Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: jhpb@granjon.garage.att.com Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Benjamin Britten's pagan? carol Message-ID: Date: 26 Jul 90 05:51:45 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: AT&T Bell Labs (Liberty Corner) Lines: 22 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu The carol says that if Adam had not taken the apple "Then had not Our Lady a been Hevene queen." It's not celebrating Jesus--it's celebrating the exaltation of Mary. Do Catholics really believe this was the reason the fall happened? Do *you* sing "Deo Gratias" because sin came to exalt Mary? Are there similar sources in Catholic thought which echo this sentiment. "The" reason that God permitted the Fall was His own glory. That's the primary motivation for everything He does. Within the works that He did to repair the Fall, there are many things to give thanks for. The Mother of God is one of them. As I believe someone else quoted, the Catholic liturgy says: O happy fault! That has merited so great a Redeemer! God turns evil into good. Viewing the Fall as an essentially negative thing would seem to overlook this. Joe Buehler