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We talked about how God created us for GOOD, for FRIENDSHIP
God created us Male and Female
God created us Body and Soul
Yesterday we talked about The Fall
God is INFINITELY GOOD
ALL His works are GOOD
AND YET…
We have REJECTED Him
That is the HEART of sin
We have to recognize the PROFOUND relationship between God and Man
We are MADE FOR RELATIONSHIP
We are made for GOD
God made us so we can SHARE IN HIS GLORY
God made us so we can SHARE IN HIS LOVE
BUT…
God also made us FREE
Because of that we have the capacity to REJECT GOD
So the price of Original Sin is DEATH
We will talk about consequences more in the coming days as well as Original Sin
Even before Original Sin, there was the Fall of the Angels
God made the angels GOOD
In creating the spiritual reality of everything, God created angels
We talked about them before
Angel refers to their MISSION, which is being a MESSENGER
Their NATURE is spirit
BUT…
At one point these creatures that God made GOOD and made to share in His life, REJECTED HIM
Paragraph 392 says, “Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. This ‘fall’ consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign.”
Angels are POWERFUL
BUT…
THEY ARE NOT OMNISCIENT
THEY ARE NOT OMNIPOTENT
So they know things
BUT…
THEY DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING!!
They are powerful
BUT…
THEY ARE NOT ALL-POWERFUL
THEY ARE STILL CREATURES!!
Sometimes we have the image of Jesus and Satan going toe-to-toe (It’s The Blessed Virgin Mary who goes toe-to-toe with Satan 😀)
THAT IS NOT THE REALITY!!
Jesus is FULLY GOD and FULLY MAN
The Trinity does not ever go up against Satan
NOT EVEN CLOSE!!
Satan is LIMITED in his power
Satan is LIMITED in his knowledge
Satan is LIMITED in his ability to influence
GOD IS ALL-POWERFUL!!
GOD IS UNLIMITED!!
So it is NEVER God vs. Satan
Satan who has fully rejected God and HATES all that God loves
Which includes you and me
These fallen angels rejected the Lord
We don’t know exactly why
Paragraph 392 says that there is an indication that the reason why the fallen angels rejected God is implicit in their temptation to Adam and Eve in Genesis Ch 3, “You will be like God.”
We have a theory that the reason Satan rejected God is out of PRIDE
Satan said, “I WILL NOT SERVE!!”
BETTER TO REIGN IN HELL THAN TO SERVE IN HEAVEN!!
That kind of thing
There is an IRREVOCABLE CHARACTER to the fallen angels’ choice
THEY CANNOT REPENT!!
There is no possibility for them to repent
Just like after death, WE CANNOT REPENT
WE GET WHAT WE HAVE CHOSEN
Satan has gotten what he has CHOSEN
God remains GOOD even when we REJECT Him
God remains GOOD even when Satan and the fallen angels reject Him
Talking about some of these realities of darkness, sin, and Satan, it is worth it to know that there is also the REALITY OF GRACE
THE REALITY OF REDEMPTION
GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED US
WE ARE NOT ALONE AS WE FACE THE ONSLAUGHT OF THE EVIL ONE!!
GOD IS WITH US!!
So we pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we know that you are with us. We declare your faithfulness. We declare our trust in your goodness. And we ask for your protection. We ask for your protection against the wiles of the Evil One, against the snares of the Devil. We ask for your protection against all of his lies that can sneak in past our defenses. Lord God, we ask you to please be our guard. You be our shade against his onslaught. Because you are the one who has conquered Satan. You have conquered death. You have conquered evil by taking death upon yourself and by allowing it to overwhelm you. You have raised it up. You have been raised up. You redeemed us. So we know that we trust in you. And we fear nothing. While you are at our side, we fear nothing. We declare this and ask you to be with us in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”
JEEPERS CREEPERS!! (WHERE’D YOU GET THOSE PEEPERS??? 😉)
It is important to note this
Paragraph 391 says, “Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy.”
We mentioned PRIDE before
“You will be like God.”
“Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”
There are all these theories
What was the real motivating factor that caused Satan to reject God?
ENVY
Genesis 3:1-5 and Wisdom 2:24 speaks of the ENVY of the devil
Wisdom 2:24, “But through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.” (RSV-2CE The Great Adventure Bible 😉)
There was some kind of ENVY there
One of the theories is that God had revealed to the angels His plan to create human beings
Human beings are spirit, like angels, AND flesh
Angels are PURE SPIRIT
So a SPIRITUAL being who is also MATERIAL being
God also maybe revealed that He would become ONE OF US
In becoming one of us, God would raise human beings EVEN HIGHER THAN THE ANGELS in the divine realm
Because of this, Satan rebelled out of ENVY
Paragraph 391 says, “Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God…The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God.”
God doesn’t create ANYTHING that is bad
But God did create the angels to be FREE
Just like God created all human beings to be FREE
It was through that freedom that we either choose to LOVE God or choose to REJECT God
Satan CHOSE to reject God
There is a whole host upon host who have chosen to LOVE and SERVE God
BUT…
Paragraph 392 says, “This ‘fall’ consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign.”
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!
Paragraph 1022 says, “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately-or immediate and everlasting damnation.”
YOU GET WHAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH!!
At the moment of death, our choice is IRREVOCABLE
WE GET WHAT WE HAVE CHOSEN!!
Some people ask is we should pray for the Devil
The impulse is understandable
BUT THERE IS NO USE IN PRAYING FOR THE DEVIL!!
He has made an IRREVOCABLE CHOICE
IT IS UNCHANGING!!
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!
Paragraph 393 says, “It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels’ sin unforgivable.”
It is NOT that God doesn’t have the mercy to do this
It is that the angels DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS
THAT IS SO VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND!!
