Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 11, 2023 - Saturday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 3:9-24 and Mark 8:1-10]By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for you are dirt and to dirt you shall return. [Genesis]
FEBRUARY 11, 2023 [Our Lady of Lourdes]
The consequences of disobedience are on display today. For the woman it will mean painful childbirth and domination by her husband! For the man it will mean hard labor to get food. The words that conclude the "sentence" are important. We hear them on Ash Wednesday! [I'm not sure "dirt" would be a better word liturgically than "dust!"] Another line follows that declaration: "The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living." The early church fathers, reflecting on the role of Mary in the plan of salvation, called her "the New Eve," building on St. Paul's image of Christ as the "New Adam." [1 Cor. 15:22].
Further reflection, notably by St. Augustine, resulted in the concept of "the original sin," - the sin of Adam and Eve - which we share by human inheritance - which is taken away by baptism into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The ancient wisdom of Genesis is a reminder to us of both the glory and the danger of our place as God's adopted children. We are blessed (and cursed!) with the freedom to choose between good and evil. But we are also accountable for our decisions. If nothing else, we can learn humility from it all! AMEN