The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-01-09
non-GatbcIie Queries, and Hn$wer$ Cberetp

Of the unique mediaorship of Jesus Christ who
alone gave Himself a redemption for all q. Ilm
il, 81 ever to put creature III the place OF God.
Instead of encouraging superstition, the Cathohc
love for Mary has ever been ''productlce of true
holiness of life and purity of character (Ruskln,
'Fors Clavigera," letter 4D, by holding up her
example for imitation and showing what human
nature is capable of by the grace of God.
What is the original sin? Is it not unjust to hold
us guilty for Adams sin?
Original sin is distinguished from actual or
personal sin in this: that actual person sin is
the sin which we personally with our own free will
commit, whilst original sin is that which hui
nature committed with the will Of Adam, in
whom all our human nature Is united branch
TO a root as child to q paren;, men who par
take with Adam the nature which have
derived from him. and as members of the same
human family of which Adam was the head"
(Faa di Bruno, "Cathoic Belief D. 2S.)
Our first parents were created in the grace
and friendship of God, and endowed with great
gifts of soul and body, namely Immortality, i'm
mense knowledge, perfect dominion the pas
sions, freedom from Sickness pain and labor,
condition of their not eating the forbidden fruit
in the Garden of Eden, They disobeyed this easy
commandment and thus forfeited for themselves
and their descendants sanctifying grace, all their
supernatural gifts, and wounded and weakened
their natural powers.
THE supernatural end or destiny of man still
held good. But he lost that original gift the ex-
ercise of which was to enable him to attain it. He
became the eagle whose home and nest is on
a peak of the Andes, and whom the trapper snares
and mains, until his mighty pinions will carry
do no work ETAOIN xalwaysS sintheafSyETAO
bm no more. Henceforth man could
do no work capable of meriting the life to come
Henceforth the life to was out of his reach.
The child of God became child of
wrath. Fallen man became the slave
of the devil, to be tempted in lfe to be punished
after death. 1t was from such q state as this that
had to be saved. Bishop Hedley, "Our Di-
vine Savior" sermon iii)
The doctrine of original sin is taught by ST.
Paul: Wherefore, as by one man sin entereth into
this world, and by sin death, and SO death passed
upon all men in whom all have sinned" Rom.
Y, 12.)
1t would indeed have been unjust had God inn
puted to us the personal sin Of another. or de-
prlyed us of something due to human nature But
1T is not the sin of Adam, inasmuch as that was
personal which God imputes, but the necessary eff
feet OF his sin-that is the deprivation the reec-
ton as 1t were, original justice, which Adam
~llfully incurred as head of the whole human race
and which therefore, also, as united to ADAM
have incurred. In this vestige of injustice ap-
pears. Men thereby do notIlose anything which
their nature requires" ("Catholic Belief D. 340)
Sanctifying grace is Gods free gift, which He
can give or take away on conditions laid down by
Himself alone And though we arc all today
through Adams sin, born children of wrath"
(Eph. Ii, 81, God in His infinite love gives every
che ample opportunity of regaining the grace His
only Son died on the cross to merit