. We live a risen life (Col 3:1), yet we are subject to temptation, just as Jesus was (Mt 4:1ff; Heb 4:15). With the psalmist, we pray to be firm in resisting temptation (Ps 119:5, 11). We must ask Jesus to “increase our faith” (Lk 17:5), for unless our faith is firm, we will not be firm (Is 7:9).

Jesus “is able to help those who are tempted” (Heb 2:18). Ask Him to immerse you in the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37-39), Who fights against the temptations of the flesh (Gal 5:17). “My point is that you should live in accord with the Spirit and you will not yield to the cravings of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). “So stand firm, and do not take on yourselves the yoke of slavery a second time!” (Gal 5:1)

Prayer: Father, "I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more, and to avoid the near occasion of sin."

Promise: "You will be a people sacred to the Lord, your God, as He promised." —Dt 26:19

Praise: While job hunting, Peter turned down job offers that would have presented temptations to him.

(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 the "Nihil Obstat" ("Permission to Publish") for "One Bread, One Body."

"In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from February 01/2022 through March 31, 2022 Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 16, 2021"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") 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 the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

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