When Sin is Abolished!

When Sin is Abolished!

Where will I be and what will my chances of complete redemption become a reality?  A question that should not find its way into a person's repertoire.  After all, didn’t God send Christ, his only Son, to show man there is one way to walk away from this element.   if left alone, it will become the factor that awaits his soul.  Yet there does exist the possibility that anyone finding their way to that can turn into a probability that has no reverse.  

Irreversible sin is a real result when our temptation allows our desires to choose not to seek and find the forgiveness that can only wrap itself around the soul that has found another path to victory.  The death of anyone’s immortal soul is guaranteed when our thoughts of God’s mercy escapes us and the collection of securing God’s mercy becomes distasteful to us when each failure builds a rampart that may present an obstacle too hard to climb over.

As we dissect what sin has caused man to sin it is necessary to look into the consequences of  its hold upon man.  “Although it is proper to each individual, 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 man back toward God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.”  (CCC 405).

“After his fall, man was not abandoned by God.   On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall.  This passage in Genesis is called the Protoevangelium (first gospel) the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and the final victory of a descendant of hers.”  (CCC 410).  

“Death is a consequence of sin.  The Church’s Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death entered the world on account of man’s sin.  Even though man’s nature is mortal, God had destined him not to die.  Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator and entered the world as a consequence of sin.  Bodily death, from which man would have been immune had he not sinned is thus “the last enemy” of man left to be conquered.”  (CCC 1008).

“The Paschal mystery has two aspects; by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life.  This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace.  “Go and tell my brethren.”  We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.”  (CCC 654).

“But why did God not prevent the first man from sinning?  St. Leo the Great responds, “Christ’s inexpressible grace gave us blessings better than those the demon’s envy had taken away.”  And St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “There is nothing to prevent human nature’s being raised up to something greater, even after sin;  God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good.  Thus St. Paul says, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more;” and the Exultet sings “O happy fault,.....which gained for us so great a Redeemer.”  (CCC 412).

“When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.”  And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit  (Jn 19 30).  

“On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark,  and saw the stone removed from the tomb.”  “But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.  Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you looking for?  He replied, “Mary.”  She turned to him and said Rabbouni; which means Teacher.”  (Jn 20: 1, 11, 15-16). 

“When Sin is abolished”

Ralph B. Hathaway