Felix culpa

“The best of both worlds”

Biographies – John Owen.mp3
By John Piper

Felix

Felix (Latin for “happy” or “lucky”) is a male given name and surname.
See Felix (name) for individuals so named.

Felix culpa

“The fortunate fall”

Felix culpa is a Latin phrase that comes from the words Felix (meaning
“happy,” “lucky,” or “blessed”) and Culpa (meaning “fault” or “fall”),
and in the Catholic tradition is most often translated “happy fault.”

The Latin expression felix culpa derives from St. Augustine’s famous
allusion to one unfortunate event, the Fall of Man, Adam and Eve’s
fall and the loss of the Garden of Eden, known theologically as the
source of original sin. The phrase is sung annually in the Exsultet of
the Easter Vigil: “O felix culpa quae talem et tantum meruit habere
redemptorem,” “O happy fault that merited such and so great a
Redeemer.” The medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas[1] cited this line
when he explained how the principle that “God allows evils to happen
in order to bring a greater good therefrom” underlies the causal
relation between original sin and the Divine Redeemer’s Incarnation,
thus concluding that a higher state is not inhibited by sin. The
Catholic saint Ambrose also speaks of the fortunate ruin of Adam in
the Garden of Eden in that his sin brought more good to humanity than
if he had stayed perfectly innocent.[2]

The concept also comes up in Hebrew tradition in the Exodus of the
Israelites from Egypt and is associated with God’s judgment. Although
it is not a fall, the thinking goes that without their exile in the
desert the Israelites would not have the joy of finding their promised
land. With their suffering came the hope of victory and their life
restored.[2]

In a literary context, the term “felix culpa” can describe how a
series of miserable events will eventually lead to a happier outcome.
The theological concept is one of the underlying themes of Raphael
Carter’s science fiction novel The Fortunate Fall; the novel’s title
derives explicitly from the Latin phrase. It is also the theme of the
fifteenth-century English text Adam lay ybounden, of unknown
authorship, and it is used in various guises, such as “Foenix culprit”
and “phaymix cupplerts” by James Joyce in Finnegans Wake.

…should the Lord tarry, great Grace will be seen!

The longer He waits, the more that are called the Elect, great and
lasting Grace lavished on all!

I was made for this.

Original sin to the fullness of Redemption

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