Day 2
The Sin of Adam and Eve
The fall of humanity and its inheritance
c. 1600s
Grace to ask for
Lord, grant me sorrow for the ways I have inherited and deepened the original wound.
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it."
Genesis 3:6
Composition of Place
Enter the garden. See it in its original beauty — human beings in harmony with God, with each other, with creation. Now see the moment of temptation. The serpent does not force anything. He only asks a question.
Points for Meditation
The temptation
The serpent does not tempt with evil things. He tempts with good things — knowledge, wisdom, being "like God." This is almost always how sin works. It rarely presents itself as destruction. It presents itself as flourishing. "You will not die. Your eyes will be opened."
The consequences
One act of disobedience — and everything changed. The harmony between man and God: broken. Between man and woman: blame and shame. Between humanity and creation: toil and pain. The effects of original sin are not a punishment arbitrarily imposed; they are the logical consequences of a human nature turned in on itself.
The wound I carry
I did not commit original sin, but I carry its wound: the intellect darkened, the will weakened, the passions disordered. I know what is right and struggle to do it. I want to love well and find myself loving poorly. This is not excuse — it is diagnosis. Before I can be healed, I need to know what is wounded.
Colloquy
Talk with Mary first. Ask her to intercede so that her Son will receive you. Then speak with Christ: ask for an interior knowledge of your sins and a horror for them — not a paralyzing guilt, but the honest grief of someone who has wounded a relationship they value and wants to repair it.
Remain in silence for a few minutes.
Do not rush to the next exercise.