The man said, “The woman you put here with me–she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12
I was pondering further The Original Unity of Man and Woman by Saint John Paul II.
Saint John Paul states,
The words of Genesis, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (2:18) are a prelude to the narrative of the creation of woman. Together with this narrative, the sense of original solitude becomes part of the meaning of original unity, the key point of which seems to be precisely the words of Genesis 2:24. Christ referred to them in his talk with the Pharisees: “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Mt 19:5). If Christ quoted these words referring to the “beginning,” it is opportune for us to clarify the meaning of that original unity, which has its roots in the fact of the creation of man as male and female.
We see the Saint referencing “original solitude” and that it becomes part of the meaning of “original unity”. The Saint goes on further to state;
If we admit, moreover, a significant difference of vocabulary, we can conclude that the man (‘adam) falls into that “sleep” in order to wake up “male” and “female.”
From this we can glean that everything we are was contained in original solitude in Adam. John Paul states;
Perhaps, therefore, the analogy of sleep indicates here not so much a passing from consciousness to subconsciousness, as a specific return to non-being (sleep contains an element of annihilation of man’s conscious existence). That is, it indicates a return to the moment preceding the creation, that through God’s creative initiative, solitary “man” may emerge from it again in his double unity as male and female.
Therefore when we speak of the original union of which Christ refers to “in the beginning” we are looking at the union of male and female as a completeness of the image of God because it is as if together they go back to original solitude, as one.
We can understand that woman, pulled from the rib of man, really the heart of man, is a desire both physically and spiritually for his completeness and her desire for him too a desire of her heart and body for her completeness. The original solitude.
So it is that in marriage, which Christ Himself defines, that in the sexual union draws us into a kind of unity that is beautiful and of God. When a married couple partakes in this original solitude, God allows them to partake in His creative action and the love between them, in union with the love of God, creates children.
But in our concupiscence we allow our desire for this beauty to be perverted. In deliverance ministry we often recognize that the quickest way to tear apart a person’s soul is through sexual sin. It leaves people in mental, emotional, and often physical anguish. While our world promotes and encourages all kinds of sexual sin, in this ministry we see that this kind of sin creates soul ties, and soul ties allow the devil to speak into your life. Soul ties happen when you give a piece of yourself away in sexual union outside of marriage. And marriage can only be between male and female because that’s the image of God. People are often left feeling worthless. Their view of who they are so distorted by the myriad of sexual sin that deviated from the plan of God.
The reason for this is it is an offense to “original man” created in the image and likeness of God. This perversion thwarts the creative love of God, one in which we are allowed to partake, and therefore the fruit of perversion is infertility. Lifeless sexual union. It promotes contraception, abortion, homosexuality and transgenderism and life abundantly is left dying, separated from the vine.
Satan tries to steal our fertility because in doing so he can take us to his ultimate goal, which is the destruction of our souls. He came to steal, kill and destroy, with destruction being the worst of those things. If we become so twisted in our thinking that we desire what is lifeless, then ultimately we can end up in a place where we blaspheme the Holy Spirit. This is why the Saints took care to stay away from the near occasion of sin. In our pornographic culture, this has become nearly impossible.
While there are many deadly sins, this sin is the easiest doorway to allow Satan to speak into your life, because it is actually borne from the desire of communion, which is a good. But we must take the words of Jesus seriously about what marriage is. So many shrug off sexual sin as no big deal, but I would venture to say that what we see in the streets began in our hearts desire for sexual pleasure, it allowed even bigger deadly sins to follow suit, pride and envy, and here we are left wondering what in the world happened to all of us and why is the world so dark? We have twisted who we are.
So we can learn from looking back at the beginning. The original sin isn’t known as the sin of Eve, even though she ate the fruit first. It is called the sin of Adam because in original solitude they are one, in waking up male and female the two become one. Original sin was an offense against himself and what he was made to be. Man and woman aren’t to be in competition with one another, they are completeness and compliment one another. Things would have been different if Adam had said no to the fruit.
For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. 1 Corinthians 7:14
So too we the Mystical Body, when we sin, it is an offense against the whole body. It harms the whole church. That is why we go to confession. It isn’t just for our own soul, though that is a huge part, but it is for others, to repair the church. Our repentance is needed for everyone to heal. In our pride we refuse and we justify – “my sin isn’t that bad.” And the world devolves deeper into darkness.
Soul ties are broken when people forgive. When they forgive themselves, when they forgive others who may have harmed them. This forgiveness heals and repairs so we can be in true communion.
Jesus showed great mercy to those in sexual sin. The woman at the well had a life transformed. She recognized who he was and that he had something better for her. She changed. No longer did she look for her completeness in anything but Christ who could heal and repair the wrong she had committed. She is the one in scripture that he reveals directly who He is. He simply states, “I am he….”John 4:26 And she came to believe.
