On this First Sunday of Lent, I would like to focus with you on our first reading - the reading from the Book of Genesis, which portrays for us the sin of our first parents. I would also like to show how the Blessed Virgin Mary can help us live Lent well.
Today’s reading from the Book of Genesis, brings to us the story of our first parents – Adam and Eve. They were placed in the Garden of Eden by a supremely loving Creator. As the Holy Scripture makes clear, they had enough to eat and drink, for as God said, they could freely eat of almost any fruit of the trees in the Garden. Being God’s own creation, Adam and Eve had perfect health of mind, body, and spirit. They had beautiful bodies, and were in communion with themselves and God. They were in the state of what is called “original justice,” and lived in harmony “within themselves, with creation, and with each other” (Didache Bible, Jeffrey Cole, ed., 2021, pg. 6). They had a perfect education, having knowledge infused by God’s grace. Adam and Eve had a beautiful upbringing, a magnificent “childhood,” so to speak, because they directly came from the infinitely loving hand of God, the Creator. There were no wild animals that threatened them, at least physically, and they did not have to contend with winter, snow, and cold in Paradise, they did not have to fight for survival. Our first parents had much free time to engage in beautiful pursuits, to draw pleasure from contemplating the wonder of God’s creation, to draw pleasure from their own existence, from their own being. Our first parents were never lonely, because Adam had Eve as his helper and partner, and Eve had Adam as her soulmate. Yet, in spite of all these magnificently good things that God showered upon them, they sinned. They chose to disobey basically the only commandment that God had for them, the one rule that He had set – do not eat from the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. We are paying the consequences of the sin of our first parents to this very day. This account from the Book of Genesis proves to us that it is not necessarily structures, economic systems, the access to resources, or someone’s education, upbringing, or the childhood that somebody had that cause sin. What causes sin is the stubbornly obstinate will of man, the will that chose to mistrust God even before the Fall, the will that chose to disobey God. If this was the case before the Original Sin, what are we to say now? Is there any hope for us, children of rebellious parents?
There was of course the influence of the Devil, the Tempter, the Evil One. He is a Fallen Angel, one of many fallen angels, that chose to disobey God at the beginning of creation. Satan took the form of the snake in the Garden. Since the time of the Garden of Eden, the Devil’s desire is to wipe humanity out from the face of the earth, and cause the eternal damnation of as many men and women who can be seduced. We have been born into a battle of two Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Satan. Satan is infinitely weaker than God, but he still tries to score as many victories as he can, he still tries to ensnare as many people as he can.
In the context of this struggle, we are, my brothers and sisters, entering into another Lent. It is a time of doing penance, of staying away from needless distraction, of fasting from excess food and drink. Lent is also a time of prayer and almsgiving. As we begin Lent, and our own personal penitential discipline, let us keep in mind this cosmic element, this global element, of the struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness. It is not just a matter of giving up this or that, as a personal choice, it is a matter of participating in spiritual warfare.
In spiritual warfare, we have those who are on our side. In the Book of Genesis, we read about a mysterious Woman whose offspring will crush the head of Satan. This woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, has triumphed over the Evil One. Christ has definitively won the victory over the Devil, by His Cross and Resurrection. He has done this because He was obedient to the Father’s will, and was able to resist temptations – among them the three temptations in the desert, as we heard in the Gospel. However, the Devil still strikes the heel of the Woman’s children. The Devil still imparts pain and suffering on the Church, and on humanity. We only need to look at situations of war and conflict, in Ukraine, for example, but also in other parts of the globe. As I wrote in the bulletin, I strongly recommend that each of us ask Mary, the Holy Mother of God, to accompany us in days of Lent. She can help us choose which things to give up, and which things to take up. Lent is not only about “giving up” – but also about “taking up”. We need to give up things that distract us, but also need to take up more of acts of fasting, of charity and of prayer, acts of patience for those around us, compassion for the poor, and courage in practicing our faith.
I would like to finish with a story from St. John Vianney, the holy parish priest of Ars. He met an anguished Christian, who said to him, “'Father, I fear that I will fall into temptation and perish…so many millions of angels have fallen in heaven, even Adam and Eve were vanquished in the garden!’ ‘But my friend’, said (St. John Vianney) ‘don't you know that the devil is like a chained dog, he barks and makes much noise, but he cannot bite someone who doesn't get too close. Have confidence in God, flee occasions of sin, and you won't fall. Had Eve not listened, had she run when (the snake) encouraged her to transgress God's command, she would not have succumbed. When you are tempted, reject (the thought) immediately and make the sign of the cross with devotion, think of the torments in hell, lift your eyes to heaven and you will receive the help given to those who fight. Call your good angel to come to your assistance, throw yourself into the arms of the Mother of God, you are sure to be victorious.’”(https://dailygospel.org/AM/gospel/2023-02-26, accessed on February 24, 2023).
This is a simple yet effective plan from St. John Vianney. When we are tempted – let us flee from the thought or the situation, make the sign of the cross, think of the punishments of hell, call upon the help of our Guardian Angel, and of the Blessed Mother. With these strategies, and with the hope of being victorious, we can begin our Lenten discipline.
(Fr. Paweł Ratajczak, OMI, Feb. 26, 2023)