Original Sin / Original Justice

I think we all recognize that there is something inherently different about the sin which we deal with on a daily basis and the state of original sin.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church very clearly speaks on the state of original sin and upholds the teachings which I've found in the Volumes on the state of innocent man before sinning, that is Original Justice.

397      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.²⁷⁸ All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness. (1707, 2541, 1850, 215)

398      In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully “divinized” by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to “be like God,” but “without God, before God, and not in accordance with God.”²⁷⁹ (2084, 2113)

399      Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness.²⁸⁰ They become afraid of the God of whom they have conceived a distorted image—that of a God jealous of his prerogatives.²⁸¹

400      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.²⁸² Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man.²⁸³ Because of man, creation is now subject “to its bondage to decay.”²⁸⁴ Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will “return to the ground,”²⁸⁵ for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history.²⁸⁶ (1607, 2514, 602, 1008)

Catechism of the Catholic Church



So first I would like to look at what Original Justice means so that the fall into Original Sin is clearer in all that which we have lost. 

In the Volumes Jesus refers to the state of innocent man as Original Justice.  It is a state where the soul is naturally drawn to all that which is good and feels a fount of goodness and holiness within itself.  It is through the virtue of obedience that God can root out the human vices in the soul and transform what is earthly into divine.

 

It seemed He was saying to me:  “Obedience is so glorified because she has the virtue of unveiling the human passions from their very roots.  She destroys in the soul everything which is earthly and material, and to her great honor she gives back to the soul her original state – that is, the way she was created by God in her original justice, before being cast out of the terrestrial Eden.  And in this sublime state, the soul feels strongly drawn to everything that is good; she feels all that is good, holy and perfect as inborn within herself, and greatest horror at even the shadow of evil.  With this happy nature, received from the most experienced hand of obedience, the soul no longer finds difficulty in executing the commands received; more so, since the one who commands must always command what is good.  And here is how obedience knows how to imprint well the divine Image; not only this, but she changes the human nature into divine, because just as God is good, holy and most perfect, and tends to all that is good and greatly hates evil, so does obedience have the virtue of divinizing the human nature, and of making it acquire the divine qualities.  And the more the soul lets herself be handled by this most experienced hand, the more of the divine she acquires, destroying her own being.  This is why she is so glorified and honored; so much so, that I Myself submitted to her and was honored and glorified by this; and through her I gave back honor and glory to all my children, which they had lost because of disobedience.”

This is more or less what I have been able to manifest; the rest I feel within my mind, but I lack the words, because the height of the concept of this virtue is such, that my poor human language is unable to adapt itself with words…

Vol. 4, Nov. 8, 1900
 
 The state of Original Justice carries with it more than just being drawn to good and abhorring evil.  It brings with it the effects of being able to love, praise, glorify, thank, bless, adore and repair to God perfectly.  In fact it is a duty of the creature to do all of this not only for ourselves but for all creatures.  But being in the state of Original Sin we are unable to accomplish this.
 

“You must be not only upright, but just.  Into Justice enters loving Me, praising Me, glorifying Me, thanking Me, blessing Me, repairing Me, adoring Me, not only for oneself, but for all other creatures.  These are rights of Justice which I demand from each creature, and which are due to Me as Creator, and one who denies to Me even one of these rights, can never be called just.  Therefore, think about fulfilling your duty of justice, for in Justice you will find the beginning, the means and the end of sanctity.”
Vol. 4, March 27, 1902



Jesus tries to give us some sense of how serious Original sin was in an analogy of the earth being thrown out of orbit and all the effects that would have on life.  He also states how the Redemption is created as a new sun for man to revolve around to give him life where he had lost his original source.

What would happen if the whole Creation could fall short in its revolution around the sun? All things would be upset, would lose light, harmony, beauty; each one would bump against the other; and even if the sun were present, because they would not be revolving around it, the sun would be as though dead for the whole Creation. Now, because of original sin, man lost his round around His Creator, and therefore he lost the order, the dominion of himself, the light. And every time he sins, not only does he not revolve around his God, but he makes his stops around the goods of Redemption which, like new sun, came to bring him forgiveness, escape, salvation. But do you know who it is that never stops in her round? The soul who does my Will and lives in It. She always runs, she never stops, and she receives all the reflections of my Humanity, and also the flashes of light of my Divinity.”

Vol. 16, September 14, 1923




Jesus explains why the Original Sin of man was so sever.  It was a sin which went against the expressed Will of God.  The only reparation for such had to come from the obedience and submission of Jesus' Will to the Divine Will in the humanity of Jesus.  When God's Will is not expressed the sin is not as great and the remedy is easier.  We are still obligated to seek out his Will in these cases and our acts are measured by the intent with which we do them.

“My daughter, Adam fell so low because he withdrew from an Expressed Will of his Creator, in which was enclosed the test to try his faithfulness towards He who had given him life and all the goods he possessed.  More so, because that which God had asked of him was that before so many goods that He had freely given Adam, of the so many (varieties of) fruit that He had given him, that he deprive himself of one single fruit out of love for He who had given him everything.  And in this small sacrifice that God wanted from him, He let Adam know that it was only because He wanted to be sure of his love and his fidelity.  Adam should have felt honored that his Creator wanted to be sure of the love of His creature.  Who would ever have believed that the one who brought him down and persuaded him to fall was not a being superior to him, but a vile serpent - his capital enemy.  His fall brought graver consequences; because he was the head of all the generations, so all the members would naturally eventually feel the effects of the evil of their head.  See, therefore, how when my Will is expressed, wanted, and commanded, the sin is greater and the consequences are irremediable.  Only My same Divine Will can make reparation to such a great evil as that which befell Adam.

