We started by discussing science. Catholicism and science are not opposed and never have been (although there have been disagreements between individuals in history). Science is a wonderful methodology - a tool - for exploring and learning about God's creation, the material universe. The more we learn about the universe, the more we can see how fantastic creation is/works. We also explored Evolutionary Theory, which is not a problem for the Church, although we discussed why science still refers to it as a theory (irreducible complexity, etc.). There are countless Catholic scientists and it was a Catholic Belgian priest-scientist, Georges Lemaitre, who developed the Big Bang Theory.
We next wrapped up Genesis 3 (the allegory of the Fall), where man being kicked out of Eden turns out to be a blessing. Why a blessing? Had man eaten of the Tree of Life, he would have been eternally fallen. Next, God proclaims enmity between the serpent and the offspring of Eve, but also alludes to the victory of the woman and her offspring over the serpent. That woman turns out to be Mary and her offspring Jesus. This is why we see artwork of Eve stepping on the head of the serpent with her foot. Finally, the fiery sword that God puts at the edge of Eden (preventing access to the Tree of Life) represents the passion Jesus must undergo to undo the Fall. This gives mankind access again to Eden, which is the ante-room to heaven but still the 6th Day. We must still complete our walk into the 7th Day in our lifetimes, and there is no roadblock remaining but ourselves.
We then reviewed the gospel story of Mary and Martha. Mary represents the contemplative side of all of us, and Martha represents the distracted/busy side of us. When the anxiouis Martha complains, Jesus says Mary chose the "better part," meaning we must have God in our lives first to make sense out of the busy side of our lives. Otherwise, we are just busy advanced animals (stuck in the 6th Day).
God Bless everyone!
Ron
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