My dear Parishioners,
Peace! The first article of the Apostle’s Creed is: I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth. There are forty “in brief” statements in The Catechism of the Catholic Church which treat this article of our saving faith. What follows is a reflection on article 418.
Original Sin is distinct from what is called ‘actual sin’ or ‘personal sin.’ Original Sin is that which we inherit with our humanity. In our first parents, whom Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition identify as Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:20) Original Sin was actual and personal sin, but it also impacts all who would ever come to be decended from them. There is an entire section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which treats morality and sin in depth. For now, it is enough to distinguish that there are different categories of sins: Original, actual or personal, mortal or venial.
Human beings are a composite sort of being made up of both body and soul. The body is made up of so much matter, the flesh and bones about which physiologists write tomes. The soul, however, is immaterial. The soul is present to every part and all of the parts of our bodies at once, uniting them all into our living selves. Each human being is a part of the human race and all human beings are said to have ‘human nature’ or ‘humanness.’
There are four (4) main consequences which flow from Original Sin: suffering, death, ignorance, and an inclination to sin. Suffering and death were kept from our race as a ‘preternatural’ grace. Because of our abandonment of God and His holy will in Adam this preservation from suffering and death was removed from us.
While we are made for the truth and we can come to know truth(s) (i.e. Nashville is the capital of Tennessee; George Washington was the first President of the United States; Poe was a poet…) Since the Fall of Man or Original Sin it is difficult for us to know the truth without any admixture of error (cf. DS 1799-1800).
Original Sin has disordered us all by changing our original orientation toward God and all that is good and rather set us on course for sin. This disordering is called concupiscence and it is an inclination or tendency to sin.
The remedy to all of this, Original Sin, suffering, death, ignorance and the tendency to sin is Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died to save us from sin Original Sin and all our actual sins as well as from the eternal death of Hell. By His death and resurrection applied to us in Holy Baptism we are given the grace we need for our lives to be reoriented toward Him and His holy will. Jesus has identified Himself as the Truth, which we know, sets us free (John 14:6; 8:32).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr