Our Pastor Column series through the Baltimore Catechism continues with the fourth and fifth articles:   “On the Angels and our First Parents” and “On Sin and Its Kinds.”

Q:  Which are the chief creatures of God?

A:  The chief creatures of God are humans and angels.

Q:  What are angels?

A:  Angels are spirits without physical bodies, created to adore the Lord and enjoy His presence in Heaven.

Q:  Who were the first man and woman?
 A:  The first man and woman were Adam and Eve.

Q:  Were Adam and Eve innocent and holy the moment of their creation?

A:  Adam and Eve were innocent and holy from the very first moment when God created them.   (N.B. This pre-lapsarian [“before the Fall”) state of being for Adam and Eve is what Pope Saint John Paul the Great calls “Original Innocence” in his Theology of the Body teachings.)

Q:  Did Adam and Eve remain faithful to God?

A:  Adam and Eve did not remain faithful to God; they broke God’s command by eating the forbidden fruit, from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Q:  What befell Adam and Eve on account of their sin?

A:  Adam and Eve lost their original innocence and holiness, and thus they were doomed to misery and death.

Q:  What evil befell us through the disobedience of our first parents?

A:  Through the disobedience of our first parents, we all inherit their sin and punishment, as we should have shared in their happiness had they remained faithful.   (N.B. This is “Original Sin.”)

Q:  Was anyone ever preserved from Original Sin?

A:  The Blessed Virgin Mary, through the merits of her Divine Son, Jesus Christ, was preserved free from the guilt of Original Sin, and this singular privilege is called her Immaculate Conception.

Q:  Is Original Sin the only kind of sin?

A:  Original Sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of sin, which we actually commit ourselves, and it is called “actual sin.”

Q:  What is actual sin?

A:  Actual sin is any freely-willed and chosen thought, word, deed, or omission of the good that is contrary to the law of God.

Q:  How many kinds of actual sin are there?

A:  There are two kinds of actual sin:  mortal and venial.

Q:  What is mortal sin?

A:  Mortal sin is a grave offense against the law of God.  (N.B. Mortal sin is comprised of three elements:  the evil act committed (or good act omitted) must be of grave matter; the perpetrator must have knowledge of the gravity of the act; and the perpetrator must freely will and choose to commit (or omit) the act anyway.)

Q:  What is venial sin?

A:  Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God in matters of less-grave importance; or in matters of grave importance that are committed without sufficient knowledge or full consent of the free will.

Q:  Which are the chief sources of sin?

A:  The chief sources of sin are seven:  Pride; Greed; Envy; Lust; Wrath; Gluttony; Sloth.  These are commonly called the “Seven Deadly Sin,” or the “capital sins.”

~ Fr. Lewis