Adam and Eve stood at the foot of the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden (see Gn 2:9; 3:3, 6). They were deciding whether or not to eat its fruit. The lying serpent persuaded them to go ahead and eat (Gn 3:1-5). Eve, the first woman, took the fruit, ate it, and gave Adam the forbidden fruit to eat. They ate the fruit of rebellion and disobedience. Thus the original sin was committed.
Mary is the new Eve. In her obedience, she fully reverses what the first Eve had sown in her disobedience. The truthful Immaculate Virgin Mother still stands at the foot of the tree in the middle of the garden of Calvary (Jn 19:25, 41), the "tree" of the cross (Gal 3:13). One of the things Mary reverses is our eating patterns at the foot of the tree. Like the first Eve, Mary also is persuading us to eat of this tree's fruit (Gn 3:1-5), the flesh of her Son Jesus, the Holy Eucharist (Jn 6:55ff).
Many people have been stuffing themselves with the things of the world (see Prv 13:19) for years. Some refuse to go along with the world's diet and center their lives around the Mass, devoting themselves to partaking of the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35). Still others are deciding today whether or not to eat the fruit of sinful worldly pleasure.
Decide today to eat as Mary leads. Allow Mary to fully reverse Eve's curse in your life. Receive the Holy Eucharist.
| PRAYER: | Immaculate Mary, I accept your advice to do whatever Jesus tells me (Jn 2:5). "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." |
| PROMISE: | "God chose us in Him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in His sight, to be full of love." –Eph 1:4 |
| PRAISE: | Praise Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Mary. Alleluia! |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College