The Triple Sentence

In the divine order called Nature the effect follows rigidly on the cause, and is proportioned to it; for the sequence amounts to a transmutation of energy from one form to another. It is the same in the higher divine order, the supernatural. Sin is a negative energy, a destructive force: its effect, that is, its punishment, is proportioned to the amount of supernatural energy which sin has neutralized. The three maledictions pronounced by God are prophetic indications of the course of events necessarily consequent on the sin of Adam and Eve. First, God addresses Satan and describes the future in metaphors appropriate to the form which he had, either literally or figuratively, appeared in. He shall be accursed for ever, a cause of death and an object of horror like his reptile type. He shall crawl in snake-like fashion, and shall "eat dirt" (in oriental language), shall grovel in moral baseness and the uncleanness of his temptings of man to sensuality. A second Eve shall arise, who will avenge the fall of her mother by crushing the head of her tempter, in the fact of bearing a divine Son in her virginity. Pay homage to the most blessed Virgin. Great must be her dignity and her power over Satan, since she is mentioned by God on this portentous occasion. Her victory makes her the glory of the human race. Continue Reading.