Some years ago I worked in a parish with Religious Sister from radicalized and dying order. And she had all the usual aliments of radicalized women religious which, for brevity I will not recite here. But Among her ailments was the denial of the doctrine of Original Sin.
She had read a book published in those years by a radicalized priest, named Matthew Fox, who has since left the Catholic Priesthood. And in his book, Original Blessing, he denied Original Sin an proposed that we were all basically good, and that the concept of a cosmic fall, was negative not only to Man but also to creation. Frankly it is hard to distinguish Fox’s overall views from simple Pantheism. This is no place or time to recite his manifold errors here.
But poor Sister X (we’ll call her) she sat in a gathering of parishioners and outright denied Original Sin and declared that we are all basically good. As a young priest, though resistant to correcting an elderly person in public, I rushed to defend Church teaching and correct her erroneous teaching in that meeting.
Later I took her aside and questioned her: “You cannot possibly be serious about this are you?” With wild gesticulations of dismissiveness, she declared, “Oh you young priests are all so negative! I grew up in the bad old Church and you’re trying to bring all that back….All you think about is sin. Do you really think some apple in a tree caused some terrible fall?”
Hmm…, I said, “I don’t think it was so much the apple in the tree as it was the pair on the ground. I think that’s where the sin was. But seriously Sister, sin is a pretty significant problem, yet it does supply a kind of necessary premise to grace and mercy, don’t you think? I mean, if were all so good, and basically in good shape, who needs Jesus and what was he doing on that Cross? It is also clear to me Sister that you have never raised children!”
What I meant by this was that even the youngest “innocent” children, show forth the deep wounds left by Original Sin that the Church calls “concupiscence.” I find it remarkable, having observed my youngest brother (who was ten years younger than I) as he emerged from infancy, and other children as well, that there are enormous issues with selfishness, temper, anger and rebellion right from the start. The “terrible twos” are called that for a reason. Meltdowns are common in young children, temper tantrums, clenched fists, and red faces are not rare.
Yes, there are very deep wounds in the human heart, and they are not merely acquired by bad experiences, they seem present right from the start. Baptism takes away the source of the problem, but the many wounds need life long healing, especially since we “pick at the scabs” through life.
So I was on an errand with Sister. Every day for several weeks I brought her the Newspaper filled with stories of treachery, crime, corruption, sex scandals, murder, gang violence, you name it. And I said, “Sister, if it isn’t Original Sin, what is it?! Come on, you have to admit that there is something basically wrong with us as a human family!”
“Oh,” she said, “They are not depraved, they are just deprived.” Lovely, I thought, so now we’re quoting musicals (West Side Story) for our authority, instead of Scripture or the Church. It is true that Catholicism does not teach the “utter depravity” of the human person as do some Protestant sects, but that does not mean all is well either.
As we saw in yesterday’s Boston bombings, the cause of which is still largely unknown as I write, there is a great tendency toward evil in the human family, a tendency to which people are drawn to grater or lesser degrees, but a tendency that afflicts us all at some level. This concupiscence is a wound that needs healing.
At present there is the outworking of something Scripture calls “the mystery of iniquity” (2 Thess 2:7). There is evil in this world, and we are strangely drawn to it. Indeed, in these dark times we often celebrate it by calling “good” was God calls sin. We also turn it into a form of entertainment through pornography and violent movies and games. We glamorize gangsters, and “bad boys” in the hood. Illicit sexual union receives sympathetic treatment even outright exultation.
Yes, there is evil, sin and darkness in this world we are strangely attracted to it. We live in a fallen world, governed by a fallen angel, with our own fallen natures. As Boston reminds us, we need to be sober about the reality of sin and about our need for grace and mercy. Without grace and mercy, Hell begins now, and gets only worse. Only grace and mercy can really heal us.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has some important things to say about Original Sin that may be helpful in the wake of yesterday’s explosion of evil. Since this may be a sort of teachable moment about the “Mystery of Iniquity” let us listen to some excerpts from the wisdom and heart of Mother Church:
Sin is present in human history; any attempt to ignore it or to give this dark reality other names would be futile….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…
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. 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. Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God,…Scripture witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls “a murderer from the beginning.”…Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness. (#s 386-398 selected)
Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They become afraid of the God of whom they have conceived a distorted image – that of a God jealous of his prerogatives. …The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul’s spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination.
Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man. Because of man, creation is now subject “to its bondage to decay”. Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will “return to the ground”, for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history. (# 400)
After that first sin, the world is virtually inundated by sin There is Cain’s murder of his brother Abel and the universal corruption which follows in the wake of sin. Likewise, sin frequently manifests itself in the history of Israel, especially as infidelity to the God of the Covenant and as transgression of the Law of Moses. And even after Christ’s atonement, sin raises its head in countless ways among Christians.
Scripture and the Church’s Tradition continually recall the presence and universality of sin in man’s history: What Revelation makes known to us is confirmed by our own experience. For when man looks into his own heart he finds that he is drawn towards what is wrong and sunk in many evils which cannot come from his good creator.
Often refusing to acknowledge God as his source, man has also upset the relationship which should link him to his last end, and at the same time he has broken the right order that should reign within himself as well as between himself and other men and all creatures. (#s 400-401)
Following St. Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which oppresses men and their inclination towards evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam’s sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all born afflicted, a sin which is the “death of the soul”. Because of this certainty of faith, the Church baptizes for the remission of sins even tiny infants who have not committed personal sin. (# 403)
Original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam’s descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin – an inclination to evil that is called “concupiscence”.
Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle. The whole of man’s history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God’s grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity. (#s 405, 409).
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, knows very well that we cannot tamper with the revelation of original sin without undermining the mystery of Christ. (# 389)
So there it is. The clear water of faith. Whatever the details we learn about the Boston Bombings in the days ahead, this is the back-story. A story of a terrible fall, a grave wound in the human heart that leads to an obtuse spirit and inclination to evil. Jesus alone can heal and save us from this present evil age (Gal 1:4).
Lord, Jesus: For the sake of thy sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!
Beautiful reflection, as always, Monsignor.
Excellent——as I watched the news reports on CNN i couldn’t help but think that a lack of love and faith in God were behind all the evils happeining……….
Just terrific. SO thankful for that mercy and grace at the Cross which takes head-on the reality of original sin.
Thank you, Monsignor. Original Sin does exist, and without God’s grace and mercy, we are drawn into doing wrong things.
I have not been able to even get to DrudgeReport on this because of modem problems which causes my computer to crawl, so it will be a few days before I get the chance to read. However, I know this much: I’m glad you said near the beginning that we ‘don’t know the cause’ yet, because…. well, 911 was definitely an inside job, and I am quite aware of the tendency of government to stage all kinds of things. Be VERY VERY VERY cautious, readers, before coming to judgment on this and DO NOT NOT NOT trust bought and paid for mainstream media at all – . Please !
Ever since 9 11 we have had the emphasis on TERRORISM, and that’s exactly what the intended effect of it was – a terrific, time-honored way to control people. We got, written IN ADVANCE, the so-called “Patriot Act” and the insane patdowns at the airport which a few years earlier we never ever would have conceived let alone tolerated. I’m in the minority of people suspicious of this…. perhaps among posters that is. However: Sandy Hook was planned for three years – the evidence is incontrovertible. Bottom Line: getting control of the herd is essential, and manufactured terror – patsies who are trained, etc. etc. – this is common, is a great way to get control.
Anyone who doubts what I say about 9 11 needs to read Catholic Dr. Webster G. Tarpley’s book, 9 11, Synthetic Terror. Everything we are seeing today is false, and as for me, I cling to the Catholic faith as if my life depended on it, which it does.
Nandarani —
Is a Tendency-Towards-Conspiracy-Theories a result of Original Sin? If not, why did you bother responding to Monsignor’s thoughtful post re the fruits of Sin, and our response to same? Hi, Jack!
It looks like Sister X should have read her CCC # 405 in order to discover the real deprivation: “Original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam’s descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice”.
It looks like Sister X should have read her CCC # 405 in order to discover the real deprivation: “Original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam’s descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice”.
