Page 173 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II

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This chapter takes us to the beginning of time, before the biblical fall of our
first parents, a time of original blessing, when peace, harmony, joy, and
gladness reigned, flowing out of the unity, simplicity, and oneness of our
creator.

That this original blessing became flawed through what has been called
original sin is hinted at in the second stanza. Without this underlying
principle of unity, simplicity, and blessing, all of creation becomes wounded
and falls prey to harmartia – falling short of all that creation was intended to
be.

The last stanza points to the solution. This is humility, a gift from the creator,
who is simplicity itself and serves as the foundation of all other virtues. We
can participate in this humility by living out two critical sentences of the
central prayer of the new covenant with God, the Our Father: wanting to do
only the will of God and being content with what we have by asking only for
our daily bread, that which we need for this day.

a Exodus 3:13-15; Psalm 102:25-27; Genesis 1:31; Ecclesiastes 3:9-15;
d
c
b Mark 13:5-8; Ezekiel 13:1-19; Luke 14:10-11; Matthew 23:5-7;
Matthew 23:27