The New Eden Part Two

Abraham before the Trinity, St John’s Psalter, (England, c. 1270-80)
Cambridge, St John’s College Library, MS K.26, fol. 9

All of us who are baptized and in sanctifying grace have the Indwelling of the Trinity.  All.

I have written about this many times in the perfection series.

The Scriptures refer to this truth, as does the Teaching Magisterium of the Church. Here are just a few of the passages from the Bible referring to the Indwelling of the Trinity. There are many, many more.

John 14:17

Douay-Rheims 

17 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you.

1 John 3:24

Douay-Rheims 

24 And he that keepeth his commandments, abideth in him, and he in him. And in this we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Ephesians 2:22

Douay-Rheims 

22 In whom you also are built together into an habitation of God in the Spirit.

1 John 2:27

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

27 And as for you, let the unction, which you have received from him, abide in you. And you have no need that any man teach you; but as his unction teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him.

Now, Abraham walked and talked with God, as did the other patriarchs. The saints walk and talk with God.

We are called to do the same and if we are in sanctifying grace, God is with us. Do we pay attention?

What blocks our relationship with the Trinity is sin and the tendency to sin. In other words, selfishness stops us from being with God 24/7.

The Dark Night of the Soul cleanses us from all those blockages to realizing the fullness of the Trinity within us. And, as I have noted in the perfection series, the great saints show us what it is like to live in the Illuminative State and, finally, the Unitive State, both states which only come after purgation.

Some of us experience purgation for a long time. Abraham had a long life of purgation and we know his many sins. Sarah sinned as well, but they never gave up on their covenantal relationship with the Trinity.

The exterior visit of the Trinity with Abraham provides an analogy for us. 

Abraham gave God all, and made time to be with Him. We must do the same, daily.

Without the life of the Trinity, we are dead.   But, if we are alive in sanctifying grace, our bodies and our souls become a New Eden, as God walks and talks with us in "the cool of the day". We do not need to hide, as God wants us to find Him, and He wants to be found by us.

Such is our call as Catholics.

To be continued....                           

Why Did The Trinity Come to Abraham? The New Eden

One of the most famous encounters with God in the entire Old Testament is the meeting of our father in the faith, Abraham with the Trinity.

Here is a reminder of the passage. Genesis 18:12 DR

And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near him: and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground. 

Abraham had been a friend of God for a long time. He had followed God into the new land from Ur. He had made a covenant with God. He had lived his entire life on the promises of God and not on the wealth or status of his family.

He had taken a huge chance in following the God Who Is One.

But, now, suddenly, this God Who walked with Abraham came to him as the Three Persons of the Trinity.

Astounding. Very few would see the Trinity or know the Trinity before the Birth of Christ.

It seems that David did in his psalms.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, of course, knew the Trinity intimately.

Why did the Trinity come to Abraham? It was not merely to warn the man and his people of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was not merely to prophesy the coming pregnancy of the promised child, Isaac.

There is more to this historical fact than prophecies or warnings, as important as these are in salvation history.

The Trinity came to Abraham for three reasons as I understand the text.

The first is that God so loved Abraham that He wanted to reveal Himself as He is to His friend. The Trinity is not only revealed to Abraham, but to us, his descendants in the faith. This meeting prepared future generations for the Incarnation and Pentecost.

Second, God wanted to test His friend and see how faithful Abraham actually was. Did this friend of God really trust God? Did this friend of God, who spoke with God, ask enough? I think not. I think Sodom and Gomorrah could have been saved if Abraham would have asked for more-for five good men.

He did not have enough faith, enough trust in the mercy of God. That mercy would be fully revealed on the Cross.

Third, God came to be with men. He came to be with us through this encounter. He ate with men. He talked. He walked, He haggled. He made promises. He judged. He destroyed.

God loved us so much He did not want to wait to reveal Himself.

I call this meeting the New Eden. What Adam and Eve threw away, Abraham and Sarah obtained-friendship with God. Abraham and Sarah may be analogous to the fallen first parents. Only, these parents trusted in God. They obeyed, not perfectly, but, try they did. They prefigure the New Adam Christ, Who is Perfect Obedience, and the New Eve, Mary, Who is Perfect Human Obedience.

How amazing that God came to be and to do on earth, and prepare all of us for His Coming again at Christmas and at Pentecost.

But, God will come again on the Last Day. This is also part of the history of this meeting.

God was preparing us for the final tribulation and purification of the world.

We are Abraham, as we were spiritually in his loins, as the Apostle tells us.

Abraham was considered "righteous" for his faith in God. He was holy.

He is St. Abraham. And he was told of one of the greatest times of judgement the world had ever seen.

