Today we meditate on the nature of the Fall and Original Sin Genesis 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil signifies the power to determine what is good and what is evil God alone has this power God created the world; he gave angelic and human persons their design. Something is good for us when it helps us fulfill our design, it is bad for us, it is evil when it frustrates our design. But we do not have the power to change our God given design, therefore we cannot determine what is good and what is evil We have Intelligence and Freedom – we must use our intelligence to learn what is good and evil and then choose But we cannot make something evil good and good evil. Even though we make something legal – that doesn’t make it good because we can’t change reality, God’s design for the world. Genesis 3:1-7 The serpent said to the woman, "Did God say, `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent… ‘God said, `You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." St John Paul II “This is truly the key for interpreting reality” The Devil seeks to destroy the Fatherhood of God by spreading a lie that sows doubt in His Goodness. The devil says: You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, determining good and evil. The implication is this: God is keeping you from happiness by his moral law. God is not a loving Father. He is a Master and you are his slaves. God told you not to eat of the Tree b/c He does not want you to become like Him. It’s God’s laws that are keeping you from Freedom and Happiness.” The devil sows doubt in the Goodness of God. We have all given in to the lie and we distrust Him In the Diary 300 of Faustina Jesus said: Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness. How many of you would be comfortable praying this prayer? My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you. My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you. My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you. No way! I’m not going to pray that and mean it – are you crazy! God will do it! He’ll take from me things I like that aren’t good for me He’ll give me things I don’t like that are good for me CCC 397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command…All subsequent sin would be: And a lack of trust in His goodness Disobedience toward God How can we grow Trust with God? Spend time with Him every day in prayer. You can’t trust someone you don’t know. You can’t get to know someone without spending time with him. Spend time with God in silence and solitude, meaning, put away the distractions. Read the Scriptures and reflect on what God is saying to you through them Then make the Resolution to remember and live out what you meditated upon in prayer We grow in trust by gratitude and thanksgiving At the beginning or end of each day, think of all the things for which you are grateful to God. These are the concrete manifestations of his love and care for you. We tend to focus on the negative but if we consciously think about all God has and is doing.