Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Before the fall, after creating Adam, God said “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him” (Gen 2:18). The two of them experimented with various animals, but none of them seemed to work. Finally, God cast a deep sleep on the man, and taking one of his ribs, he formed the woman, Eve. Adam immediately recognized her: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). It was paradise!
After the fall, though, things became complicated. God told the woman: “your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master” (Gen 3:16). From that point on, any couple that wanted to live happily ever after had to understand that no such thing would be developing automatically. Extra work was needed to restore something important that had been lost.
Before the fall, the thing that was missing was a suitable partner, but, after the fall, in our days, what is missing is justice before God, that is to say, righteousness through and through. That is why no couple can live happily ever after until they learn to live happily before God.