Genesis 3

Genesis 3:1

CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS

[Genesis 3, 1 to 5, 24. Apoc. 20 1-2. Jude. 5 ff]

BESIDES the visible world, God also created an invisible world, namely, innumerable spirits, called angels. They all came forth from the hand of God good¹ and holy, being endowed with excellent gifts² of nature and grace, whereby they might persevere in that state and thus obtain everlasting happiness in union with God. But they did not all continue in that state, for, being possessed of free will, a great many of them abused it, lost the grace of God, and became wicked. They rebelled against God—Lucifer, their leader, saying: “We shall be like unto

¹ Good. They loved and wished for only what was good, and pleased God.

² Gifts. God has endowed them with such pre-eminent gifts that they are superior to all other created beings. Their chief gifts are sublime understanding, great strength, and, above all, sanctifying grace.

— II. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS.

the Most High; we will place our throne above the stars.” Then there was a great strife in heaven. Michael¹ and the other angels who had remained faithful to God, fought against the bad and rebellious spirits, whose chief is now called Satan, or the devil. The bad angels were conquered, and cast from heaven down to hell. The angels who remained faithful² were rewarded with everlasting happiness³. They ever see the face of God in heaven.

COMMENTARY.

The angelic nature, and the infinite perfections of God. The angels are spirits; God is also a Spirit, but there is an infinite difference between Almighty God and the highest angel. The angels have a sublime understanding, great wisdom, and much knowledge, but their understanding, wisdom, and knowledge are finite. Their wills are holy, and are much more powerful than ours, but they are not infinitely holy, nor are the angels almighty. They have received all their great qualities from God. He alone has His perfections of Himself, and from all eternity: the angels were created by God in the beginning of time, and received everything from Him. The angels are, indeed, wondrously perfect, but they are not infinitely perfect. Their perfections have a limit, a measure, a number. God’s perfections, on the other hand, are infinitely great, without limit, measure, or number.

The office of the Angels. Like everything else the angels were created for the honour and glory of God. They love and praise God, and fulfil His holy will without ceasing. Hence the meaning of the words in the Our Father: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The name of angel signifies messenger or envoy; this name is given to the good spirits, because God sends them to take care of men and make known to them His will. The angels, being pure spirits, cannot be seen with our bodily eyes, but if it is God’s will that men should see and hear them, when they are sent as messengers from Him, they are able to assume a human form. Take, for example, the holy archangel Gabriel who appeared to Zachary and to our Lady.

Pictures of Angels. You have often seen pictures of the holy angels. They are often represented as boys with wings and playing

¹ Michael. An archangel, and the leader of the good angels. ² Faithful. i. e. to the Lord God.

³ Everlasting happiness. The angels had been happy from the beginning, but their happiness was not yet final and complete, because it could be lost. As we have seen, it was lost by the bad angels. But after the good angels had proved steadfast, and had overthrown the bad angels, they received as a reward the supernatural and eternal happiness of heaven, which they could never again lose.

— II. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS.

on harps; or again, the holy archangel Gabriel is represented as a youth with wings, holding a lily in his hand, and with a glory round his head. Why should they be drawn like that? They are represented as boys or youths, because they never grow old, but are everlastingly young, and are immortal. The wings signify that the angels are swift as thought, and fulfil God’s commands quickly and willingly. The harps are to remind us that the angels ceaselessly sing God’s praises. The lily signifies their purity, and the glory, their heavenly splendour. Very often angels are pictured as children’s heads without bodies, to signify that they have understanding and free-will, but that they are spirits without bodies.

God is good. Of His love God created the angels, and loaded them with natural and supernatural gifts.

God is just. God’s justice is manifested by the punishment of the bad angels and the reward of the good. How did God punish the bad angels? For how long must they remain in hell? For ever and ever! They must suffer everlasting torments! They are rejected by God and are banished from Him for ever and ever! They hardened themselves against Him, therefore repentance was impossible. “God spared not the angels that sinned: but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments to be reserved unto judgment” (2 Pet. 2, 4).

The evil of mortal sin. God punishes us according to our deserts: He never punishes us too severely. If, therefore, He condemned the fallen angels to the eternal torments of hell, we can see what a terrible evil sin is in His sight. One single mortal sin deserves everlasting punishment.

The consequences of sin. Just think what befell the angels through sin! Before their fall they were the friends and beloved of God, most beautiful, most holy, full of the love of what is good, and rich in their happiness and glory. But since their fall they have been enemies of God, horrible, hideous, and eternally miserable devils! Who, after contemplating this ruin caused by sin, could possibly think that sin, and especially mortal sin, is a trifle which God will not deal with severely? No! mortal sin, far from being a trifle, is the greatest of all evils. It changed angels into devils, and cast them into hell!

