On account of their sin Adam and Eve lost sanctifying grace, the right to Heaven, and their special gifts; they became subject to death, to suffering, and to a strong inclination to evil, and were driven from the Garden of Paradise.

    Adam and Eve immediately lost God's abiding grace and frienship, their holiness and innocence: they lost sanctifying grace. This was the worst punishment. Having lost sanctifying grace, they lost the right to Heaven, to see God.

    They lost their special gifts: they became subject to suffering and death. Their minds and wills were so weakened that they became inclined to evil, subjected to temptation. "In the sweat of they face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return" (Genesis 3:16-19).

    God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of paradise. "And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure" (Genesis 3:23, 24).

    Some wonder how the eating of one fruit could have been so grievous a crime. We must remember that God gave Adam and Eve every blessing. He only required them, as proof of their faithfulness, to abstain from eating the fruit of one tree. Doubtless Paradise was filled with trees having more delicious fruit than the forbidden tree. Pride and disobedience and ingratitude caused them to sin. They defied God, and despised His threats. They wanted to be as powerful and great as God.

    On account of the sin of Adam, we, his descendants, come into the world deprived of sanctifying grace and inherit his punishment, as we would have inherited his gifts had he been obedient to God. "Therefore as through one man sin entered into the world and through sin death, and thus death has passed into all men" (Romans 5:12).

    This sin in us is called original sin. It is the state in which every descendant of Adam comes into the world, totally deprived of grace, through inheriting the punishment, not of Adam's personal sin, but of his sin as head of the human race. This sin is called original because it comes down to us through our origin, from Adam.

    Thus all men are born in sin, that is, they are born without the friendship of God, and with no right to heaven. Original sin does not come to us from Eve, but from Adam alone, since God made him representative and head of the whole human race. Eve was punished for her disobedience, as Adam was, but did not pass on her guilt to all mankind. Our original sin comes from our first father.

    A person after baptism is in the state of grace and free from sin. If he dies immediately after baptism, even if he had committed sins prior to his baptism, he goes straight to Heaven. His sins and their punishment are all forgiven him through the Sacrament of Baptism. The chief punishments of Adam which we inherit through original sin are: death, suffering, ignorance, and a strong inclination to sin. It is all part of man's fallen human nature.

    By original sin we became subject to disease and death. This was part of the punishment God laid on Adam. "In what day soever you shall eat of it, you shall die the death" (Genesis 2:17).

    Because of Original Sin our whole nature became inclined to evil. Our reason is in perpetual conflict with our passions. Even after our souls are cleansed of original sin by bpatism, the corruption of our nature and other punishments, such as sickness, evil inclinations, etc., remain. "The imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil" (Genesis 8:21). "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh" (Galatians 5:17).

    God is not unjust in punishing us on account of the sin of Adam, because original sin does not take away from us anything to which we have a strict right as human beings, but only the free gifts which God in His goodness would have bestowed on us if Adam had not sinned.

    All mankind must suffer for the sin of Adam because he was the head and representative of the whole human family. In much the same way, the ruler of a country represents the whole people. He declares war or makes peace, and the people are affected by his acts. When Alfonso XIII of Spain was dethroned, his children lost their right to the throne through no fault of their own. So also the children of a rich man who goes bankrupt lose all the inheritance they hoped for, through no fault of theirs.

    We should have shared in Adam's blessings of soul and body without any merit of our own, if he had not sinned. In the same way we share in his guilt. If Adam had not sinned, we would have been born in the state of holiness and grace that had been his.

    The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from original sin in view of the merits of her Divine Son Jesus, and this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception. "And when the angel had come to her, he said, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women'" (Luke 1:28).

    From the very first moment of her conception the Blessed Virgin was preserved from all stain of original sin. She was conceived and born without original sin. God, having ordained that Mary was to be the Mother of His Son, could not permit her soul to lack for a single instant all those graces that would make her most pleasing to Him.

    Our Blessed Mother's soul was created as pure and spotless as the soul of Eve. Where Eve committed sin and lost her spotlessness, our Mother Mary kept herself pure and spotless to the end of her life. We commemorate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 8th.

    Saint John the Baptist was cleansed from original sin while he was still in the womb of his mother Saint Elizabeth, Mary's cousin. He was born free from sin, but he was, like us, conceived in sin.

Actual Sin

    Christ permitted Himself to be tempted by the devil. After Our Lord's forty days' fast in the desert, the devil appeared to Him and tempted Him to gluttony, to pride, and to avarice. But Our Lord resisted the devil and sent him away. Then angels came to minister to Him. God wishes to show us that temptation, far from being a sin in itself, is a cource of merit if we resist firmly. Then God will send us His blessings and consolations, and we shall be dearer to Him after our successful fight against temptation.

