I. In Paradise, Adam, united to God by charity, possessed three great goods, viz., pleasure and contentment in seeing God, knowledge and possession of all things, dignity as the supreme ruler of creation. When union with God was destroyed, these great prerogatives were lost, and there remained three great voids in human nature. Man tries to fill these voids with created things; he seeks delight in sensual gratifications, in the knowledge and possession of material goods, in exalting himself in his own esteem above others. Nothing can fill the space once occupied by God; man’s desires, therefore, are for ever growing; he may acquire far more than he can use, but he is never satisfied; and his efforts to gain more become continually more ferocious. These desires are what the Apostle speaks of: “ All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life”, (1 John ii. 16). These could not exist in the state of original justice, but they broke out in human nature at the time of the fall, and have been the torment and the peril of man ever since. These are not only the source of individual sins, but of all the miseries, without exception, which affect human society. There is no other remedy for those evils, but to satisfy the illimitable desires of the soul with the one gratification that is infinite, viz., God. All other remedies are futile. Seek no other in your troubles.
II. In the supernatural state, the soul of unfallen man was endowed with sanctifying grace, and with the infused virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. There was an attraction towards good and an aptitude for virtue, so that the soul needed only to know what was good and accordant with the divine will, and was at once borne towards it. Now, however, it is different with us. Not only are we attacked by the three fierce concupiscences, but the will is weak and infirm, and incapable of carrying out what the intelligence has concluded to be best. Knowledge is no longer sufficient. We are not the less inclined to do wrong for knowing what is right. As the heathen poet said, “I know the better and approve, I do the worse.” We require, not only a grace of illumination for the mind, but a grace of excitation and fortitude for the will. We need much stronger graces than sufficed in the state of original justice, to supply the deficiencies in our present infused virtues, and fortify us against the assaults of the concupiscences. This additional medicinal grace is given to Adam and all his descendants, on their taking due means to acquire it; and thus the extra danger to our salvation is counterweighed by God’s more abundant mercy. Thank God for this excess of His goodness. Let Him carry out His will in you, and He will deliver you.
III. In the state of innocence, man, being immortal, was free from the fear of death. No terrors would have accompanied his translation from this life to the fuller life of heaven. Now, since God pronounced the sentence, the terror of death is on us all. And especially is the remembrance of death bitter to a man who has peace in his possessions (Eccli. xli. 1). In the olden times, even the just looked forward with dread to their sojourn in the place of darkness and expectation, before Christ had opened heaven by His death. We too, however just, know not if we be worthy of love or hate (Eccles. ix. 1). We dare not presume on our salvation; and at the best we have to look forward to a period of terrible purgation for our forgiven sins. But our Lord in His goodness has robbed death of most of its terrors. It is not only a punishment but the gate of heaven; it is a blessing as well as a curse. You may regard it then both with hope and fear. Look to it as an expiation and as a victory. You may long for deliverance, but be ready to wait in patience till God calls you. You may shun it, but receive it with resignation as a penance.
II. In the supernatural state, the soul of unfallen man was endowed with sanctifying grace, and with the infused virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. There was an attraction towards good and an aptitude for virtue, so that the soul needed only to know what was good and accordant with the divine will, and was at once borne towards it. Now, however, it is different with us. Not only are we attacked by the three fierce concupiscences, but the will is weak and infirm, and incapable of carrying out what the intelligence has concluded to be best. Knowledge is no longer sufficient. We are not the less inclined to do wrong for knowing what is right. As the heathen poet said, “I know the better and approve, I do the worse.” We require, not only a grace of illumination for the mind, but a grace of excitation and fortitude for the will. We need much stronger graces than sufficed in the state of original justice, to supply the deficiencies in our present infused virtues, and fortify us against the assaults of the concupiscences. This additional medicinal grace is given to Adam and all his descendants, on their taking due means to acquire it; and thus the extra danger to our salvation is counterweighed by God’s more abundant mercy. Thank God for this excess of His goodness. Let Him carry out His will in you, and He will deliver you.
III. In the state of innocence, man, being immortal, was free from the fear of death. No terrors would have accompanied his translation from this life to the fuller life of heaven. Now, since God pronounced the sentence, the terror of death is on us all. And especially is the remembrance of death bitter to a man who has peace in his possessions (Eccli. xli. 1). In the olden times, even the just looked forward with dread to their sojourn in the place of darkness and expectation, before Christ had opened heaven by His death. We too, however just, know not if we be worthy of love or hate (Eccles. ix. 1). We dare not presume on our salvation; and at the best we have to look forward to a period of terrible purgation for our forgiven sins. But our Lord in His goodness has robbed death of most of its terrors. It is not only a punishment but the gate of heaven; it is a blessing as well as a curse. You may regard it then both with hope and fear. Look to it as an expiation and as a victory. You may long for deliverance, but be ready to wait in patience till God calls you. You may shun it, but receive it with resignation as a penance.
Source: Pages 212 & 213
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