67. Sin is rejection of God through disregard of his commandments.

Sin is rejection of God through disregard of his commandments.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 67

Ave Maria series

Fallen Man

67.  What is sin?

At the core of sin is rejection of God and the refusal to accept his love.  This is manifested in a disregard of his commandments.  [385-390]

Christ the Redeemer statue, Reo de Janerio, Brazil.  Designed by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by engineers Heitor da Silva Costa, Brazil and Albert Caquot, France. .....67

Sin is more than incorrect behavior; it is not just a psychological weakness.  In the deepest sense every rejection or destruction of something good is the rejection of good in itself, the rejection of God.  In its most profound and terrible dimension, sin is separation from God and, thus, separation from the source of life.  That is why death is another consequence of sin.  Only through Jesus do we understand the abysmal dimension of sin:  Jesus suffered God’s rejection in his own flesh.  He took upon himself the deadly power of sin so that it would not strike us.  The term that we use for this is redemption.  224-237, 315-318, 348-368

“Human weakness cannot upset the plans of divine omnipotence.  A divine master-builder can work even with falling stones.”  Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber (1869-1952, Archbishop of Munich and Freising)

Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.  Romans 5:20b

“When Christ’s hands were nailed to the Cross, he also nailed our sins to the Cross.” St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1190-1153)

[385-390]

The Fall

385 God is infinitely good and all his works are good. Yet no one can escape the experience of suffering or the evils in nature which seem to be linked to the limitations proper to creatures: and above all to the question of moral evil. Where does evil come from? "I sought whence evil comes and there was no solution", said St. Augustine,( St. Augustine, Conf. 7,7,11: Patrologia Latina 32,739.)²⁵⁷ and his own painful quest would only be resolved by his conversion to the living God. For "the mystery of lawlessness" is clarified only in the light of the "mystery of our religion".(2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Timothy 3:16.)²⁵⁸ The revelation of divine love in Christ manifested at the same time the extent of evil and the superabundance of grace.( Compare Romans 5:20.)²⁵⁹ We must therefore approach the question of the origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is its conqueror.( Compare Luke 11:21-22; John 16:11; 1 John 3:8.)²⁶⁰ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE ABOUNDED ALL THE MORE

The reality of sin

386 Sin is present in human history; any attempt to ignore it or to give this dark reality other names would be futile. To try to understand what sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of man to God, for only in this relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in its true identity as humanity's rejection of God and opposition to him, even as it continues to weigh heavy on human life and history. --CCC

387 Only the light of divine Revelation clarifies the reality of sin and particularly of the sin committed at mankind's origins. Without the knowledge Revelation gives of God we cannot recognize sin clearly and are tempted to explain it as merely a developmental flaw, a psychological weakness, a mistake, or the necessary consequence of an inadequate social structure, etc. Only in the knowledge of God's plan for man can we grasp that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another. --CCC

Original sin - an essential truth of the faith

388 With the progress of Revelation, the reality of sin is also illuminated. Although to some extent the People of God in the Old Testament had tried to understand the pathos of the human condition in the light of the history of the fall narrated in Genesis, they could not grasp this story's ultimate meaning, which is revealed only in the light of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.( Compare Romans 5:12-21.)²⁶¹ We must know Christ as the source of grace in order to know Adam as the source of sin. The Spirit-Paraclete, sent by the risen Christ, came to "convict the world concerning sin",(John 16:8.)²⁶² by revealing him who is its Redeemer. --CCC

389 The doctrine of original sin is, so to speak, the "reverse side" of the Good News that Jesus is the Savior of all men, that all need salvation and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. The Church, which has the mind of Christ,( Compare 1 Corinthians 2:16.)²⁶³ knows very well that we cannot tamper with the revelation of original sin without undermining the mystery of Christ. --CCC

How to read the account of the fall

390 The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man.( Compare Gaudium et Spes 13 § 1.)²⁶⁴ Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents.( Compare Council of Trent: Denzinger-Schonmetzer 1513; Pius XII: DS 3897; Paul VI: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58 (1966), 654. )²⁶⁵ --CCC