Whatever we may say about the problem of Adam, in some primordial sense he prefigured the priesthood of Christ as mediator between God and all the living. Because of his pastoral failure, therefore, Adam’s sin was the more abhorrent. Undeniably Eve inflicted a grievous wound to humanity. Adam, however, struck humanity’s death blow. His action was catastrophic, fatal and impossible to overcome.
Every human being from the age of reason upward has some intuition of death, if for no other reason than the experience of sin. Sin is death’s shill. I well know my human nature left to itself is mortally flawed, predisposing me to commit evil against God, myself and others.
When I sin, I invariably dismiss as irrelevant my bias toward self-interest. Moreover, I instinctively (1) appeal to some good to whitewash my sins, and worse, I grant myself immunity because I classify my sins as negligible when compared to grave moral and material crimes like, well . . . torture and genocide. I want to frolic and play with sins as if I were a child toying with fire until the day of catastrophe.
When will I stop hemorrhaging invaluable time and energy to legitimize my sins? How much longer will I shun the light and easy yoke [cf. Mt 11:30] of the Lord’s own sacrament? So many medications, injections, treatments, therapies, spas and gyms for the sake of mortal flesh that is as good as dead . . . and nothing, nothing for my immortal soul that languishes like a prisoner within! And who is my enemy? The Lord’s sacrament? The Lord’s priest? The kneeler? Or is the enemy myself! “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” [Rom 7:24]
A habit of informed restraint contributes to the orderly lives of all men and women of good will. Unless it takes on a supernatural character and becomes a virtue, however, it remains ultimately palliative. Nothing less than the restorative is needed for the bewildered exhausted soul in the face of evil’s implacable assault. My soul needs a decisive intervention, a rescue as it were from a house on fire. It needs a trustworthy remedy if it’s going to be restored to full health. How can my soul take supernatural nourishment? What is the leaven that will make my soul rise?
To break the increasing power of sin and death strangling me in this present life, I must bend the knee [cf. Phi 2:10] before Jesus Christ, call on his name and receive the Spirit of Life. I must drink of the divine grace poured out for me by the Most Holy Trinity. I must take as my food the will of God. I must cooperate with the Divine Physician whom he sent to accomplish his Father’s works. [cf. Jn 4:34] Unless I change my thinking and my life for the better, my hope has no proper object.
I’ve heard that some persons lack the gift of faith. I’m not sure what this means but surmise that it refers to a soul who withholds faith, a soul for whom assent to God is perceived as a threat to both one’s identity and humanity. Some apprehension is understandable at the beginning of one’s journey to God. Does surrender to God mean I forfeit who I am? Will I lose my friends? Who might control me? What do I have to reveal? and so forth. Whom or what will I trust?
