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Genesis 4: 1-15:
The man had relations with his wife Eve,
and she conceived and bore Cain, saying,
“I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.”
Next she bore his brother Abel.
Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.
In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD
from the fruit of the soil,
while Abel, for his part,
brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.
The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but on Cain and his offering he did not.
Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.
So the LORD said to Cain:
“Why are you so resentful and crestfallen.
If you do well, you can hold up your head;
but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door:
his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.”
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.”
When they were in the field,
Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then the LORD asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
He answered, “I do not know.
Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The LORD then said: “What have you done!
Listen: your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil!
Therefore you shall be banned from the soil
that opened its mouth to receive
your brother’s blood from your hand.
If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce.
You shall become a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the LORD: “My punishment is too great to bear.
Since you have now banished me from the soil,
and I must avoid your presence
and become a restless wanderer on the earth,
anyone may kill me at sight.”
“Not so!” the LORD said to him.
“If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold.”
So the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight.
Adam again had relations with his wife,
and she gave birth to a son whom she called Seth.
“God has granted me more offspring in place of Abel,” she said,
“because Cain slew him.”
The Word of the Lord.
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Auto-immune diseases – such as type-1 diabetes and arthritis – confuse the body’s natural defense system, so that the body can no longer tell the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy cell.
Normal cells become mistaken for a threat, so the body begins attacking itself.
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In our first reading from the Book of Genesis, Cain asks God the first question ever posed by human beings, which comes after murdering his brother, Abel:
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Cain and Abel were the first offspring of Adam and Eve, revealing that, from the very beginning, there has been a seed of division sown into the heart of humanity.
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When we gaze across the world of politics, race, religion, and culture, it’s easy to see this “auto-immune” mentality at work.
But this is not what God planned for his creation.
As Saint Paul says, “We, though many, are one body in Christ.”
A body that is meant to live in harmony, not in division.
As Christians – and people of good will, in general – we are called to help restore what was lost; to overcome that division that started with our ancestors. But we need the gift of the Holy Spirit to do so.
God’s Spirit allows us to love until it hurts; to forgive wrongdoings; to be peace where there is division, light where there is darkness.
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In what ways can I work for greater harmony – in my heart, my home, and the community around me?
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Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. Enkindle in us the fire of your love and we shall renew the face of the earth.
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Image credits: (1) PktFuel.com (2) My Brother’s Keeper, Hear Him Daily (3) Am I my brother’s keeper?, Christianity