God was spiritually preparing Abraham for purification, to become a great saint.

Pay attention. 

To be continued....in Part Two.

Presumption Part Two: Reason

The glorious teaching of the Catholic Church shows us that we all have the gift of reason. The CCC is, again, a good place to start. As humans, we have free will and reason, two of the ways in which we have been created in the image and likeness of God.

II. WAYS OF COMING TO KNOW GOD
31 Created in God's image and called to know and love him, the person who seeks God discovers certain ways of coming to know him. These are also called proofs for the existence of God, not in the sense of proofs in the natural sciences, but rather in the sense of "converging and convincing arguments", which allow us to attain certainty about the truth. These "ways" of approaching God from creation have a twofold point of departure: the physical world, and the human person.
32 The world: starting from movement, becoming, contingency, and the world's order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin and the end of the universe.

As St. Paul says of the Gentiles: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.⁷

And St. Augustine issues this challenge: Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air distending and diffusing itself, question the beauty of the sky. . . question all these realities. All respond: "See, we are beautiful." Their beauty is a profession [confessio]. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them if not the Beautiful One [Pulcher] who is not subject to change?⁸

^{One of the huge problems is the lack of reflection among the young. When do they stop their stampede towards pleasure in order to think about life, God, the universe...as it were......}

33 The human person: with his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God's existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the "seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material",⁹ can have its origin only in God.
34 The world, and man, attest that they contain within themselves neither their first principle nor their final end, but rather that they participate in Being itself, which alone is without origin or end. Thus, in different ways, man can come to know that there exists a reality which is the first cause and final end of all things, a reality "that everyone calls God".¹⁰
35 Man's faculties make him capable of coming to a knowledge of the existence of a personal God. But for man to be able to enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man and to give him the grace of being able to welcome this revelation in faith. The proofs of God's existence, however, can predispose one to faith and help one to see that faith is not opposed to reason.

Section 33 is important for this discussion. All humans have reason and therefore a sense of goodness and a conscience. Reason separates us from the other animals which only have instincts. 

One of the gravest false teachings of the day is the denial of reason. Reasonable people can come to know God and be open to more knowledge which God has given us in revelation.

Reason and revelation form our faith. Here is the CCC again.

III. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD ACCORDING TO THE CHURCH
36 "Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason."¹¹ Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome God's revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created "in the image of God".¹²
37 In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by the light of reason alone:

Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful.¹³

38 This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God's revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also "about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error". ¹⁴
IV. HOW CAN WE SPEAK ABOUT GOD?
39 In defending the ability of human reason to know God, the Church is expressing her confidence in the possibility of speaking about him to all men and with all men, and therefore of dialogue with other religions, with philosophy and science, as well as with unbelievers and atheists.
40 Since our knowledge of God is limited, our language about him is equally so. We can name God only by taking creatures as our starting point, and in accordance with our limited human ways of knowing and thinking.

41 All creatures bear a certain resemblance to God, most especially man, created in the image and likeness of God. The manifold perfections of creatures - their truth, their goodness, their beauty all reflect the infinite perfection of God. Consequently we can name God by taking his creatures" perfections as our starting point, "for from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator".¹⁵
42 God transcends all creatures. We must therefore continually purify our language of everything in it that is limited, image-bound or imperfect, if we are not to confuse our image of God--"the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable"--with our human representations.¹⁶ Our human words always fall short of the mystery of God.
43 Admittedly, in speaking about God like this, our language is using human modes of expression; nevertheless it really does attain to God himself, though unable to express him in his infinite simplicity. Likewise, we must recall that "between Creator and creature no similitude can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude";¹⁷ and that "concerning God, we cannot grasp what he is, but only what he is not, and how other beings stand in relation to him."<sup>18

I am convinced that young people choose and as the text highlighted above states, persuade themselves against reason to accept evil.

That children do not use reason at the age of adolescence is the fault of the parents and teachers, in this age of relativism. But, still, God gives grace to all and invites all to come to Him. 

Do we need revelation? Yes,and we need missionaries. But, reason can lead one to be open to the Gospel message.</sup> 

To deny reason and free will is heresy. Remember, Christ descended into hell, as stated in our creed, and released those who waited for His Redemption. Adam and Eve are the first who come to mind and we honor them as saints. 

Those in Judaism who accepted God's Law and revelation were also among those freed from hell. We call these men and women saints-Judith, Esther, Ruth, Joshua, Jacob, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, the prophets, the Maccabees, etc. 

They believed in the promise without the fullness of revelation. These were the righteous, being made so by faith. They believed in the revelation given to them. And, through the use of reason. 

Revelation and Reason--both God's gifts to us....

