LESSON 13: ORIGINAL SIN

"Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and
so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned...  For as by the
disobedience of one man, many were made sinners; so also by the obedience of
one, many shall be made just."  (Romans 5:12, 19)

Read the first three chapters of Genesis.

1. What is Original Sin?
    The sin committed by Adam, the father of the human race.  By Original
Sin, Adam lost Sanctifying Grace.

2. Who were Adam and Eve?
    The first man and woman, from whom every human being on this earth is
descended.

3. How did the sin of Adam affect the human race?
    Because of Adam's sin, every human being is created with Original Sin on
his soul and without Sanctifying Grace, since Adam was the father of the
human race.
Adam's nature became "fallen" through Original Sin, and we his descendants
inherit his fallen nature.

"By the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners."    (Romans 5:19)

4. What else did Adam's sin do?
   The gates of Heaven were closed; disease, pain and death came into the
world; the mind of man was darkened and his will was weakened.

"For the imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his
youth."    (Genesis 8:21)

5. Is Heaven still closed to the human race?
   No, because of Christ's death on the Cross, God reopened Heaven and made
Sanctifying Grace available to man.

"As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive."    (1
Corinthians 15:22)

6. What happened to the good people who died before Christ?
   They went to Limbo, a place of natural happiness in the next world, and
stayed there until Jesus ascended into heaven.

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom.  And the rich man also died:  and he was buried in
Hell."    (Luke 16:22)

7. How do you get rid of Original Sin and obtain Sanctifying Grace?
   Baptism takes away Original Sin and put Sanctifying grace in your soul.

"Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God.    (John 3:5)

8. Was any human being preserved from Original Sin?
   Yes, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose soul was created with Sanctifying
Grace in it.  This is called the Immaculate Conception.

"And the angel being come in, said unto her:  Hail, full of grace, the Lord
is with thee:  blessed art thou among women.    (Luke 1:28)

PRACTICAL POINTS

1. From the way God punished the sin of Adam, it is clear that the sin was a
serious one.  If Adam had not committed it, there would have been no
disease, pain or death.  So, you can see what a terrible thing sin is in the
eyes of God.

2. Only unbaptized babies and unbaptized persons who never had the use of
their minds go to Limbo now.

3. Baptism does not restore the other gifts lost by Adam's sin, that is,
freedom from pain, disease and death, and the perfect control over the lower
nature.

4. The Church teaches that the human race began with one man and one woman.
Any scientific theory of man's biological origin must agree with this fact.


LESSON 14: JESUS CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR

"For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that
whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.
For God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the
world may be saved by Him."  (John 3:16-17)

1. Did God abandon the human race after Adam's sin?
   No, He promised to send a savior into the world and to open again the
gates of Heaven.

"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed:
She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel."
(Genesis 3:15)

2. Who is the Savior of all men?
   Jesus Christ, who, by His death on the Cross, has saved us from our sins.

"Thou shalt call His name Jesus.  For He shall save His people from their
sins."    (Matthew 1:21)

3. Who is Jesus Christ?
   The Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, true God and true
man.

"And I saw, and I gave testimony, that this is the Son of God."    (John
1:34)

4. Who is the Mother of Jesus?
   The Blessed Virgin Mary.

"And the angel said to her:  Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with
God.  Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son;
and thou shalt call His name Jesus."    (Luke 1:30-31)

5. Did Jesus have a human father?
   No, because Mary conceived Jesus through the power of God.

"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign.  Behold a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel."    (Isaias
7:14)

6. Who, then, was St. Joseph?
   He was only the foster father of Jesus.

"The angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying:  'Joseph, son
of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is
conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.'"    (Matthew 1:20)

7. Did Mary have any other children besides Jesus?
   No, she and Joseph lived as brother and sister, although they were
legally married.

"The angel Gabriel was sent from God... to a virgin espoused to a man whose
name was Joseph... and the virgin's name was Mary... and the angel said unto
her...; 'Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son'...
And Mary said to the angel:  'How shall this be done, because I know not
man?'"    (Luke 1:26-34)

8. When and where was Jesus born?
   He was born some 2,000 years ago on Christmas Day in Bethlehem, a small
town near Jerusalem in Israel.

