Today is the 14th Sunday after Pentecost. We hear about all of sins of the flesh, self-pleasure, and how to avoid them in this world, since we are attacked every day by the enemy, Satan and his minions. Now, to the readings for today. I'm going to focus on what St. Paul writes to the Galatians. He talks about mortifying his flesh, in order to appease God, Who has rescued him.
(Gal. V. 16-24.) Brethren, Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh: for the flesh lusteth against ,the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are, fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I foretell to you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences.
As our Abbot Gueranger says:
'Flesh and blood have had no share in their divine birth; flesh and blood have no hand in their regenerated life. Their first birth being in the flesh, they were flesh, and did the works of death and ignominy mentioned in the Epistle, showing at every turn that they were from slime of earth; but, born of the Spirit, they are spirit, and do the works of the spirit, in spite of the flesh which is always part of their being. For, by giving them of His own life, the Spirit has emancipated them, by the power of love, from the tyranny of sin, which held dominion over their members; and, having been grafted on Christ, they bring forth fruit unto God.'
Man, therefore, who was once a slave to concupiscence, has regained on the on the Cross of Christ that equilibrium of his existence which is true liberty. The supremacy, which the soul had forfeited in punishment for her revolt against God, has been restored to her by the laver of the water of Baptism...He too demands atonement...For this purpose He mercifully takes man, now that he is enfranchised, and confides to him the task of sharing with His divine Majesty in taking revenge on their common enemy and usurper. Then again, this mortifying the flesh and keeping it in subjection is a necessary means for retaining the good position already obtained. It is true that the rebel has been made incapable of damaging those who are in Christ Jesus, and who walk not according to the flesh and its vile suggestions; but it is equally true that the rebel is rebel still, and is ever watching for opportunities to assail the spirit. If one were Antony in the desert, the flesh would be fierce in its assaults even there. If the saint were a Paul, just fresh from the third heaven of his sublime revelations, the flesh would have impudence enough to buffet even him. So that, had we no past sins to atone for, the commonest prudence would urge us to take severe measures of precaution against an enemy who is so fearfully untiring in his hatred of us, and, what is worse, lives always in our own home. St. Paul, of whom we were just speaking, says of himself: "I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest, perhaps...I should become reprobate!"
So, if Paul still had to fight these tendencies even after what he went through, we too need to rein in our urges in order to appease God, Who will judge us according to our lives.
Our Lord Himself pretty much says the same in the Gospel from St. Matthew.
(Matt. VI. 24-33.) At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will sustain the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat, and the body more than the raiment? Behold the birds of the air; for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you, by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? And for raiment, why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they labor not, neither do they spin; but I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. Now, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which is to-day, and to morrow is cast into the oven, how much more you, O ye of little faith? Be not solicitous, therefore, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that .you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and his justice; and all these things shall be added unto you."
God and Mammon or riches, whereby also, the other goods and pleasures of the world are understood. These we cannot serve at the same time, because they command things diametrically opposed to each other; for instance, God prohibits usury, theft, deceit, etc.; to which the desire for wealth impels us. God commands that we keep holy Sundays and holy days, and devote them to His service; the desire for riches tempts man to omit religious worship and to seek temporal gain; it disturbs him even in church, so that he is only present with his body, but absent in mind with his temporal goods and business.
How important, therefore, is it that we reflect earnestly upon the words of Christ: "No one can serve two masters." "He who is not with Me is against Me;" "He who gathereth not with Me, scattereth."
In the service of the Lord, and it should encourage us in the divine service. "I myself," says the Lord, "will be thy great reward." "Thou hast made us kings, that we might reign eternally," so rejoice the saints in heaven, as St. John affirms.
PRAYER. O Lord Jesus! give me a firm confidence in Thy Divine Providence, and increase it daily in me, that I may confidently believe in all my concerns, that if I above all seek the kingdom of God and His justice, the rest shall be added unto me.
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