TWO WAYS - One Bread, One Body, 02/12/2023

Sunday, February 12, 2023, 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
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TWO WAYS
"Instruct me." —Psalm 119:33

There are two ways of life, and God has given us freedom to make our own choice. “Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given him” (Sir 15:17). Yet He gives us every instruction needed to say “Yes” to God’s way and “No” to Satan’s way. So the Church leads us to pray with the psalmist in today’s psalm response, “Instruct me” (Ps 119:33). We need to beg the Lord for His instruction because we have been entrusted with the power to choose.

There is no neutrality in this choice. So it is important to instruct those under our spiritual care before letting them make that choice. This applies particularly to our children. The world will instruct people via Satan, and will do so loudly and with pressure. We Christians must likewise instruct these people, and do so with the loving heart of the Good Shepherd (see Mt 11:29). As you instruct, do so with love.

We have the freedom to choose our own eternal destruction. We have the freedom to choose eternal joy and to have influence in the salvation of our loved ones by our life of trust in God. The Lord declares: “I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom...Choose life” (Dt 30:15, 19).

Prayer: Father, "open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of Your law" (Ps 119:18).

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 You, risen Jesus, Wisdom of God! (1 Cor 1:30)

(This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
(For a related teaching on There's No Place Like Home-(Schooling), view, download or order our leaflet or listen to, download or order our CD 74-1 or DVD 74 on our website.)

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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 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 15, 2022"

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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CHANGING OUR ALIENATION - One Bread, One Body, 02/11/2023

Saturday, February 11, 2023, Our Lady of Lourdes

Genesis 3:9-24
Psalm 90:2-6, 12-13
Mark 8:1-10

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CHANGING OUR ALIENATION
"I hid myself." —Genesis 3:10

The seeds of the alienation and separation of man are evident in today’s first reading: alienation from God, alienation between man and woman. “The man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God” (Gn 3:8).

Man tries to find his own remedy for his fall from grace instead of going to the remedy God has offered, His Son Jesus Christ. However, we cannot reconcile ourselves to God through our own efforts; it is the Lord Who initiates the reconciling. Our part is to “let it be done to” us (Lk 1:38). “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ. It is He Who is our peace, and Who made the two of us one by breaking down the barrier of hostility that kept us apart” (Eph 2:13-14).

We are “strangers and aliens no longer” (Eph 2:19). God has sent His only begotten Son to reconcile sinful humanity to Himself (Jn 3:16). Will you accept the solution God has offered to remedy the miserable effects of sin in this world? Risen life in Jesus is far superior to even God’s original, beautiful plan for human life in the garden of Eden. Yet many respond, “We will not have this Man rule over us” (Lk 19:14).

When we give our lives to Jesus, we change from being alienated from God to being alienated from the world (Heb 11:13-14). Surrender your life to Jesus. Change your alienation.

Prayer: Father, grant me the grace to be so committed to Your Son Jesus that I may never depart from Him.

Promise: "The people in the crowd ate until they had their fill." —Mk 8:8

Praise: Glenda had a special devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. She rejoiced when her confessor assigned her to pray to her patroness.

(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 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 15, 2022"

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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You can find One Bread, One Body archives, the letter to readers, OBOB eBook edition, and an online donation form at http://www.presentationministries.com/series/obob

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HEAR YE! HEAR YE! - One Bread, One Body, 02/10/2023

Friday, February 10, 2023, St. Scholastica

Genesis 3:1-8
Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7
Mark 7:31-37

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HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
"Ephphatha!...Be opened!" —Mark 7:34

Jesus took the deaf man “off by himself away from the crowd” (Mk 7:33). Jesus moved the man away from chaos, disorder, skepticism, peer pressure, and negativity. This peace was the environment in which full healing could best be done.

So many people listen to everything but the Lord. Particularly, people listen to the voice of the evil one (Gn 3:1ff). In the present-day secular culture, the voice of evil resounds, twisting and redefining God’s good and holy order. The kingdom of darkness calls “evil good, and good evil” (Is 5:20). The secular culture opposes God and His kingdom (see Gal 5:17). When people hear this propaganda long enough, they believe it and oppose God as well.

In yesterday’s Mass readings, we read that God created marriage as a union between one man and one woman (Gn 2:21-24). The secular culture attempts to redefine marriage to twist, pervert, and oppose God’s plan. Earlier this week, the Mass readings revealed that God created man and woman (Gn 1:27) in His divine image. The secular culture, at the prompting of the evil one, twists and confuses gender identity and thus many are now deaf to their own role in God’s plan. Many are confused because they have listened to the devil rather than to God.

