Tuesday, August 27 : Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

Could God not have made the human person perfect right from the beginning? For God, who has always been identical with himself and who is not created, everything is possible. But because the existence of the created beings began after God’s, they are necessarily inferior to God who made them… Thus, since they are created, they are not perfect. When they have just been born, they are small children, and as small children, they are neither accustomed to nor have they had practice in perfect conduct… Thus, God could give perfection to the human person right from the beginning, but the human person was incapable of receiving this perfection, for he / she was only a small child. And that is why, in the last times when our Lord gathered up all things in him (Eph 1:10), he came to us, not in his power, but in such a way that we were able to see him. For he could have come to us in his inexpressible glory, but we were not yet able to bear the greatness of his glory… Although the Word of God was perfect, with humankind he became a small child, not for himself, but because of the state of childhood in which was humankind.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team