I think, though, it is important to remember that we were created good and, though we did fall and are fallen, we retain that dignity that comes from being created in the image and likeness of God.
Denial. I have sometimes observed it as a pseudo acronym, “Don’t Even kNow I Am Lying”
Was this a basis for the viewpoint of the Sister whom you’ve mentioned? I don’t know and I try not to judge but, it has been a major contributor to many of the problems in my life and; those problems persisted as my denial moved around, and away from, all my attempts to deal with it – until I finally faced it with the help of those who had been through the same process. They were like spiritual guides who used themselves as living evidence that only a process (“Half measures availed us nothing.”) could have saved me from that which “…no human power could have relieved…” Alcoholics Anonymous Basic Text pages 59 & 60.
I saw that my previous attempts at, yet another “quick fix”, were no better than addiction to substance or intangeable – such as obsessive/compulsive gambling.
Lately, I’ve begun to wonder if Eve (and later Adam) chose death over God’s guidance through the process of life. Sure, the serpent gave assurance that they would not die but; was he believed or … was his assurance grasped as denial which supported an attempt to escape a growth which they did not (nor could not) understand.
I recall my suicide attempt many years ago. As the pill bottles and drug wrappers fell from my grasp, and awareness slipped away, my predominating thought was a grateful, “I’m out of here”
There was also a fear of facing my father, who had predeceased me (a symbolic fear of facing my Heavenly Father?) but I was able to push that away.
Today, I am very greatful (mis-spelling deliberate) to have survived and to have chosen life afterwards, as opportunities continue to beckon from the eternal which had seemed hopeless until I accepted the use of processes. An eternity which shows greater challenges that assure me that eternal life will not be a boring existance of sitting on a cloud strumming a harp. Where did that come from anyway?
Facing denial and accepting a process (that leads me through that which I don’t understand) over the search for a “quick fix” relieved me of many unholy fears.
Thank you for this, and so many other, inspiring articles which help to clarify.
I like your acronym, I will steal it!
Thanks! I’m glad you found Christ, God bless!
The solution to our problem with original sin and concupiscence? More and better i–phones.
I pray for those who commit such heinous and cowardly acts. How can one live without God and his mercy? What a hollow existence.
I am a Protestant brother in Christ, and I have been following your blog for some time. I really enjoy reading your posts. I just would like to say that my understanding of what is known as “Total Depravity” in Calvinism actually is a reference to the scope of sin totally affecting each person’s life (soul – body and spirit) so that no part of the soul is untouched by original sin, and not that everyone is “Utterly Depraved” as in there is no capacity of goodness left of God’s image in man. Man still reflect God’s capacity to reason, yet man loves to embrace irrationality of various degrees, man still reflects God’s capacity to understand and recognize God’s moral laws, yet man loves to violate those laws to various degrees and even flaunt them. Man’s body still bears resemblemce to its original design, but yet is fraught with the effects of original sin (mental and physical disabilities).
Just as there are radicalized brothers and sisters in the Catholic church there are also radicalized brothers and sisters among the Protestants. The scope of Original Sin has no boundaries in creation and until Christ completes His redemption throughout all creation the effects of Original Sin will remain and we will all suffer patiently as wheat among the tares, lest God has the angels reap the tares too soon and pull out the wheat before its due time.
Thank you for this, Father.
Were you ever able to change the heart of Sister X and her non-belief in original sin?
Well, it’s hard to say. To some extent she backed down, after all the evidence of Original Sin is overwhelming. But she never really came out and said, the Church is right, she DID at least refrain from spreading or speaking about the error. Soon enough she retired, and was gone. I lost track of her and am certain that she must have died by now, if not she’d be nearing 100 and thus I pray and hope she now sees all things in clarity with the Lord.
It was so sad that she was influenced by some stupid book. But then you have to ask yourself why didn’t she pick up the Bible or the CCC to read? She must have been very heavily influenced by the culture.
And here lies the tragedy–the world influenced this sister more than the Church.
