Ending Original Sin
Friends in Christ, in the first reading today from the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul says ‘Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all have sinned.
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He is referring here to the doctrine of Original Sin. Adam and Eve were supposed to have been King and Queen of the earth; Adam, the high priest, offering creation to God. Adam was supposed to be the head of the human race.
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The first man and woman possessed sanctifying grace, the life of God in their soul; had Adam and Eve remained faithful to God, their offspring and all of the human race would have inherited this life of grace; we would have been truly happy, and immortal. Original Man was free from suffering, had great knowledge, and perfect integrity of body and soul. But sin entered the world; there was the Fall, and the loss of grace, and because of that, death entered the world, creation was wounded.
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This loss was for everyone. From that day forward, people are born into this life in the natural state: human, yes, but without the Divine Life in them. And death became part of human life.
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Jesus is called the New Adam. He has come to do what Adam should have done: be faithful to God, withstand temptation, be the perfect human being, and the High Priest, offering everything to our Father in heaven.
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Because Christ is the true head of our race, when he conquers sins and death, he does this for everyone. St. Paul says it: ‘just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. Just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous.’
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So this is a summary of how Christ is the New Adam. This salvific act of Jesus is effective for all, available to all, because Jesus Christ is a Divine Person, and in his Person he encompasses all. It is the source of our gratitude and unending thanksgiving, that Christ has made all this possible for us.
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By baptism, we are restored to this grace: sanctifying grace. And eventually, through holiness in this life and fully in the next, we will be restored to all the supernatural gifts of Paradise.
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‘If by that one man’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.’