(LifeSiteNews) — Joining me once again for this episode of The John Henry Westen Show is Tricia Nolan, a traditional Catholic speaker and homeschooling mother of 13 who recently spoke at the third annual Restore Tradition Women’s Conference to discuss how God re-creates Adam and Eve in every marriage, the importance of fasting in creating a fruitful marriage and more.
To view part 1 of my interview with Nolan, click here.
I began the episode by asking Tricia about an observation regarding Adam and Eve and how they relate to a good Catholic marriage. She explained that because she was mistreated by her older brothers growing up, she generally didn’t like men for quite some time. But one day at church, while talking with a male friend about how all men think the whole world was made for them, a lightbulb went off that all creation was initially created for Adam and thus for men.
“God made creation for Adam, He made all the animals for Adam, He made everything in the Garden for Adam. Eve wasn’t in the picture until Adam said, ‘I’ve looked at all the animals that you’ve created, Lord, and there’s nothing that I find suitable for me.’ And then God put Adam asleep, took a rib out of his side, and created a woman who has fascinated and enchanted men ever since,” Nolan said.
She explained that after that realization, she spent the next few years meditating on this and further realized that in every marriage, God repeats that initial creation. “My husband is my Adam; I am his Eve. You are your wife’s Adam; she is your Eve. The principle of what occurred in the Garden (was) that the woman was the helpmate for the man and that the man was created by God, he had authority, and dominion in the Garden. And then the wife was his helpmate, and he was to love her.”
But Nolan underscored that after Adam’s fall, he held the same domination over Eve that he had over the animals of the Garden as part of the curse. The men of the Old Testament treated women the same way, using women as they pleased. This position of women wouldn’t change until Christ, the new Adam, and Mary, the new Eve, came into the picture.
“Now, women became the new Eve; they were respected. And it was through Mary, and through the teachings of Christ, that the whole doctrine of ‘Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the Church and wives submit to your husband’ began to rise up and be taught … And that was a real changing point for me; it changed the way I approached my husband.”
I noted what a beautiful and stunning observation it is that God re-creates Adam and Eve with every marriage and that God chose your spouse for you from all eternity.
A bit later in the episode, I asked Nolan about the fasting she and her husband Bob did and how that helped the pair in their marriage. She explained that she and Bob’s primary task in their marriage was to pass the faith on to their children. Knowing that they were inadequate for the task, Bob suggested fasting for the spiritual development of the children. At first, they would only consume water from Thursday evening until Saturday morning. However, after this started to impact their states in life, the couple had to adjust their fasting regime. “What he did was he quit eating sugar Monday-Saturday, and he only allowed himself to have anything with sugar in it on Sundays, and that was a huge penance for him … And for me, after thinking and praying about it, I decided to start wearing skirts because I only wore jeans … and that has proven to be a difficult commitment.”
Nolan noticed this fasting bearing fruit as her husband’s wisdom grew from his fasting. When faced with times of crisis, such as their children crying, falling, or needing to be disciplined, he would consistently pray about it and make the right decision. “I knew that came from his fasting.”
To hear more from Tricia Nolan, watch or listen to the full interview.
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