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” John 4:39
If you have unconfessed sexual sin, go to confession. If you keep failing, keep going to confession. Don’t try to justify, just tell God where you are, and let him pour grace over you to bring you back to life.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24
Veil of Veronica 
Allow me to quote a famous nursery rhyme:
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn’t keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
When Adam was in the garden he was given the following tasks in Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” The word “Keep” has an older meaning many don’t know, it wasn’t to just posses something, it meant to secure and protect what was to be possessed. Just as Peter in the rhyme above enclosed his wife in a protective shell to contain her, Adam was to contain and secure Eden probably by walling it up.
In medieval times a “Keep” was a secured fortified tower or the inner defensive position with limited securable entry that could be defended. All Castles that were defensive had a inner structure of last resort called a “Keep”. Places that didn’t have a castle often built just a tower with the entry way high up, so it could only be reached by a ladder that they could pull up to defend themselves and then shut the door. The occupants could fire down from the top at the exposed attackers below. The Keeps were also provisioned to wait out attackers when possible.
Some of the references in scripture to towers may well refer to Keeps. Why do I mention this? If Adam had actually “Kept” the garden, the serpent wouldn’t have been able to enter to temp Eve. The only things that needed to be “kept at bay” was that opposed to God and perfection, and Adam let it in since the garden wasn’t adequately “Kept”. Eve had a role in the first deliberate act of opposition to the will of God, no doubt, but the first flaw that allowed Satan entry to temp Eve was a lack of diligence on the part of Adam to protect that which is of God. Sin is easy when we let our guard down, and we often miss that subtly in the meaning of his task to keep in the story.
Even the word “Till” in Genesis 2:15 has a meaning to keep weeds at bay, and maintain beautiful (Heavenly) state of the garden. Those two words alone are rich with meaning and symbolism and Adam didn’t Keep the weeds out which ruined the plan of the garden.
Satan has always attacked the family, and weakness in men is often the cause for the failures in families and society’s. When we let our fortifications down and allow the weeds to enter, they choke out the fruit that would otherwise come from God.
Yes there are many layers to the fall. I was just commenting on what JPII wrote of “original solitude.”.
And it is well written, all I was trying to do was build on “Things would have been different if Adam had said no to the fruit.” in that he was complicit getting to that point. I agree with you it would have been different. We are made in the image and likeness of God who himself is a community of persons. We are not meant to be alone. The prefix “com” and “co” mean “with”. Communion means with union. We are meant for union, we are modeled on God himself. And when we align or will to that of God, and our actions we can properly enter into communion, including the physical union through Communion when we physically take unto ourselves the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. Thank you very much for sharing your messages.
Please feel free to not allow a post from me if it adds no value. This is your blog and I am not here to highjack it! You certainly do get me thinking at times and the thoughts from contemplation of the topics is much appreciated.
Thanks for the kind words and I did not think you were hijacking! I love what you said about him “keeping” the garden. And I do see your point for sure. God Bless you, and please keep commenting.
Thank you so much for this piece. I’m not familiar with the Theology of the Body but I’m guessing this is the core because what you wrote resonated through and through. It makes us praise God with deep wonder.
Thanks and God Bless you.
Those trapped in sexual sin, simply pray The Holy Rosary daily and watch all of that completely vanish after enough time passes (take this seriously!). I speak from personal experience as it took less than 3 months for that to occur for me (which was in late 2012) as it completely stopped in action and thought which was clear proof to me prayer really does work as that was simply impossible to escape from on my own. but as Jesus said, ‘Without Me you can do nothing’. but prior to praying I just did not ‘get it’ which I think many people fall into that mindset.
The third promise of The Holy Rosary says, “The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.”
the key words there are ‘destroy vice’. but sadly, many just don’t get the importance of regular prayer as it’s of paramount importance if one is going to avoid sin and grow in holiness since it’s a critical part of our core relationship with God as without regular prayer it’s like trying to do things by ones own power, it won’t end well. the following sums up the importance of regular prayer (daily prayer), “oxygen is to the body, as prayer is to the soul”.
Thanks for the wonderful insight into that powerful prayer.
God created the universe “out of nothing” but He created Adam and Eve from matter.
Adam, to bestow on him humility, was created out of “clay” or “dust”.
But Eve was formed from God’s highest creation, man. She was a preform of Mary who would be “the mother of all the living” in grace as Eve was “the mother of all the living” in flesh. In her book City of God, Mary of Agreda accounts how God manipulated these women with His own hand to the needed perfection for His Son to be born perfect and spotless. Eve marred that perfection and man fell from that place. This is why Mary is called the “New Eve” for she perfected this role lost by Eve.
Agreda tells how satan watched Adam and Eve looking for inherent weakness. He believing they were the Christ and His mother because of their wondrous perfection so he concentrated on Eve believing she would be the easier victim.
Since God is omnipresent, He knew satan would tempt them and allowed this testing just as the angels were tested by Lucifers rebellion.
Adam failed to protect Eve and as Scott Hahn suggests, was actually present when the temptation occured so was more complicit than previously understood!