Pride. What was the cause of the fallen angels’ disobedience? Instead of giving glory to God, from whom they had received all things, they became proud of their great gifts, and, with their leader, said: “We will ascend above the heights of the clouds, we will be like the Most High” (Is. 14, 14). Therefore, Holy Scripture says: “Pride is the beginning of all sin” (Ecclus. 10, 15).

Happiness of the Angels. Almighty God richly rewarded those angels who remained faithful. They gaze upon Him face to face, they

— II. CREATION AND FALL OF THE ANGELS.

rejoice unceasingly in His infinite beauty and majesty, and are thereby made inexpressibly happy. They have lived in this state of rapture for thousands of years, and will do so for all eternity. It is thus that God rewards those who are faithful to Him, and overcome evil.

The number of the Angels created by God is inconceivably great. The prophet Daniel saw them in spirit, and wrote thus: “Thousands of thousands ministered to Him (i. e. to God), and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him” (Dan. 7, 10). The prophet means by these words that the angels cannot be counted. And as the stars in heaven vary in size and splendour, so are there differences of degree among the holy angels. They are divided into nine choirs, according to each one’s degree of wisdom, power and glory. These are, beginning with the lowest: Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim.

Probation of the Angels. The angels are by their nature like to God, being highly gifted and pure spirits. To these natural gifts God added the supernatural gift of sanctifying grace, by means of which they became sons of God, thoroughly holy, and wonderfully beautiful. Their state was, even at first, one of great happiness; but by faithfulness in the service of God they were capable of winning for themselves an eternal happiness in the beatific vision of God. God will not have any forced service; so He gave to the angels the gift of free-will, by which they were at liberty to choose between good and evil, and could freely side either with God or against Him. When the decisive moment came, a portion of the angels made a bad use of their freedom, rebelled against God, lost sanctifying grace, and were cast into hell, their wills having become perverted and bad. But the good angels, who stood the test, were admitted into the immediate presence of God, and were confirmed for ever in supernatural happiness.

APPLICATION. God is just and punishes sin. How is it, then, that you think so little of sinning and offending God? You are still young, but you have committed many sins, and have deserved punishment at God’s hands. Repent, therefore, of your sins, ask pardon of God, and never say again to yourself: “It is only a trifle!” It never could be a trifle to intentionally offend the great, holy and just God! Resolve, then, most firmly never again to sin wilfully. If you are ever tempted to commit a mortal sin, think of the fallen angels and their eternal torment. Die rather than commit a mortal sin! Fear the just God, and keep His commandments faithfully.

The fall of the bad angels should be a warning to you, and the faithfulness of the good angels should be an encouragement to you. If you are disobedient to God, and do not observe His laws, and if you think lightly of sin, you will some day join the

— III. ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE.

lost spirits in hell. But if you are faithful in the service of God, and guard against sin as much as you can, you will some day join the angels in their everlasting happiness. Which of the two have you imitated hitherto, the good or the bad angels?

Above all things guard against pride; it is, as Holy Scripture says, hateful before God and men (Ecclus. 10, 7). Do not be conceited or vain about your clothes, or your appearance, or your knowledge, or your parents’ position, but give glory to God in all things; for you have received everything from Him. The more God has given you, the more you should thank Him. Drive away all vain thoughts, and say very often: “Every good gift comes from Thee, O God; I thank Thee for all that I am and for all that I have!”

Genesis 3:14

PART II

[Genesis 3, 14—24]

GOD’S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE.—PROMISE OF A REDEEMER.

THEN God said to the serpent$^(1)$: Because thou hast done this thing$^(2)$, thou art cursed$^(3)$ among all the beasts of the earth. Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmities$^(4)$ between thee and

$^(1)$ To the serpent. Adam had laid the blame on Eve; and she had excused herself by pleading the deception of the serpent. As a matter of fact, all three were guilty, and on that account God pronounced sentence on each of them. He began, it is true, by the serpent who had beguiled the woman; He then proceeded to the woman who had led Adam into sin; and finished with Adam himself. The devil had received his supreme punishment when he was cast down into hell with the other fallen angels; but, because he had deceived man and cheated him out of his happiness, God cursed him anew and with him cursed the serpent which had been his instrument.

$^(2)$ This thing. i. e. because you seduced Eve by your lies and deceit.

$^(3)$ Cursed. The language of the divine sentence applies immediately to the actual serpent which was the devil’s tool. Being cursed by God, it is hated by man on account of its creeping, cunning, and poisonous ways. But in reality the words apply principally to the devil, and signify that he and his followers would be degraded below all other creatures, and would crawl in the filth of sin and base passions, these being, as it were, the very breath of their life.

