The devil’s envy:Gospel of Life

Dear Loreto House Family,

From Evangelium Vitae #7

“The Gospel of life, proclaimed in the beginning when man was created in the image of God for a destiny of full and perfect life (cf. Gen 2:7; Wis 9:2-3), is contradicted by the painful experience of death which enters the world and casts its shadow of meaninglessness over man’s entire existence. Death came into the world as a result of the devil’s envy (cf. Gen 3:1,4-5) and the sin of our first parents (cf. Gen 2:17, 3:17-19). And death entered it in a violent way, through the killing of Abel by his brother Cain: “And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him” (Gen 4:8).

John Paul II

This first murder is presented with singular eloquence in a page of the Book of Genesis which has universal significance: it is a page rewritten daily, with inexorable and degrading frequency, in the book of human history.”

The chronicle of the first death in the world continues and elevates in exponential proportions with time.  It is the violent death of a family member.  This is the sobering meaninglessness of sin…it brings death and darkness into a world created for eternal life and communion with its Creator.

Yet, do not lose hope and remember that all is not lost and God’s mercy is greater than our greatest sins.

In Christ Our Life,

Katherine