Yes I believe Adam was present and as Mark previously stated he didn’t “keep” the garden. This commentary was focusing on what JPII said about original solitude and original unity.
I have fallen into terrible sin for now 50 years. Tried novenas, rosaries, mass, fasting, reading the office, and at times daily confession but nothing has fixed it or helped.
Have you spoken to a Spiritual Director or Deliverance Minister? A good Spiritual Director can help walk someone out of sin.
There could also be generational curses at work which deliverance can help with.
Perhaps check out wholecatholic.com
I will say a prayer for you.
Satan and demons, we are told, are very legalistic. They understand authority. You have authority over yourself and your property. Do not enter in to any conversation with Evil, they lie and really are not worth talking to. Use the authority of God, the Saints and the Church, but only as appropriate (demons are intelligent and legalistic, but they are not wise). Talk with your pastor, he has real spiritual authority. Go to confession, remove all stains of sin and weakness. Ask for blessings. Ask your guardian angel for help and your patron saint, also any Patron Saints for the issue(s) you suffer. Mary is a great help, your mother will crush the head of the serpent, they fear her.
Binding prayers can be used for yourself and family members you have authority over.
Catholic Exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger recommends (https://credostlouis.org/prayer-of-command/) :
“In His Name and by the power of His Cross and Blood, I ask Jesus to bind any evil spirits, forces and powers of the earth, air, fire, or water, of the netherworld and the satanic forces of nature. By the power of the Holy Spirit and by His authority, I ask Jesus Christ to break any curses, hexes, or spells and send them back to where they came from, if it be His Holy Will. I beseech Thee Lord Jesus to protect us by pouring Thy Precious Blood on us (my family, etc.), which Thou hast shed for us and I ask Thee to command that any departing spirits leave quietly, without disturbance, and go straight to Thy Cross to dispose of as Thou sees fit. I ask Thee to bind any demonic interaction, interplay, or communications. I place N. (Person, place or thing) under the protection of the Blood of Jesus Christ which He shed for us. Amen”
I also tend to demand as part of a binding prayer that they not come back. Look up binding prayer, others are available. Another good site is: https://www.catholicexorcism.org/deliverance-prayers-for-the-laity
Name specific issues, as an example “I ask Jesus to bind the spirit of lust…” When ever you feel real temptation bind the spirits of that temptation and cast them to Jesus. Also use and keep on and around you sacramentals. Remove anything new age, demonic, to do with spells or witch craft, or anything that can tempt you to sin.
I find binding prayers very effective. It is also important to not dwell only on issues, thank God for all the good in your life. Pray the Rosary, be virtuous, sacrifice. Be the person the devil despises for all the right reasons! Find, know and delight in the Joy of God.
Remember the Divine Mercy Image, it says “Jesus I trust in you”. Even when you can’t Trust in you, you can trust in Jesus. Go to Jesus, let our God who wants to be your savior actively be invited by you to save you. You are given free will, use it to freely choose God. That always, from my experience, goes well.
Yes all of this ^
Yes original sin…leading to other ways of not loving ——- refusing to be in communion (nah…. I am am proud in my triune god. “Me, myself, and I”——— …..from Adam’s abdication from original solitude and original unity……
thank you for the words… “So many shrug off sexual sin as no big deal, but I would venture to say that what we see in the streets began in our hearts desire for sexual pleasure, it allowed even bigger deadly sins to follow suit, pride and envy, and here we are left wondering what in the world happened to all of us and why is the world so dark? We have twisted who we are.”…..
…… Lord! save us from ourselves….from pride….from rational-lies….. may we return to original unity within ourselves —— through your mercy and truth——…and with others…. as you prayed for us….”Father, may they be one as you and I are one”….. in our marriage…. our family …. and with all to whom you send us to proclaim —— in words and through actions of mercy ——- that we are loved….we are the imago of you…. that you are the face of Abba…… that you are the Way, the truth, and the Life……you sent by Abba to purify…sanctify…and heal us….
blessings!!!!
Thank you and God Bless you!
In regards to the “original solitude, ” the “oneness” of the Trinity is reflected in the union of man and woman who then beget children who are a complement of their union both in the reflection of themselves (genetics) but also a combination of the two as a reflection of love. The Holy Spirit is such a reflection of the oneness of the Father and the Son and is a person just as our children are. If Jesus is “begotten of the Father” and the Holy Spirit is “begotten” by the love between the Father and the Son who proceeds from them it is from this “original unity” that our creation is imitated and is our proper end.
“That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us.”
(John 17:21).
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Thanks for sharing! Please take a look at my take on sin
https://austingreenj1633.com/2021/07/20/missing-the-marktips-on-your-christian-walk/
I’ve pondered if, because of sin, we’re like strangers to one another, because we can’t be completely open, hiding our sins behind smiling faces, doing our best.
The original sin is pride, and pride can cause all those things. Sin separates; us from God and us from a proper interaction with creation itself. I think your pondering is correct.