Let Jesus take you off by yourself with Him alone (Mk 7:33). Jesus wants to touch your ears and open them to His Good News. Block out Satan’s lies. Listen to the Lord and be healed. Let everyone who has ears hear the Lord (Mk 4:9).

Prayer: Father, make me deaf to all that opposes You. Open my ears to hear You and You alone.

Promise: "He has done everything well! He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!" —Mk 7:37

Praise: St. Scholastica founded a religious community five miles from the monastery of her brother, St. Benedict.

(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 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 15, 2022"

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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You can find One Bread, One Body archives, the letter to readers, OBOB eBook edition, and an online donation form at http://www.presentationministries.com/series/obob

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“THE BEGINNING AND THE END” (Rv 22:13) - One Bread, One Body, 02/09/2023

Thursday, February 9, 2023,

Genesis 2:18-25
Psalm 128:1-5
Mark 7:24-30

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"THE BEGINNING AND THE END" (Rv 22:13)
"The Lord God said: 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.' " —Genesis 2:18

The first spoken words in the Holy Bible from man are about the topic of marriage. Adam rejoices that he has been given his beloved wife Eve: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gn 2:23). The last time a human speaks in the Bible is likewise a word of rejoicing about a marriage: the Bride, that is, the Church, together with the Holy Spirit say, “Come!” (Rv 22:17) The bride rejoices that she and her spouse are united in marriage. The Scriptures between the beginning marriage and the ending marriage are all interconnected in the ardent love of God for mankind and the human longing for union with the Lord. The entire Bible is sandwiched between two shouts of married joy (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1602).

Human beings long for the fullness of love. Our human destiny is to be united with God forever, as God has created us to be. It is only with God that married love is full and complete, rather than restless. St. Augustine spoke of this, saying to God, “You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You” (Catechism, 30). It takes three to experience the full joy of marriage: husband, wife, and God (Catechism, 1642). “A three-ply cord is not easily broken” (Eccl 4:12).

“God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16). We humans are only able to fully love because God has first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). God wants us to have life to the full (Jn 10:10). Let the Lord love you fully and bring you into “the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rv 19:9), the Holy Mass. Each Mass is the wedding between heaven and earth (Catechism, 1329). Attend Mass as often as possible, even daily, and be wrapped in the spousal embrace of the Lord.

Prayer: Father, You chose me to be "full of love" (Eph 1:4). I love You with my whole self (Lk 10:27-28).

Promise: "Happy are you who fear the Lord!" —Ps 128:1

Praise: Jesus healed Samantha of the desire to smoke.

(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 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 15, 2022"

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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You can find One Bread, One Body archives, the letter to readers, OBOB eBook edition, and an online donation form at http://www.presentationministries.com/series/obob

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CLEANING IS AN “IN-THING” - One Bread, One Body, 02/08/2023

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 , St. Jerome Emiliani
St. Josephine Bakhita

Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17
Psalm 104:1-2, 27-30
Mark 7:14-23

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CLEANING IS AN "IN-THING"
"What emerges from within a man, that and nothing else is what makes him impure." —Mark 7:20

“All these evils come from within and render a man impure.” —Mark 7:23

The source of “acts of fornication, theft, murder, adulterous conduct, greed, maliciousness, deceit, sensuality, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, an obtuse spirit” (Mk 7:21-22) is the impurity inside us. Consequently, it is very important to be cleansed inside and to remain clean inside. This means that:

• The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of God’s most precious gifts because of its cleansing power.
• The penitential rite at the beginning of Mass is one of the more important moments of our day and life.
• To hear God’s cleansing Word daily is even more necessary than to wash daily (see Eph 5:26; Jn 15:3).
• Fasting, because of its cleansing power, should be highly valued.
• The defilement from most TV programs and what we view on our handheld electronic devices is intolerable.
• “Dirty language” and “dirty pictures” are aptly named and are worse than living in a garbage can.
• The defilement from unforgiveness must be removed immediately (see Mt 5:25).

Be clean and stay clean — deep inside — and thus be free and holy (see Jn 8:36).

Prayer: Father, whatever it takes, cleanse the temple of my heart (see Jn 2:15ff).