$^(4)$ Put enmities. These clauses are directed only against the invisible and infernal serpent, the devil. Satan had hoped that once he had succeeded in separating man from God, man would make friends with him, serve him, and remain in his power. But, instead of this, God announced that his very punishment would lie in being overcome by the woman. The seed of the devil are all those who are born in sin and give themselves over to sin. The seed of the woman is the divine Saviour who as Man was descended from her. She, therefore, would tread on the head of Satan, would trample him under foot and overcome him, taking away from him his power over man. But the serpent, i. e. the devil, would resist, and seek to injure the woman. He would not, however, materially injure her, but would lie in wait for her heel, in other words, he would prepare sufferings for her, but would not overcome her. — Mary has overcome the devil through her Son, our divine Redeemer, who has saved first of all her from original sin [Immaculate Conception], and next the whole world from original and actual sins and from the power of Satan. But how, then, has the infernal serpent wounded her heel? The devil caused our Lord much suffering. He it was who prompted Judas to betray his Master. He it was who incited the Jewish priests and Pharisees to cry out: Crucify Him, crucify Him! The devil did this, and yet it is by our Lord’s very death on the Cross that the devil has been overcome and the world redeemed!

— IV. GOD’S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE.—PROMISE OF A REDEEMER. 25

the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel."

To Eve¹ He said: “In sorrow and pain shalt thou bring forth thy children. Thou shalt be subject² to thy husband, and he shall have dominion³ over thee.” And to Adam⁴ He said: “Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth⁵ in thy work, with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. In the sweat⁶ of thy face thou shalt eat bread, till thou shalt return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken; for dust⁷ thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.”

Then “the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin and clothed them. . . . And He cast Adam out of the

¹ To Eve. The sentence of punishment which Almighty God pronounced on Eve did not apply only to her, but to all women after her.

² Subject. Eve was subject to Adam before the fall, as a wife must always be to her husband. But this subjection only implied good order, not any hardship or any abuse on the part of man. It was different after the fall. Subjection became servitude and liable to all sorts of abuses.

³ Dominion. Among pagans women were and still are very degraded, and cruelly treated. It is only since the Incarnation and the rise of Christianity that the treatment of women has improved.

⁴ To Adam. The sentence that now follows was pronounced on Adam and all men after him.

⁵ Cursed is the earth. Adam, the lord of the earth, having sinned, the curse upon him extended to all nature. As a consequence of the curse, the beasts which, before the fall, were attached to man, have become either shy and intractable, or positively ferocious towards him. Even the elements and forces of nature are very often hostile to him and destroy the work of his hands. Moreover, the devil has obtained a certain dominion over them, and can injure man through them.

⁶ In the sweat, i. e. it will be only by the most severe toil that you will be able to obtain bread, or, in other words, what is necessary for the life of yourself and your family. Thorns, thistles, and all kinds of weeds grow naturally from the earth, but corn, which is the chief staple of man’s food, can only be made to grow by means of the cultivation bestowed by man on the ground; and this cultivation requires very severe toil.

⁷ Dust. Man’s body is made of the earth. The name Adam means “made of earth”. He lost the gift of the immortality of the body when he lost sanctifying grace. From henceforth his body was to be subject to death and to the diseases which are the precursors of death. When he dies, his body turns to dust, mingling itself with the earth.

— 26 IV. GOD’S PUNISHMENT AND CURSE. - PROMISE OF A REDEEMER.

paradise of pleasure and placed before it Cherubim$^(1)$ and a flaming sword, turning every way to keep the way of the tree of life”.

COMMENTARY.

God is the very Truth. He had threatened Adam and Eve with death if they ate of the forbidden fruit, and what He threatened was brought to pass. Of His mercy, Almighty God did not make our first parents die immediately, for they were not hardened in sin, and were capable of amendment; but, all the same, from that moment their bodies lost the supernatural gift of immortality, and their souls lost that grace which was their life.

The Justice of God. The punishment of Adam and Eve reveals to us the infinite justice of God. Their sin is the sin of the whole human race; therefore, the evil consequences of their sin have passed down to all mankind. We are by birth “children of wrath” (Eph. 2, 3). The image of God is defaced in each one of us. Our reason is obscured, our will is weakened, and the lusts of the flesh refuse to obey the spirit. We are all subject to suffering and death, and no one could attain to heaven, if our divine Redeemer had not died for us. - Think of the many passions which hold sway over man! Think of the countless diseases to which he is prone; the countless tears which are shed by him! Think of the bitter pangs of the dying; and of the terrible disasters by fire, water and earthquake! All this is the consequence of sin. How terrible, then, is the justice of Almighty God!

