Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and St. Rose,
      For the past couple of weeks the first reading at daily Mass has been from Genesis.  So we started with the beautiful story of Creation and how at the end of each day God looked and saw that it was good. The crowning of Creation is giving life to Adam; God breathes into him the breath of life.  It reminds us that our very existence is a gift from God. Then God takes a rib from Adam and creates Eve as a helpmate for him.  Again all is good and man and woman walk with God in a beautiful and tranquil Paradise.
But this does not last and the devil begins to tempts Adam and Eve.  He tells them that if they eat of the forbidden fruit that they will be like God. Finally Eve gives in and eats the fruit and brings it to Adam and he eats it.  Immediately their life changes.  They realize that they are naked.  They make clothes for themselves and they hide from God.
God comes to the Garden and calls for them.  He questions them about eating from the tree and they attempt to escape from blames.  Adam shouts, “The woman made me do it!” Eve shouts, “The serpent made me do it!” And thus sin enters the world.
Even today, thousands of years later, the same pattern exists.  We are tempted, we give in to sin, and then we try to find some excuse or someone else to blame it on.
Jesus came so that we would have somewhere to go with sin.  He suffered and died on the cross so our sins would be forgiven. 
 Yet we are still fallen and we still commit sin.  But we have a remedy for sin in the sacrament of reconciliation. Casting ourselves on the mercy of God in this sacrament we can be forgiven, healed and strengthened to overcome temptations and resist falling into sin.
      Or we can persist in our sin and try to blame someone else that we do what we do.
Let us look to the Lord and ask for the grace to live in His love.  When we fall into sin may we acknowledge our guilt, lay our sin at the foot of the cross and rise again with the help of God to live a better life.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.    (Jesus Prayer)

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.     (Fatima prayer)

Msgr. Cox
 The Rebuke of Adam and Eve, Domenichino (1626)