The symphony of creation begins with a solemn first movement: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gn 1:1). According to the biblical account, each part of this divine melody was good; only its whole was considered optimal; that is, Heaven and earth only reached their perfection when united to one another.
In Paradise, Adam and Eve enjoyed harmony with the Creator. With original sin, however, man turned toward the earth, was obliged to toil on it with the sweat of his brow, and to return to it as dust. The story of the Old Testament portrays, in varying rhythms, the constant theme of man’s search for his original consonance, struggling against the everyday cacophony.
This duality is already glimpsed in the sons of the first couple: Cain offered rotten fruit from the earth, while Abel presented the first fruits of his flock, like incense raised to the throne of the Most High. Then the world was so buried in sin that God decided to purify it with the Flood. For his fidelity, Noah became the man-nexus of the promise, symbolized by the rainbow, the link that united Heaven and earth. The Tower of Babel, in turn, was humanity’s frustrated attempt to raise itself up by merely material efforts.
In Abraham, the Lord once again restored the covenant. It was given to his grandson Jacob to contemplate the angelic ladder rising up to the Lord. In Moses, the Almighty strengthened the covenant with the chosen people. Of Elijah, it is indicated that he lived for higher realities to such an extent that he deserved to be taken up from this earth…
The Incarnation of the Word definitively broke down the boundaries between Heaven and earth. In fact, as St. Athanasius and other Church Fathers comment, God became man so that man might become a god.
However, the demons did not cease to cast mortals into the subterranean abyss, that is, into hell. This is why, in the public life of Jesus, they tried to prevent – through illnesses, possessions, vexations – the encounter of men with the Lord. Until today, the diabolical tactic is not much different…
However, the mission of Jesus did not end with the Redemption. Its consummation will take place in the fullness of time, so as “to unite all things in Him, things in Heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10). And to this end the Lord left us three extraordinary aids: Mary, the Eucharist and Holy Church.
Our Lady is the Mediatrix par excellence, the Ark of the New Covenant, whose splendours were manifested at the Assumption and in various private revelations. The “Bread of Heaven” is properly Communion, which comes down from above so that all creation may be presented anew to the Father (cf. CCC 1359). Finally, the Church has been entrusted with the keys that bind and loose everything on earth and in Heaven (cf. Mt 18:18).
In this perspective, on August 15 we celebrate the birthday of Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, founder of the Heralds of the Gospel, who chose precisely the three aids mentioned above as the pillars of its spirituality. On this date, the institution holds the firm hope that his mission will soon be fully accomplished through a renewed embrace between Heaven and earth (cf. Rv 21:1), that is, the restoration of complete harmony in the symphony of creation, manifesting all its beauty and consonance with the Creator. ◊
