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II-A. SR. FAUSTINA’S TEACHING ON SUFFERING AND SIN O merciful God, You do not despise us, but lavish Your graces on us continuously. You make us fit to enter Your kingdom, and in Your goodness, You grant that human beings may fill the places vacated by the ungrateful angels. O God of great mercy, who turned Your sacred gaze away from the rebellious angels and turned it upon contrite man, praise, and glory, be to Your unfathomable mercy, O God who does not despise the lowly heart (Diary, # 1339). II A.1 On the Existence of Evil and Sin The Church teaches that the uncreated God is the Author of all reality (CCC, 326; Diary, # 1741-1750). However, He is not the author or the “first cause” of evil or sin; on the other hand, it is first linked with the fallen angelic spirits (Diary, # 1744). 65 As the Scriptures teach, God is perfectly upright or good in all of His ways (Ps 18:30; Diary, # 1741, 1744), vi blameless or without sin (Heb 7:26; Cor 5:21; Diary, # 17422); vii a “morally good” God, as well as a “Thrice- Holy” God (Is 6:3; Diary, # 1728, 1742). 66viii 65 Ibid., CCC, 302, 310-311, 413-415; Hardon, The Catholic Catechism: God, Man, and the Universe- Divine Providence, 80-85; Pope, Hugh. The Catholic Encyclopedia. "Angels: The Evil Angels.” Vol. 1. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01476d.htm (Internet Accessed January 15, 2016), 4- 5; Pope John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris, IV-15. 66 Ott, Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma: The Moral Goodness (Holiness) of God. Edited in English by James Cannon. Translated from German by Patrick Lynch. (Illinois: Tan Books and Publishers, 1974), 34. 16