    Actual sin is any wilfull thought, desire, word, action, or omission forbidden by the law of God. There are two general classes of sins: original and actual. Original sin is the kind of sin that we inherit from Adam. Actual sin is the kind of sin that we ourselves commit. In general, when we speak of "sin" we mean actual sin. Sin is an offense against God, a violation of His commandments. To sin is to despise God, to disobey Him, to offend Him. One who sins takes the gifts that God has given, and uses them to insult Him.

    No person exists who does not sin, however holy he may be. The only human being who was created without sin, and never committed sin, was the Blessed Virgin Mary. Why? Because this was a special privilege bestowed on her because she was to be the Mother of our Savior, the living Tabernacle - the Ark of the Covenant, House of Gold, Gate of Heaven. Saint John says: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We fall step by step from temptation into sin. The different steps at times follow each other rapidly and are accomplished in the twinkling of an eye.

    Sin is not committed without temptation. First an evil thought comes into the mind. This in itself is not sinful; it is only a temptation. A man may be in a jewelry store looking at some jewels. The salesman turns away to talk to someone else, leaving a precious diamond ring on the counter. The thought enters the man's mind that it would be easy for him to take the ring and walk away unnoticed. This is temptation, not sin.

    If we do not immediately reject the thought, it awakens in the mind an affection or desire to do it. If the man in the above example does not resist and reject the thought, but plays with it, and becomes pleased with the idea, he thereby gives partial consent, and commits a slight sin.

    Next the thought is followed by an evil desire in which we take pleasure. If, still playing with the thought, the man wishes that he could take the diamong ring without being noticed, the consent is complete, and he commits a sin in his heart (interiorly).

    The resolution to commit the sin when occasion presents itself follows. Then the exterior act is committed. Finally, the man glances to see if the salesman is still busy. Then he takes the ring and walks away with it. Thus the wish or desire has been translated into an exterior act. Even should the man be prevented from stealing, he is guilty of grave sin. An exterior sin is more evil than in interior sin, because it is attended by worse consequences.

    An exterior sin often causes scandal, and is more severely punished by God here on earth as well as after death. Drunkenness reduces the drunkard and his family to poverty and sickness. Impurity destroys the body, and is one of the quickest routes into depravity and the road to hell. Murder often leads the culprit to the electric chair.

    And worse, an exterior sin increases the malice of the will, and destroys the sense of shame. The repetition of exterior sins forms the habit of sinning, and vice is formed. The conscience goes to sleep, and the sinner becomes so hardened that he no longer sees the evil and wickedness of his sin.

    Thus it becomes easier and easier for him to commit sins of a worse kind. His state becomes worse and worse until finally he becomes a hardened sinner who believes himself sinless.

    Not all evil acts are sinful; there may be times when such acts are not sinful, as: When we do not know that the act is sinful. Noah became intoxicated, but committed no sin, because he was not aware of the strength of the wine. So one ight by mistake take poison instead of medicine and die, but he would not be guilty of suicide. Such an act is termed a "material sin."

    When the act is done through no fault of our own. If one is not aware that a certain day is a day of abstinence, and eats meat, he commits no sin. Again, one might, by pure accident and through no negligence on his part, drop a loaded revolver. Even if it explodes and kills a person, he is not guilty of murder.

    When we do not consent to the evil. A stronger man may take our hand, and in spite of our refusal and protest force it to drop a lighted match into a gasoline tank. Even if there is an explosion and a whole town is set on fire, we are not guilty of arson. In the same way, as long as one does not consent to an evil thought, it remains a temptation, and he commits no sin.

    We are guilty of sins which we ourselves do not commit when we cooperate with another person's sins. We share in another's sin:

• (a) by counsel;
• (b) by command;
• (c) by consent;
• (d) by provocation;
• (e) by praise or flattery;
• (f) by silence;
• (g) by assistance;
• (h) by defense or concealment; and
• (I) by not punishing the evil done.

    Thus presidents, rulers, politicians, judges, parents, employers, teachers, superiors, community leaders, owners of shows and theater complexes, editors, publishers, ad men, television producers, writers, directors actors, and publicity agents in mentioning only a handful of the plethora of avocations where one is placed in a position of responsibility, may easily render themselves guilty of the sins of others. One who is to blame for another's sin is as guilty as if he had committed the sin himself. One who tempts or provokes another into sin is perhaps the more guilty of the two.

Venial Sin

    We are prone to look uppon venial sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that it is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin. In Holy Scripture we see from many examples how God regards venial sin; even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God's mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished: he was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

    Venial sin is a less serious offense against the law of God, which does not deprive the soul of sanctifying grace, and which can be pardoned even without sacramental confession.

    A sin can ve venial in two ways: (a) When the evil done is not seriously wrong. If we sin against God in matters of slight importance, we commit venial sin. Grumbling when told by your mother to open the window is not gravely wrong; it is a venial sin.