Sin is the greatest of all evils, for all other evils came into the world by sin.

Pride comes before the fall. Adam and Eve having sinned through pride, were humbled by the degrading sentence: “Dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.”

The first promise of the Messias. Before Almighty God drove our first parents out of paradise into the misery of the outside world, He gave them the promise of a Redeemer. The thought that by their sin they had condemned themselves to misery in this world and eternal ruin in the next, would have driven them to despair, had not God awakened in their hearts the hope of a coming Saviour. The curse pronounced on the infernal serpent contained a consolation for fallen man. The words: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman &c.”, told Adam and Eve that sin and the devil would be overcome

$^(1)$ Cherubim. Angels of one of the higher degrees, who were to prevent Adam and Eve from attempting to return to fetch of the fruit of the tree of life. If they had partaken of this means of immortality in a state of sin, it could only have brought them damnation.

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some day, and that the gates of the heavenly paradise would be thrown open to them. We can see by this how merciful God was even to fallen man. “The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy” (Ps. 144, 8). God punishes man in mercy, and imposes temporal punishments on him, so as to save his soul and make him eternally happy.

The penalties of sin are also its remedies. Work, whether mental or physical, keeps evil desires and passions at bay. If men were not obliged to work, they would live more in accordance with their bad passions, and evil would be rampant. “Idleness hath taught much evil” (Eccles. 33, 29). Furthermore, if there were no pain or death, men would sink into mere sensuality, would not trouble themselves about eternity, and would quite forget their higher destiny. Sickness and death are always preaching thus to us: “All earthly things pass away; take heed for the affairs of your soul!” On Ash-Wednesday the Church reminds us in an especial manner that we are but dust and ashes, and that we shall surely die.

Adam, a type of Jesus Christ (Rom. 5, 14). Adam is the father of all men according to the flesh; Jesus Christ is the spiritual Father of the faithful, for through Him alone do they receive life. Through Adam sin and death came to all men; through Jesus Christ we have received grace and eternal life. Sin and misery came into the world by Adam’s disobedience; but our redemption has been wrought by Jesus Christ, who became obedient even unto the death of the Cross.

Eve, a type of our Lady. Eve consented to sin; Mary consented to redemption, by consenting to become the mother of the Redeemer. Eve, by her sin, brought misery on mankind; Mary, through her Son, has brought salvation. Eve was, in a natural sense, the mother of the living. Mary is so in a supernatural sense.

The Immaculate Conception. Mary trampled under foot the infernal serpent, not only by giving birth to the divine Saviour, but also by this, that she was always free from the stain of sin, even of original sin. Had she, like the rest of mankind, come into the world with the stain of original sin on her, she would have been, for a time, under the dominion of Satan, and her victory over him would not have been complete. Therefore God, by a special grace, and in view of the merits of her divine Son, preserved her whom He had chosen to be that Son’s mother from the taint of original sin.

Why did not God cast Adam and Eve straight into hell, as he did the fallen angels? Because, firstly, their sin, grievous as it was, was not so great as that of the rebellious angels, the angels being richer in grace and knowledge than were Adam and Eve; and moreover, the fact of the fall of these last having been caused by the deception of Satan, was in some measure an excuse for them. Secondly, our

— V. CAIN AND ABEL.

first parents were not hardened in sin, but confessed their guilt and repented of it.

Adam and Eve not eternally lost. They received pardon on account of their belief in the future Saviour; and, on account of their repentance and long life of expiation, were delivered from Limbo by our Lord, and taken by Him to heaven. In the Book of Wisdom (10, 2) it is expressly said that the divine wisdom “drew him (Adam) out of sin”

The curse which, as a consequence of sin, rests on irrational creatures, is removed by the blessing which the Church, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, bestows on natural objects.

Unworthy Communion. Adam and Eve, being in a state of sin, did not dare to eat of the fruit of the tree of life; for, had they done so, they would have been eternally damned. He who receives the Blessed Sacrament (which is prefigured by the tree of life) in a state of sin, draws damnation on himself.

APPLICATION. Sin is the greatest of all evils, and the source of all other evils. You are afraid of lesser evils, such as sickness, danger, or death; why are you so little afraid of the greatest of all evils? Guard against sin, for it leads to sorrow and misery. If you do right, you will have a joyful spirit, a good conscience, and peace and happiness in your innocent heart. But if you do wrong, your heart will be unhappy and uneasy, and the pains of remorse and fear will pursue you, as they pursued Adam and Eve after the fall. Therefore, set enmity between yourself and sin; detest it and flee from it. And often pray devoutly thus: “Deliver us from evil, from the greatest of all evils, sin!”