The Works of the Flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit

I am turning a new leaf in 2017! After many years of reading through the entire bible each year (the Protestant's 66 books only) I am going to study in greater detail one New Testament Book every 2 weeks - which will take 54 weeks! My Scriptural Gleaning blog will highlight what I have learned each week.

To begin, I read the Introduction to the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. I was reminded of the meaning of Inspiration and Inerrancy of Holy Scripture, Biblical Authority and Criteria for Biblical Interpretation. But most important of all, I was reminded,
"Unless I am living a sustained and disciplined life of prayer, I will never have the reverence, the profound humility, or the grace I need to see the Scriptures for what they really are. I am approaching the "word of God". But for thousands of years, since before God knit me in my mother's womb, the Word of God has been approaching me!"

I base my study on the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible - Second Edition Revised Standard Version. The first book I am going to study is the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians. I received this study guide as my Christmas present from my daughters a few weeks ago. Already there are almost as many highlighted text as there are not highlighted! It's going to be a great year for studying God's word!

Biblegateway.com has the online New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE). It makes it easy to copy and paste the text into my blog. I have picked "The Works of the Flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit" as the title of this post because the first thing that strikes me about the Book of Galatians is contrasts.
"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. " (Galatians 5:19-23)

The other contrasts I found:
Gospel of Christ or Not Gospel at all
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!" (Galatians 1:6-9)
Circumcised or Uncircumcised; Bondage or Freedom; Law or Faith (Galatians 2 and the rest of the book)

Going back to Galatians 5:19-23 when I looked at the list of 15+ sins my heart sank! That list pretty much described me! Well maybe I have just a little bit of each, some more so than others, and mostly in my mind and heart and not in actual action. I also noted that these are grave (mortal) sins for they can send me to hell (see also Romans 8:12-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Ephesians 5:5)! "The sins of the flesh include more than just sins of the body. They consist of every act of immorality and injustice  that stems from a disordered love of the world (James 4:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17). These grave sins sever offenders from Christ (Galatians 5:4) and will block their entrance into heaven if repentance is neglected (CCC 1470, 1855)." (Commentary and CCC=Catechism of the Catholic Church).

By contrast, if I confess my sins regularly, recommit my life to Christ and live constantly in the Spirit, the list of 9 virtues will grow and bear fruit! "The indwelling of the Spirit produces holiness in the lives of believers (Matthew 12:33; John 15:1-6). The first fruit of this divine presence is love, the source of all that is good and the virtue upon which others are built (Romans 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:22). It may be significant that Paul says, "fruit" (singular) instead of "fruits" (plural), suggesting that life in the Spirit is integrated and whole, not fragmented or divided (CCC 736, 1695, 1832)." (Commentary)

So how do I "crucify the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24)? "Baptism unites believers with the saving death of Jesus... we die to our former way of life through the Spirit, who gives us new strength to master our passions and selfish desires (Romans 7:21-8:2; CCC 2543, 2848)" (Commentary) For me uniting with the saving death of Jesus means regular confession and partaking the Eucharist. I can't do this on my own. I receive sacramental grace each time I go to confession and attend Mass to feed on Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Since retirement I have been able to attend Mass 3-4 times a week. I have been very blessed! I look forward to 2017 to see what God has in store for me.