           “On the other hand, when It is not expressed, the creature still has the obligation to pray that I make known My Will in his actions, if inside his acts there is an interest for good and My pure glory.  But if this is not expressed the evil is not as grave, and it is easier to find a remedy.  I do this to each creature to test their faithfulness, and also to be assured of the love they say they have for Me.  Who is there who does not want to be sure of the authority that they have, such that they arrive at making a contract?  Who is there who doesn’t want to be sure of the faithfulness of a friend, or of the true loyalty of a servant?  So to be sure, I make known that I want small sacrifices which will bring all goods, along with holiness, and We will realize the purpose for which they were created.  Instead, if they are reluctant, everything will be upset in them, and all evils will fall upon them.  But not doing My Will is always an evil more or less evil according to the gratitude, for It that [they] possess.”

Vol. 21, April 8, 1927



Jesus states that when God's Will is known and man choses to go against it with full knowledge it is a sin against the Holy Spirit which cries out for vengeance and severs all relations with God.

You should know that when the creature disposes herself to do an act in my Will, he arms his power and simplifies, he forms the void and forms the divine nature in the human will, and as victorious he forms his way in the will of the creature, and walks, always walks, and then he stops and his step is impeded, when the human volition puts forth the bars with not doing mine but her will.  What a crime to impede the walk, the step of my Volition in the will of the creature.  Therefore I created creatures in order to form so many ways in human wills, in order to be able to have my continuous walk, and hence my operative act in them and one who impedes my walk would like to impede in me the continuation of my Creation, to impede my steps, and tie my hands, so that I might not work.  Oh! not to do my Will it seems that it is nothing yet it is the greatest of crimes that cries out vengeance before the Divine Majesty for poor creatures.  Especially when my Will is known that he does a work, that he wants a sacrifice, and not doing it it is as if one might want to seize the truth and this is the sin against the Holy Spirit and cries vengeance before God.  To know my Will and not do it closes Heaven, breaks the divine relations, and not recognizing the Divine Mastery that every creature is obliged to know and to submit themselves to that which my Volition wants, although it might cost (her) life.  Therefore be attentive, adore my Will and that which I have disposed for you, if you want to content your Jesus.”

Vol. 31, Oct. 16, 1932



So the severity of Original Sin becomes clearer.  A sin against the expressed Will of God, a sin against the Holy Spirit which has had repercussions for all human generations.  And it is in Bible where Jesus says how all sin will be forgiven except one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. 



²⁸ “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”
Mark 3:28-29




It has taken all of the Redemption to place creatures back on a path of safety to allow them access to God and Heaven again.  To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit then is to go against the expressed Will of God and his mercy in wanting to save us.



1864    “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”¹³⁶ There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.¹³⁷ Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss. (2091, 1037)
Catechism of the Catholic Church 





In the Catechism at the top of this post it says that Original Sin began when "Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart..."   Jesus states in the Volumes that sin entered the world when Adam took his gaze away from God.  He forgot that God loved him.

In fact, do you want to know why Adam sinned? Because he forgot that I loved him, and he forgot to love Me. This was the first seed of his fall. Had he thought that I loved him very much and that he was obliged to love Me, he would never have decided to disobey Me. So, love ceased first, and then sin began...

Vol. 16, Sept. 6, 1923



And here it can be seen that with this simple act of looking away from God to something earthly, with this first sin all the seven deadly sins come in as well.  By simple looking at it instead of God so entered pride.  "He looked at the fruit and desired it"; lust.  "His hearing took pleasure in hearing that if he ate of the fruit he would become like God"; greed; envy;  and anger - that God would keep something back from him; sloth - that he can become Divine without having to go through God's plan for him.  "His palate took pleasure in eating it"; gluttony.

Why did Adam sin? Because he removed his gaze from the divine attraction, and as Eve presented to him the fruit to let him eat of it, he looked at the fruit, and his sight took pleasure in looking at it, his hearing took delight in hearing the words of Eve - that if he ate the fruit he would become like God; and His palate took pleasure in eating it. So, taste was the first act of his ruin. On the other hand, had he felt displeasure in looking at it, tedium and bother in hearing the words of Eve, disgust in eating it, Adam would not have sinned. On the contrary, he would have done the first heroic act of his life, by resisting and correcting Eve for having done that; and he would have remained with the everlasting crown of faithfulness toward the One to whom he owed so much, and who had all the rights for his subjection. Oh! how careful one must be with the different tastes that arise in the soul. If they are purely divine tastes, one must give them life; but if they are human tastes, or of passions, one must give them death; otherwise there is the danger of falling into the current of evil.”

Vol. 15, June 6, 1923



But God wants to return his creature to the state of Original Justice as man was in the beginning before the fall.  And he is doing this through the knowledges that he has given us in the Volumes.  Each knowledge disposes us more and more to become united with the Divine Will to be able to appreciate and accept a gift so great so that we will not reject it ever again.

Beyond this, our Will was a gratuitous gift that we gave to man, he paid us nothing in order to have it, nor did He have money or sufficient means in order to pay us, if not but the most vile paper of his human will, that for his misfortune, he didn’t even want to lend in order to hold our great gift.  And then we were his most tender and most loving Father and between Father and children accounts are not made, because one knows that the Father must give to the children, and they are obligated with the duty of justice, to love and hold with esteem that which the Father gives them.  Behold therefore the necessity of the knowledges on the Divine Will, and we make them degree by degree, so that the creature appreciates this gift so great, that we want to gratuitously give them.  The knowledge generates the appetite, the desire to know more, and the human volition is disposed little by little to undergo the transformation, the unification of the Divine Will and we without making accounts, neither mind if she can pay us or not, we will put there our image and the incalculable number of a divine value, and we will be content to see our children rich and happy with our same divine happiness and riches.”

Vol. 31, November 27, 1932