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From war movies to westerns to science-fiction films and even romantic comedies, countless films focus on the theme of good guys versus bad guys. Perhaps this is how St. Paul was thinking when he wrote his Letter to the Romans. Especially in Chapter 8 of the letter, Paul sets out a good guy/bad guy scenario.
The good guy is the person who lives “in the Spirit,” while the bad guy is the one who lives “in the flesh.” According to Paul, we will act one way if we are living in the Spirit, and we will act differently if we are living in the flesh. The first way leads to godliness, and the second way leads to sin.
Every day we are brought face-to-face with this battle between good and bad—or, as Paul says, between spirit and flesh. In a very particular way, this battle comes to the forefront in Lent. The call to fasting, prayer, and almsgiving challenges us to “master our sinfulness and conquer our pride” (Lenten Preface III), and we must choose how to respond. And as Lent progresses, we realize that the real battleground is not our bodies—what kinds of…
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