From: Romans 5:12-15
Adam’s Original Sin
[15] But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s
trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that
one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
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Commentary:
12-14. This passage can be elaborated on as follows: just as sin entered the
world through the action of a single individual man, so righteousness is attained
for us by one man — Jesus Christ. Adam, the first man, is a type of the “new Adam”:
Adam contained within himself all mankind, his offspring; the “new Adam” is “the
first-born of all creation” and “the head of the body, the Church” (Colossians 1:15,
18) because He is the redeeming Word Incarnate. To Adam we are linked by flesh
and blood, to Christ by faith and the Sacraments.
When, in His infinite goodness, He raised Adam to share in the divine life, God al-
so decreed that our First Parent would pass on to us his human nature and with it
all the various gifts that perfected it and the grace that sanctified it. But Adam
committed a sin by breaking God’s commandment and as a result he immediately
lost the holiness and righteousness in which he had been installed, and because
of this disloyalty he incurred God’s wrath and indignation and, as consequence,
death — as God had warned him. By becoming mortal and falling under the power
of the devil, Adam “was changed for the worse”, in both body and soul (cf. Council
of Trent, “De Peccato Originali”, Canon 1). From then on Adam and his descen-
dants pass on a human nature deprived of supernatural gifts, and men are in a
state of enmity with God, which means that they cannot attain eternal beatitude.
The fact of Original Sin is a truth of faith. This has been stated once again solemn-
ly by [Pope] Paul VI: “We believe that in Adam all have sinned. From this it follows
that, on account of the original offense committed by him, human nature, which is
common to all men, is reduced to that condition in which it must suffer the conse-
quences of that Fall [...]. Consequently, fallen human nature is deprived of the eco-
nomy of grace which it formerly enjoyed. It is wounded in its natural powers and
subjected to the dominion of death which is transmitted to all men. It is in this
sense that every man is born in sin. We hold, therefore, in accordance with the
Council of Trent, that Original Sin is transmitted along with human nature, “not by
imitation but by propagation”, and is, therefore, incurred by each person individual-
ly” (”Creed of the People of God”, 16).
Our own experience bears out what divine Revelation tells us: when we examine
our conscience we realize that we have this inclination towards evil and we are
conscious of being enmeshed in evils which cannot have their source in our holy
Creator (cf. Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 13). The obvious presence of evil in the
world and in ourselves convince us of the profound truth contained in Revelation
and moves us to fight against sin.
“So much wretchedness! So many offenses! Mine, yours, those of all mankind
....
“Et in peccatis concepit me mater mea!” In sin did my mother conceive me! (Psalm
51:5). I, like all men, came into the world stained with the guilt of our First Parents.
And then...my own sins: rebellions, thought about, desired, committed....
“To purify us of this rottenness, Jesus chose to humble Himself and take on the
form of a slave (cf. Philippians 2:7), becoming incarnate in the spotless womb of
our Lady, His Mother, who is also your Mother and mine. He spent thirty years in
obscurity, working like everyone else, at Joseph’s side. He preached. He worked
miracles.... And we repaid Him with a cross.
“Do you need more motives for contrition?” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way of the Cross,
IV, 2).
13-14. Both the commandment imposed by God on Adam, and the Mosaic Law,
threatened the transgressor with death; but the same cannot be said of the period
between Adam and Moses. In that period also people did sin against the natural
law written on every person’s heart (cf. 2:12ff). However, their sins “were not like
the transgression of Adam”, because the natural law did not explicitly bind under
pain of death. If, nevertheless, they in fact had to die, this proves, the Apostle con-
cludes, that death is due not to personal sins but to original sin. It is also proved,
the Fathers of the Church usually add, by the fact that some people die before
reaching the use of reason, that is, before they are capable of sinning.