On another note, isn’t the Devil’s scheme interesting as people begin to pay attention to the Kermit Gosnell abortion trial in Philadelphia, this Boston Marathon tragedy happens. I think the Devil is trying use this tragedy as a distraction from the focus of the abortion trial. From what I have heard, I believed that 7 babies were born alive and he murdered them and one women died in his “house of horrors.” Gosnell just out right murdered these babies by snipping their spinal cords. But his assistant mentioned that hundreds of babies were born alive in his clinic and they were murdered the same way.
Pray hard to St. Michael for his protection, we as a nation really really need help! Peace.
Good reflection monsgr.
God’s healing mercy cannot be swept under justice n vice versa.
I don’t always know how to interpret the “figurative language” part that is quoted from the catechism? Are Adam and Eve real people or stand-ins as it were? Which part is figurative — the apple/ tree part? The serpent? The two people involved? I wish the catechism were clearer on this.
Well there is something of a range permitted to Catholics in the details. Much of the answer to your question about Adam and Eve was answered by Pope Pius XII who cast grave doubt on theories of polygenism. Hence the weight of Catholic teaching is to understand that Adam and Eve were actual historical figures, not mere literary figures. At the end of the day, what is most important in the Genesis account is to emphasize that it describes actual historical truth, even if it does so in a summary manner and uses literal devices to do so. Thus, God made every thing out of nothing and guides the work of creation at every stage, and even to this day works immanently and with sovereignty in and over all he has made. Further that he personally and intentionally creates every human person. Genesis also recounts that actual truth that man rebelled against God and not only wounded his own nature, but that the whole natural order was sent reeling. I have written more here: http://blog.adw.org/2010/10/polygenism/ and here: http://blog.adw.org/2010/10/on-the-genre-of-genesis-and-a-strange-little-question/
Thanks Monsignor Pope. That is a really helpful response.
Monsignor Pope. Thank you for this thoughtful and clear reflection on Original Sin. Your writing on this topic tore anothr veil from my spiritual eyes. Like our original parents, i grew up from very early childhood loving God. His love sustained me through terrible trials of serious illnesses and abuse. Yet, i became “afraid” of Him for a very long time in early adulthood. And could not within myself, understand why. For since my earliest memory, He had always been with me. Looking at it through this writing, i see the consequences of Original Sin clearly in my life. And thank God that He moved within me and brought me back to Him. God bless you Father. You, through Christ and the Holy Spirit, are touching lives!
It was so sad that she was influenced by some stupid book. But then you have to ask yourself why didn’t she pick up the Bible or the CCC to read? She must have been very heavily influenced by the culture.
And here lies the tragedy–the world influenced this sister more than the Church.
On another note, isn’t the Devil’s scheme interesting as people begin to pay attention to the Kermit Gosnell abortion trial in Philadelphia, this Boston Marathon tragedy happens. I think the Devil is trying use this tragedy as a distraction from the focus of the abortion trial. From what I have heard, I believed that 7 babies were born alive and he murdered them and one women died in his “house of horrors.” Gosnell just out right murdered these babies by snipping their spinal cords. But his assistant mentioned that hundreds of babies were born alive in his clinic and they were murdered the same way.
Pray hard to St. Michael for his protection, we as a nation really really need help! Peace.
Actually the CCC had not yet been published in those earlier years of my priesthood. Those were much darker days. I don’t think we can underestimate what the publication of the CCC has done to better frame the discussion of the faith and to provide a clear delineation of what is the faith and what is not. No wonder the theological liberal so opposed its publication and then so vigorously debated who got to translate it to English.
Completely agree. I had forgotten almost everything about the Faith and reading the Catechism was a major factor in my becoming a revert. It is a very dry and complex text, however, and I think bringing back the Baltimore Catechism would be a big help, especially for younger people or those who didn’t receive a very good education.
We use to pray to St. Michael after every low Mass. Big mistake for that practice to be abolished!!!
That’s is right the CCC wasn’t publish yet, I forgot. However, she could have picked up the Summa and read it.
“Lord, Jesus: For the sake of thy sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!”–Amen.
