The Feast of St Scholastica OSB, Virgin and Foundress.

The Feast of St Scholastica, Virgin and Foundress of a Religious Order. 

"Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made.

"The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” 

"The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’” 

"But the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.”

"The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

"When they heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3: 1 - 8).

Friday 10th February 2023 in the 5th Week of February  is the feast of St Scholastica, Virgin and Religious. (480 - 547). Italian. Religious nun.  She founded the Benedictine Nuns that continue to serve the Church for 1500 years. Scholastica is the twin sister of the great St Benedict. St Scholastica is the patron saint of education, convulsive children and  Benedictine Nuns.

The first Reading from Genesis 3: 1 - 8 is one of the best known Scripture in the Bible. Call it the Story of the tragic Fall. At the root of the Fall of Adam and Eve is their lack of faith in God. Eve chose to trust the words of the Serpent over the words of God. 

Every trial in life is a trial of faith. Who do you believe? God or Satan, the Father of lies. At the heart of Religion is Worship. God created us. We worship Him and show allegiance to Him. The Fall of Adam and Eve introduced a necessary and important element into Religion: Sacrifice. God is not a vengeful God. So God made Thanksgiving the very heart of Sacrifice. 

What a happy fault of Adam and Eve that brought Jesus Christ to come as our Redeemer and Savior. How fortunate we are for the faults of Adam and Eve. 

I was asked recently: What are my obstacles to faith? To trusting God completely? The powerful, merciful and mysterious Providence of God is the greatest obstacle. 

Others have answered: the obstinate evil and suffering in the world. This group may point to the category 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in the past couple of days. 

The Church light of the world urges us to trust in the mighty, merciful and mysterious Providence of God that governs all things. In all changes, our God remains faithful. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com