Every time I read Genesis Chapter 3, or hear it read at Mass, one word always jumps out at me. I hope this word jumps out at you as well. That word is enmity!
Enmity has a special significance in the apostolic traditions of our faith, going back 2,000 years, and even back thousands of years earlier when you start to trace it back in to the Jewish roots of Catholicism. But, outside of the handful of times we encounter the word enmity in Scripture, it isn’t a word that we have a whole lot of exposure to…particularly from the perspective of our daily vocabulary.
The Webster dictionary defines enmity as “active and mutual hatred or ill will.” But this definition falls well short of the true context of what enmity really means in light of salvation history and our spiritual lives.
The secular sense of the word enmity is based on the circumstances of the moment. It is conditional as the moment passes. That means it is temporary, or to borrow a word Saint Paul used in the epistle, it is transitory.
It is only natural that watered down definitions of key words that we use to describe our theology will lead to confusion and misunderstanding as it relates to the core dogmas of the Christian faith; including the dogmas referenced in our readings today: the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the indivisible nature of the Kingdom of God, which is truly the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The Church, as Saint Paul described in the epistle, is built by God, not by human hands, but eternal in heaven.
With this eternal perspective in mind, what can we truly say about the word enmity? To keep it simple, we can say the opposition of enmity is absolute, irrevocable, and ultimately complete. This is what makes the revelation of the Immaculate Conception of Mary so very powerful and so very relevant to our spiritual lives and ultimately our salvation.
At the moment of her conception, Mary received a special and unique charism from God. It was a return, if you will, to the original innocence humanity enjoyed before the great fall. It was a return to a state of being where humanity did not know sin, and humanity did not have a fallen nature. It was a return to a state of being where humanity was everything Satan is not; particularly, in full and perfect communion with God.
Ultimately, Mary’s gift was gift of full conformity to the Love of Christ. From the very moment of her conception, Mary was completely ordered to Christ in every aspect of her being.
While it is fitting that Mary received this special grace that enabled her to fully live out her unique vocation as the mother of God, we must remember that we too are called to be completely ordered to Christ in every aspect of our being. Or, as it states in the Catechism, ‘every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness’. Those who die in communion of holiness with God and are perfectly purified (perfectly purified meaning completely ordered to Christ), will live with Christ for ever in heaven. It is this state of absolute holiness that constitutes the true context of what it means to be in enmity with Satan.
We may wonder how we can ever truly experience enmity with Satan if Mary required this one-time charism from God. Mary’s Immaculate Conception is truly incredible, but God has given us a similar, incredible gift. Saint Paul references this reality in the epistle. He says the ‘grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people causing The Thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.” That word Thanksgiving, “The Thanksgiving”, is a direct reference to the Eucharist, or Eucharistia (εὐχαριστία), in the first century Greek that Paul used to write his letters to the Corinthians.
Brothers and Sisters, all of this points to an irrefutable, objective Truth that we are obligated to believe as Christians. The Eucharist and the other six Sacraments Jesus Christ instituted in the Catholic Church are actions of the Holy Spirit, just as the Immaculate Conception of Mary was an action of the Holy Spirit. Each Sacrament is a movement of Grace that has as its goal total conformity to the Love of Christ and participation in His divine nature.
Living the Sacramental Life of the Church, as instituted by Jesus Christ, truly is the narrow path of salvation. The Sacramental Life of the Church is the critical means of God’s plan to enable us to live a life of enmity with Satan and to become completely ordered to Christ in every aspect of our being…to truly live a life that is happy, joyous, and free through the total and absolute conformity to the Love of Christ.
Please know of my prayers for you to continue to grow in the sacramental life of the Church and to allow yourself to be more deeply conformed to the Love of Christ. Let us walk this journey of faith together on the narrow path of salvation as we trudge the road of happy destiny. And together, may we come to more fully realize that what was true in the beginning is true for all eternity: God promised Mary would have enmity with Satan. What God promised to Mary, He offers to all of us through the Sacraments of His Holy Catholic Church. The true holiness that consists of enmity with Satan and conformity to the Love of Christ is the challenge, the privilege, and the reward of being authentically, thoroughly, and unapologetically Catholic. Thanks be to God!
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