9. Where did Jesus live during most of His life?
   In the city of Nazareth, until He was about thirty years old.

10. How did Jesus spend the last three years of His life?
   He preached His Gospel, worked miracles and established His Church.

"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their ѕуηαgσgυєs, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom:  and healing all manner of sickness and
every infirmity, among the people."    (Matthew 4:23)

11. How was Jesus condemned to death?
   One of His Apostles, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus to His enemies, who
got the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to condemn Him to death, as He
(Jesus) had foretold.

"Jesus began to shew to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and
suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be
put to death, and the third day rise again."    (Matthew 16:21)

12. What were the chief sufferings of Jesus?
   The agony in the garden, the bloody sweat, the cruel scourging, the
crowning with thorns, His death on the Cross, and His spiritual and mental
sufferings.

"He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins:  the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we are healed."
(Isaias 53:5)

13. How did Jesus die?
   He was nailed to a cross on a hill called Calvary, just outside the city
of Jerusalem, and three hours later He died.

"Who His own self bore our sins in His body upon the tree:  that we, being
dead to sins, should live to justice:  by whose stripes you were healed."
(1 Peter 2:24)

14. On what day did Jesus die?
   On Good Friday.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love than this no one hath, that a man lay down His life for His
friends."    (John 15:12-13)

15. When Jesus died, where did His soul go?
   He went to Limbo to tell the people there that the gates of Heaven would
soon be opened.

"Put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit.  In which
also coming He preached to those spirits that were in prison."    (1 Peter
3:18-19)

16. On what day did Jesus rise from the dead?
   On Easter Sunday, three days after His death, as He had foretold.

"For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received:  How that
Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:  And that He was
buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures:
And that He was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven.  Then was He
seen by more than five hundred brethren at once."    (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)

17. How long did Jesus stay on earth after His Resurrection?
   For forty days, to prove that He really had risen.

"To whom also he shewed Himself alive after His passion, by many proofs, for
forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God."    (Acts
1:3)

18. When did Jesus ascend into Heaven?
   On Ascension Thursday, forty days after His Resurrection.

"And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into Heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God."    (Mark 16:19)

19. Who ascended into Heaven with Jesus?
   The souls who had been in Limbo.

"Ascending on high, He led captivity captive; He gave gifts to men.  Now
that He ascended, what is it, but because He also descended first into the
lower parts of the earth?"    (Ephesians 4:8-9)

20. Will Jesus come back again?
   Yes, on Judgment Day, to judge the living and the dead.

"For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels:
And then will He render to every man according to His works."    (Matthew
16:27)

21. What did the Apostles do after the Ascension?
   They went back to Jerusalem and waited for the coming of the Holy Ghost.

"But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the
Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, He shall give testimony of
Me."    (John 15:26)

22. When did the Holy Ghost come down upon the Apostles?
   On Pentecost Sunday, ten days after the Ascension.

"And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all
together in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven, as of a
mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat
upon every one of them:  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."
(John 15:26)

PRACTICAL POINTS

1. The life of Jesus is contained in the first four books of the New
Testament, called the Gospels, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
However, only the main events of Christ's life are in the Gospels.

2. The brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in the Bible were not
children of Mary, but were only cousins. The words "brother" and "sister"
were used by the Jєωs to mean cousin or other relatives.
  See Lev. 10:4, I Par. 23:22, Gen. 12:5, and Gen 14:14.

3. From the sufferings of Jesus, you should learn of God's great love for
man, the evil of sin and the perfect example of patience in suffering.

"For what glory is it, if committing sin, and being buffeted for it, you
endure?  But if doing well, you suffer patiently; this is thankworthy before
God.  For unto this are you called:  Because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving you an example that you should follow His steps."    (1 Peter
2:20-21)

"And He said to all, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow me.'"    (Luke 9:23)