Promise: "The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being." —Gn 2:7

Praise: St. Jerome Emiliani dedicated his life to aiding the poor.



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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 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 15, 2022"

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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You can find One Bread, One Body archives, the letter to readers, OBOB eBook edition, and an online donation form at http://www.presentationministries.com/series/obob

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NEW CREATIONS (Part 2) - One Bread, One Body, 02/07/2023

Tuesday, February 7, 2023,

Genesis 1:20—2:4
Psalm 8:4-9
Mark 7:1-13

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NEW CREATIONS (Part 2)
"God created." —Genesis 1:27

On the threshold of Lent, we pray for a new springtime in the Spirit resulting in new creations. The Lord continues to create through His Spirit, Word, and light.

In God’s light, we see the “formless wasteland” (see Gn 1:2) of our lives. We see the need to establish God’s order, harmony, shalom. Accordingly, we begin to separate things in our life, just as God separated the light from the darkness (Gn 1:4), the waters above from the waters below (Gn 1:7), and the land from the sea (Gn 1:9). A re-ordering is necessary for re-creations and new creations. We must “come out from among them and separate [ourselves] from them” (2 Cor 6:17); that is, we must separate from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (see 1 Jn 2:16, RSV-CE). We must separate from the ways of the world, for Jesus has chosen us out of the world (Jn 15:19). In the darkness of the world, the growth of God’s creations is stifled.

Additionally, for God to create anew in our lives, we must “be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gn 1:28). We must bear fruit for God’s kingdom by sharing our faith and leading others to new life in Christ. If we don’t co-create with God by sowing the seed of God’s Word, then we don’t want and don’t receive God’s new creations that much.

This Lent, be separated from the world and fruitful in the Spirit. Be newly created and creative.

Prayer: Father, create in me a creative spirit.

Promise: "God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them." —Gn 1:27

Praise: Fr. Charles developed a free Bible school so everyone could train in holiness.

(We offer a retreat for lay people Feb. 17-18 in the Cincinnati area, Discovering the Essential Role of the Lay Person in God's Plan of Salvation. The Church and the world need us to do our part to bring about the Kingdom of God. Call 937-587-5464, 513-373-2397 or e-mail retreats@presentationministries.com.)

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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 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 15, 2022"

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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You can find One Bread, One Body archives, the letter to readers, OBOB eBook edition, and an online donation form at http://www.presentationministries.com/series/obob

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NEW CREATIONS (Part 1) - One Bread, One Body, 02/06/2023

Monday, February 6, 2023, St. Paul Miki & Companions

Genesis 1:1-19
Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35
Mark 6:53-56

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NEW CREATIONS (Part 1)
"God created the heavens and the earth." —Genesis 1:1

Do you want God to create something new in your life? Do you want Him to create friendship, freedom, ministry, a job, peace, or hope? God creates the same today as He did yesterday (see Heb 13:8).

He begins creation with the mighty wind of the Spirit sweeping over the waters (Gn 1:2). If you want new creations, stir into flame the gift of the Spirit in your life (2 Tm 1:6-7).

The next movement of creation is God’s Word. God spoke and it was made (see Gn 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26). Nothing was created except through God’s Word (Jn 1:3; cf Heb 11:3), “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made” (Ps 33:6). If you’re not even trying to know God’s Word through His Church and her Bible, don’t be surprised if God isn’t creating much in your life.

The first thing God created was light (Gn 1:3). Just as plants need light for the creation of foliage and fruit, so we need God’s light for our lives to become beautiful, fruitful gardens. Renew your Baptism, in which you first received the light of Christ. Then the created and creative light will shine even more brightly.

The Spirit, the Word, and the light are the first three movements of God’s new creations in your life. (See tomorrow’s teaching for more.)

Prayer: Father, "a clean heart create for me" (Ps 51:12).

Promise: "All who touched Him got well." —Mk 6:56

Praise: St. Paul Miki & Companions resisted ungodliness, trusted God completely, and were privileged to die as martyrs.

(For a related teaching on Lent and the Renewal of Our Baptismal Promises, view, download or order our leaflet or listen to, download or order our CD 83-1, CD 83-3, CD 84-1 and CD 84-3 or our DVD 83 and DVD 84 on our website.)

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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 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 15, 2022"

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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You can find One Bread, One Body archives, the letter to readers, OBOB eBook edition, and an online donation form at http://www.presentationministries.com/series/obob

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