To be continued....

Looking more at Genesis 18

Tiepolo, Abraham and the Three Angels

17 And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do:

18 "Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed?

19 For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.

20 And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.

21 I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may know. 

22 And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.

I am struck by verse 21 today, which indicates to some unbelievers that The Holy Trinity did not know what was happening in the Five Cities. However, as we know, God is All-Knowing. Two points. One, God, I think, wanted to reveal Himself to the inhabitants of the cities to see if any would repent. God always give all people a chance for salvation, for conversion. The seeing of God was the last chance of those sodomites who had offended both men and God. Seeing Him could have caused repentance, but as we know from Chapter 19, the inhabitants demanded from Lot unnatural relations with his guests, a manifestation of the Son and the Holy Spirit, while the Father remained behind with Abraham, who was bargaining with Him. These "men" who were not men, went to find humble hearts which could turn to God at the last moment. This did not happen. God has all knowledge, but He wanted to share real love with the inhabitants, so He went into the city.

Secondly, who was crying out to God against Sodom , Gomorrah and the other three cities? Lot and his small family? I would think that many, many people were crying out to God for vengeance, as the sin of sodomy is one listed as crying out to God for vengeance.

Do we cry out to God for vengeance, which is justice? Are we so accepting of sin that the Trinity is not hearing any prayers for justice? Wait and see what will happen...

One can see my previous posts on this subject under the tags. I love the painting above, but the bread reminds me of a Big Mac. I guess I need some dinner.

Catechism Online Link: A Reminder: The Four Sins Which Cry Out to ...

31 Jan 2013

Catechism Online Link: A Reminder: The Four Sins Which Cry Out to God For Vengeance. Posted by Supertradmum. Free online edition http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/The%20Douay%20Catechism%20of%201649.pdf.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Reminder from the CCC

08 Jun 2013

Because of a note on another blog when I had to look up this reference, here is a reminder of the Four Sins Which Cry Out to God for Vengeance. 1867 The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are “sins that cry to ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: I cannot hardly believe this; Potus, gay pride and ...

15 Jun 2013

Sin has no rights, period. Pedophiles, murderers, abortionists all sinners without rights, and homosexual acts are in the list of the four sins which cry out to God for vengeance in our catechism. Love the sinner, hate the sin.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Shame in America's Capitol

09 Jan 2013

God will not ignore His Commandments being mocked. The sin of homosexuality is one of the four or five, depending on the list, which cries out to God for vengeance. Check out the the older catechisms on this point.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

While it is still legal....

Genesis 18

27. Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord; 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the Plain and saw the smoke of the land going up like the smoke of a furnace. 

One can hardly imagine Abraham's emotions at seeing nothing but smoke and ash where four cities had stood. One town was left. Here is just a comment on today's first reading in the NO, which is on the bargaining of Abraham with God to allay the punishment of the Five Cities-yes, five. One finds out wonderful things when doing daily Lectio Divina and meditation.

BTW, for those of you who like maps, photos, and simple commentary, here is a great link. http://www.bibleistrue.com/qna/pqna34.htm

As in Canada, where it is illegal to use the term sodomy, and has been for at least ten years, (I was living in Calgary when a pastor in Edmonton was arrested in his own church after a sermon against sodomy, and that was in 2000.)


I have predicted the rise and fall of Catholic blogging since I began blogging in 2007.

But, while we have some freedom of speech, let me comment on today's Old Testament reading from Genesis 18.

Catholics, there is a ton of really bad commentary on this section, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, plus the other cities.  Some so-called theologians claim the greatest evil of the towns was greed. Some say the inhabitants were not hospitable.

God has already decided to destroy the towns when Abraham began his bargaining. Only a great friend of God could do such bargaining.

The Catholic interpretation holds that the sin of these cities was unnatural sex. Jude 7 is quite clear on this.  The first section is from the Douay Rheims and the second from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard, considered the most accurate.

7 As Sodom and Gomorrha, and the neighbouring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication, and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

8 In like manner these men also defile the flesh, and despise dominion, and blaspheme majesty.

second version

7 just as Sodom and Gomor′rah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in like manner these men in their dreamings defile the flesh, reject authority, and revile the glorious ones. 

Also,  look at these texts, please, Romans 1: 26-28 and 32; 1 Cor: 6: 9-10. 

Do not let the revisionist pastors delude you. And do not read other than solid Catholic commentary on these passages. 

The Three Angels were the manifestation of the Trinity, which is clear from the text and held from the earliest days of the Church. 








See also,

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2012/12/peer-pressure-and-lots-wife.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/07/on-pillars-and-wraiths-nod-to-zombies.html