    (b) When the evil done is seriously wrong, but the sinner sincerely believes it is only slightly wrong, or does it on the spur of the moment, without sufficient reflection, or without full consent of the will.

    Stealing an expensive diamond ring is seriously wrong, but if the sinner took it in the belief that it was only a cheap imitation, the sin had not full consent, and is venial. If one eats meat on a day of abstinence, thinking it only a slight sin to do so; or of one in a sudden outburst of anger insults a companion seriously, he commits a venial sin for lack of sufficient reflection and consent.

    Examples of venial sin are impatience, slight faultfinding, lies that harm nobody. The word "venial" comes from the Latin venialis, meaning "easily pardonable." Even the most just of mortals falls into venial sin again and again. God permits this to keep us humble. The most imperfect of mortals attains a very high degree of perfection as soon as he can avoid all deliberate venial sin: as soon as he does not commit any sin deliberately, with full advertence and consent.

    If a person is in the state of grace, venial sins are forgiven in many ways without necessity of confession. Provided one has sorrow and a sincere resolution not to commit the sins again, they are forgiven not only by Confession, but also by Holy Communion, by acts of contrition, prayer, good works, etc.

    A distinction exists between venial sins and imperfections. Imperfections are faults that arise from ignorance or weakness, not from a bad will. For instance involuntary distractions in prayer, "white lies" told while telling a story or in exaggerations or jokes, bad manners that hurt no one much, are imperfections. We should, however, try to avoid all imperfections, for they are not praiseworthy, are often a cause of irritation to others, and make us accustomed to doing what is not correct.

    Venial sin harms us by making us less fervent in the service of God, by weakening our power to resist mortal sin, and by making us deserving of God's punishments in this life or in Purgatory.

    Although venial sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is nevertheless a great moral evil, next alone to mortal sin. It is like a drop of ink in a glassful of clear water; the ink, however little, takes away the clearness.

    If often committed, venial sin weakens the will, lessens our power to resist evil, and makes it easier for us to fall into mortal sin. "He that condemneth small things shall fall by little and little" (Ecclesiastes 19:1). "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in a very little thing is unjust also in much" (St. Luke 16:10). A great fire is started by a tiny breeze. Venial sin, by weakening the will, makes up indisposed for good, and lukewarm in God's service.

    Venial sin deprives us of many actual graces we need for resisting temptation. When a mirror is dusty, it cannot reflect the image clearly; similarly the mirror of the soul, when dusty with venial sin, cannot reflect the light of grace and justice. God will not bestow his blessings and graces on one whose soul is disfigured by venial sin, as a distinguished personage is not expected to embrace a man who is disfigured by a skin disease.

    Venial sin deprives us of Heaven for a time. If we die with venial sins on our souls, or without fully satisfying for them, we have to expiate for them in Purgatory. A great desire not to offend God in the least is the best proof of love and loyalty towards our Heavenly Father.

    Holy Scripture shows many instances of God's hatred for venial sin, which He punishes severely even on earth. For her curiosity, Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt. "But I tell you, that of every idle word men speak, they shall give account on the day of judgment" (St. Matthew 12:36).

    Prayer and the sacraments protect us from sin. They are like a strong fortress against which the enemy strikes in vain, and within which the soul remains safe in the grace of God. When the Apostles were in danger on the Lake of Genessareth, they had recourse to prayer. We are ever in danger from sin while we live; let us build up around us a rampart of prayer. God will protect us, as He protected the Apostles; He will answer our prayer. The soul nourished by the sacraments is strong, and will not easily succumb to sin; as a healthy body does not easily succumb to disease.

    Even good people fall into sins, frequently because they forget God's presence. Let us remember that the eye of God is always upon us, every single moment. Then, if we love Him, we would never sin, never insult His presence by sin. If we had a distinguished personage before us, would we commit indecent acts? Would we steal, or use bad language? But is not God the most distinguished of all persons, and is He not always looking on us?

    When we are in the state of grace, our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. God dwells in it as Jesus Christ lives in the tabernacle. If we remember this always, we shall be greatly helped in avoiding sin.

    The most practical way of avoiding sin is to keep occupied with work or play. Man must do something; if he does not do something good, he will do something evil. A busy instrument cannot be used in doing mischief. Robbers will hesitate to enter a house where the occupants are busy. If we are occupied in doing good, we have no time to sit idly and wag our tongues in gossip. In other words, idleness is the devil's workshop.

    We can keep from committing sin by praying and by receiving the sacraments; by remembering that God is always with us; by recalling that our bodies are temples of the Sanctifier; by keeping occupied with work or play; by promptly resisting the sources of sin within us; by avoiding the near occasions of sin. Next week we will deal with the near occasions of sin and the worst of all: MORTAL SIN.

Next: Step Fourteen: Mortal Sin and the Near Occasions of Sin

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Previously: Step Twelve: The Cardinal Rule