Ah the moneygram scam, I just got 4 of them today. No reference #’s The money orders are duplicates w/the same serial #. The scammers were fairly convincing, good looking website etc. Today I get a call from a guy supposedly from his office and all I hear are Roosters crowing in the background. HaHaHa office chickens!! Beware people, nobody just sends you money, get involved with something legitimate…………
Evidence from the DNA in the cytoplasm of human ova shows that all humans now alive, Aracanian indians in Patagonia through Aleuts and Inuits in Alaska and Maoris in New Zealand to Europeans, Polynesians, etc. have a common female ancestor perhaps 2 million years ago. Scientific conjecture is that this ancestor lived in Africa.
The Adam & Eve story may be allegorical, but some ancestor (or ancestors) of ours did disobey God’s command in some respect, in order to leave us all with this weakness.
“O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” is an appropriate prayer for all of us. Let him who thinks he stands take care, lest he fall. Analysis of behavior of adults shows that Pride is the most difficult vice to conquer, and intellectual pride is found in most intellectuals.
Thank you, Msgr Pope, for the discussion.
TeaPot562
I think it was GK Chesterton, in either Orthodoxy or the Everlasting Man, who commented that Original Sin was the one Catholic Doctrine that could be verified by reading the newspaper. I guess you proved that to be true!
I hope this question is not too frivolous, given the subject matter of this article, but does anyone know the artist/source of the Garden of Eden painting? I think it’s marvelous. Nicely put as always Msgr.
Msgr,
In a comment above you make the observation that Sister X had not had the benefit of the CCC because the document had not been published during the period of her radical views. I’d like to follow that up.
I know that there was a period of radicalism in the post-Vatican II period — Sister X’s views being one example of a much broader phenomenon — but I’ve never been able to explain why there was such a period. I know that the Church was buffeted by questionable and even radical views and practices after Vatican iI, it’s answering the WHY question that often stumps me. The absence of the Catechism is part of that explanation, and thanks for pointing that out. Would appreciate a further elaboration in your future posts.
Well, of course, as the title suggests, there is a mystery to iniquity. Tat said, I think what happened is that in first half of the 20 th century Catholicism was booming and if you put up four walls Catholics would fill it. But we kind of went into factory mode and mass production was the order of the day. It was a thousand miles wide but only two inches thick. We were good saying what we beleived, but so good at saying why. Thus when our culture went through shifts, we had few real answers to the deeper questions. Itnis also instructive that some of the most regimented and severe of the orders before the council were those that went most wacko. And thisnsuggests to me an over reaction of sorts to some of the extremes of fifteis conformity and regimentation. Also as you point out, while we didnt have the CCC Sister was without excuse and knew better. But what the CCC did do was to put to the lie all the many who said, “vatican II did away with all that.”
“…there are enormous issues with selfishness, temper, anger and rebellion right from the start. The “terrible twos” are called that for a reason. Meltdowns are common in young children, temper tantrums, clenched fists, and red faces are not rare.”
I’m mom to a 3 year old girl & 3 month old boy. 18 months of age is about the time I saw my daughter’s little will start to emerge. She sometimes has moments where she is obedient, extremely sweet, and considerate, but that is certainly not always true. I try to provide what is good for her — love, discipline, structure, safety, healthy food, etc. It is amazing to see the ways she fights against these good things sometimes. I have a sense that two things are going on:
1) she doesn’t totally understand the difference between what is good and what is bad
2) she is fighting me just for the sake of fighting
It provides a unique kind of insight into how God must feel as our Heavenly Father when we exert our wills against Him. Our fits of willfulness must look like a massive temper tantrum, where we are throwing ourselves on the ground, kicking and screaming (and injuring ourselves… and sometimes others) in this process. There are times during my daughter’s tantrums that I want to just throw up my hands and walk out of the house, but I never leave. I stay because I love her and I believe these problems can be overcome through love and teaching. I speculate that this must be similar to the way God sees us.
It always shocks me when people doubt evil. If you truly keep your eyes open, the only logical thing would be to doubt the existence of good.
He is Risen! Thanks be to God, Msgr, for your blog. Obedience to the Truth, Jesus, includes His Church. Jesus takes it personally which is the beauty and suffering shared in the communion. Eternal rest… peace, healing, salvation to all for the glory of God in Jesus Name.