Out of compassion, we are willing to excuse many many things
AND YET.,.
(SQUIRREL!! 😉)
We have talked about there is no depth to which Jesus will not go and has not gone to redeem us
Jesus has allowed suffering and death to overwhelm Him
He descended to the abode of the dead
There is no depth to which Jesus will not go to win us back
BUT…
Jesus will not FORCE us to come back
That’s one thing He WILL NOT DO
HE HAS NOT DONE
HE WON’T DO
He won’t force us to come back
Just like He won’t force the angels to come back
So it is not a deficit in His mercy that He WILL NOT FORCE US back into His presence
It IS His Mercy…
It IS His Love…
It IS His Justice…
That REFUSES to force us
Just like it is His Mercy, Love, and Justice that refuses to force the angels back into His presence
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND!!
God has done EVERYTHING He possibly can do and will do
God continues to call US
God continues to pour out His grace upon US
AND YET…
God will NOT take away our FREEDOM
God will NOT take away the freedom of the Enemy
God will NOT take away the freedom of the Evil One
Paragraph 395 highlights something important
We can often be afraid of the Devil
It isn’t healthy respect
But you wouldn’t go down a dark alley if there was someone there bent on your destruction
You would be afraid of them
That would be fear that would keep you out of trouble
1 Peter 5:8-9, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world.” (RSV-2CE The Great Adventure Bible)
St. Peter doesn’t say FEAR HIM
BUT…
Don’t go looking for a fight with Satan!
So we have a HEALTHY FEAR
Paragraph 395 says, “The power of Satan, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God’s reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his Kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries-of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature-to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity.”
Why wouldn’t God just stop the Devil?
Why does it all have to even exist anymore?
Why couldn’t God just say, “I don’t want you to exist. You rejected me. You rebelled against me. So you’re simply just going to cease to exist.”
Why doesn’t God do THAT?
The Catechism and the Church says, “It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity.”
Why providence?
Why should God still allow the Devil to influence us or injure us at times?
WE DO NOT KNOW!!
Maybe it’s something along these lines…
Romans 8:28, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him…” (RSV-2CE The Great Adventure Bible)
IN EVERYTHING!!
So God can even take this EVIL REALITY…
THIS EVIL PRESENCE…
THESE EVIL BEINGS, FALLEN ANGELS…
In our fight and their attack against us and He can do something GREAT in that
Maybe God can strengthen us in a way that God alone knows
Maybe God can purify us in a way that God alone knows
Maybe the existence and diabolical activity purifies us and keeps us humble in a way that God alone knows
WE DO NOT KNOW!!
BUT…
We DO know that it is a MYSTERY
We DO know that it EXISTS
We DO know that it in no way limits God’s PROVIDENCE
We DO know that it in no way limits God’s LOVE
We walk through a dangerous world with these beings
Other human beings that may want to hurt us or use us
And these SPIRITUAL BEINGS that want to hurt us and manipulate us and get us to REJECT THE GOOD
They want to get us to REJECT the One who LOVES US
THAT IS WHY WE RESIST!!
THE DEVIL IS A LIAR AND A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING!!
WE HAVE TO RESIST THAT LIE!!
WE HAVE TO FIGHT AGAINST HIS MURDEROUS HEART!!
WE HAVE TO LEAN INTO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS!!
WE HAVE TO LEAN INTO THE LOVING HEART OF GOD!!
WE HAVE TO BE ON GUARD!!
It is one thing to know about the fall of other creatures
It is another thing to OURSELVES FALL INTO SIN
OUT OF REBELLION
OUT OF REJECTION
OUT OF ENVY
OUT OF PRIDE
That’s what we will learn about tomorrow
FREEDOM PUT TO THE TEST
MAN’S FIRST SIN
Today we say, “Ok God, in your Providence guide me. Continue with strength and gentleness. Guide me, the lives of the people I love, my family members, all the people listening to the Catechism in a Year, this whole community.”
KEEP PRESSING PLAY!!
You’re learning something!!
You may not think you remember anything
BUT YOU DO!!
If someone were to ask you, you would REMEMBER
You would KNOW these things
They are slowly getting into your mind
In getting into your MIND they are getting into your HEART
This is all about TRANSFORMATION not just INFORMATION
This is all about CONVERSION not just more DATA
We don’t want to just know new things
We want to be able to live that new life in Jesus
WE NEED GOD’S GRACE FOR THAT!!
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
Scripture References & Reflections
- compiled by Andrew Adamany
Bible Translation - RSVCE
CCC 391 "Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy…"
Genesis 3:1–5
"Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but 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.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Wisdom of Solomon 2:23–24
"for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,
24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his party experience it."
Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil". The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing."
Revelation 12:7–9
"Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."
CCC 392 "Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels…"
2 Peter 2:4
"For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment"
This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: "You will be like God."...
Genesis 3:4–5
"But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
"The devil "has sinned from the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies".
1 John 3:8
"He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."
John 8:42–44
"Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
CCC 393 "It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels' sin unforgivable. "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death."
Isaiah 14:12–20
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the Pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you,
and ponder over you:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
17who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
who did not let his prisoners go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;
19 but you are cast out, away from your sepulchre,
like a loathed untimely birth,
clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,
who go down to the stones of the Pit,
like a dead body trodden under foot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
because you have destroyed your land,
you have slain your people.
“May the descendants of evildoers
nevermore be named!"
CCC 394 "Scripture witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls "a murderer from the beginning", who would even try to divert Jesus from the mission received from his Father. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." In its consequences the gravest of these works was the mendacious seduction that led man to disobey God."
Matthew 4:1–11
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will give his angels charge of you,’
and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! for it is written,
‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him."
1 John 3:8
"He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."
CCC 395 "The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries - of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but "we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him."
Romans 8:28–30
"We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified."
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