In the first reading for today we encounter the well-known account of Noah as he is commissioned by God to gather all living creatures that would survive the Flood. (Just for the record, please note that Noah collected seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of unclean animals.) But the reading begins ominously: “When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved.” (Gen 6:5-7) Continue reading →