Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Rom 8:8-9b)
“If only.”
That is the hope.
If only the Spirit of God dwells in us.
If only we allow ourselves to be filled with the Spirit rather than with our own selves.
If only we have the grace — and the courage — to turn our lives over to the Lord.
If we can do all of that, we will be spirited people.
The struggle, as we all know, is the flesh. Why? Well, because we live in our flesh. We have souls, yes, which are created in God’s own image and likeness. However, those souls are “trapped” in these bodies which live and move in a world steeped in sin.
Because of that, “the flesh” talks to us . . . and talks rather loud at times. The flesh can distract us from God and our other-worldly pursuit as it encourages us, rather, to pursue the things of this world.
We all know that this world will lead us down a path of doom.
It is only in the spirit, not in the flesh, that we can hope to reach the Kingdom of God.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to help you deal with the temptations that come your way.
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Have you gone to confession yet to prepare for Easter? In the Southlake Deanery, confessions will be heard at the following Penance Services. All times are at 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted:
Monday, April 7
Our Lady of Grace, Highland
Tuesday, April 8
Our Lady of Consolation, Merrillville
St. James, Highland
St. Thomas More, Munster
Wednesday, April 9
St. Joseph, Dyer
St. Mary, Crown Point
St. Michael, Schererville
Thursday, April 10
St. Andrew, Merrillville
St. Edward, Lowell
St. Mary, Griffith
Friday, April 11
Ss. Peter & Paul, Merrillville (1:00 p.m.)
Saturday, April 12
St. Ann, Black Oak (3:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, April 16
Holy Name, Cedar Lake
On Wednesday, April 16, we will also hear “last minute” confessions here at St. Thomas More from 6:30 p.m. until finished. After those confessions, there will be no further opportunity to go to confession until after Easter.