Death is a consequence of original sin, because that sin brought with it the loss
of the “preternatural” gift of immortality (cf. Gen 2:17; 3:19). Adam incurred this
loss when, through a personal act of his, he broke an explicit, specific command
of God. Later, under the Mosaic Law, there were also certain precepts which in-
volved the death penalty if broken (cf., for example, Exod 21:12ff; Lev 24:16). In
the period from Adam to Moses there was no law which stated: If you sin, you
shall die. However, people in that period were all subject to death, even those
who committed no sin “like the transgression of Adam”, that is, what is termed
“actual sin”.
Therefore, death is due to a sin—original sin—which attaches to each man, woman
and child, yet which is not an “actual sin”. This original sin is the cause of death,
and the fact that everyone dies is the proof that everyone is affected by original
sin. The Second Vatican Council sums up this teaching as follows: “The Church,
taught by divine Revelation, declares that God has created man in view of a
blessed destiny that lies beyond the limits of his sad state on earth. Moreover,
the Christian faith teaches that bodily death, from which man would have been
immune had he not sinned (cf. Wis 1:13; 2:23-24; Rom 5:21; 6:23; Jas 1: 15), will
be overcome when that wholeness which he lost through his own fault will be gi-
ven once again to him by the almighty and merciful Savior. For God has called
man, and still calls him, to cleave with all his being to him in sharing for ever a
life that is divine and free from all decay” (”Gaudium Et Spes”, 18).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Matthew 10:26-33
Jesus’ Instructions to the Apostles (Continuation)
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Commentary:
26-27. Jesus tells His disciples not to be afraid of calumny and detraction. A
day will come when everyone will come to know the whole truth about everyone
else, their real intentions, the true dispositions of their souls. In the meantime,
those who belong to God may be misrepresented by those who resort to lies,
out of malice or passion. These are the hidden things which will be made known.
Christ also tells the Apostles to speak out clearly. Jesus’ divine teaching me-
thod led Him to speak to the crowds in parables so that they came to discover
His true personality by easy stages. After the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf.
Acts 1:8), the Apostles would have to preach from the rooftops about what
Jesus had taught them.
We too have to make Christ’s doctrine known in its entirety, without any ambi-
guity, without being influenced by false prudence or fear of the consequences.
28. Using this and other Gospel texts (Matthew 5:22, 29; 18:9; Mark 9:43, 45,
47; Luke 12:5), the Church teaches that hell exists; there those who die in mor-
tal sin suffer eternal punishment (cf. “St. Pius V Catechism”, I, 6, 3), in a man-
ner not known to us in this life (cf. St. Teresa of Avila, “Life”, Chapter 32). See
notes on Luke 16:19-31.
Therefore, our Lord warns His disciples against false fear. We should not fear
those who can only kill the body. Only God can cast body and soul into hell.
Therefore God is the only one we should fear and respect; He is our Prince and
Supreme Judge—not men. The martyrs have obeyed this precept of the Lord in
the fullest way, well aware that eternal life is worth much more than earthly life.
29-31. An “as” (translated here as “penny”) was a small coin of very little value.
Christ uses it to illustrate how much God loves His creatures. As St. Jerome
says (”Comm. in Matth.”, 10:29-31): “If little birds, which are of such little value,
still come under the providence and care of God, how is it that you, who, given
the nature of your soul, are immortal, can fear that you are not looked after care-
fully by Him whom you respect as your Father?” Jesus again teaches us about
the fatherly providence of God, which He spoke about at length in the Sermon
on the Mount (cf. Matthew 6:19-34).
32-33. Here Jesus tells us that public confession of our faith in Him—whatever
the consequences—is an indispensable condition for eternal salvation. After the
Judgment, Christ will welcome those who have given testimony of their faith and
condemn those whom fear caused to be ashamed of Him (cf. Matthew 7:23; 25:
41; Revelation 21:8). The Church honors as “confessors” those Saints who have
not undergone physical martyrdom but whose lives bore witness to the Catholic
faith. Although every Christian should be ready to die for his faith, most Christians
are called to be confessors of the faith.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.