Our first parents and the Fall

Question 39

Who were the first man and woman?

The first man and woman were Adam and Eve.

Question 40

Were Adam and Eve innocent and holy when they came from the hand of God?

Adam and Eve were innocent and holy when they came from the hand of God.

Question 41

Did God give any command to Adam and Eve?

To try their obedience God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of a certain fruit which grew in the garden of Paradise.

Question 42

Which were the chief blessings intended for Adam and Eve had they remained faithful to God?

The chief blessings intended for Adam and Eve, had they remained faithful to God, were a constant state of happiness in this life and everlasting glory in the next.

Question 43

Did Adam and Eve remain faithful to God?

Adam and Eve did not remain faithful to God; but broke His command by eating the forbidden fruit.

Question 44

What befell Adam and Eve on account of their sin?

Adam and Eve, on account of their sin, lost innocence and holiness, and were doomed to sickness and death.

Question 45

What evil befell us on account of the disobedience of our first parents?

On account of the disobedience of our first parents, we all share in their sin and punishment, as we should have shared in their happiness if they had remained faithful.

Question 46

What other effects followed from the sin of our first parents?

Our nature was corrupted by the sin of our first parents, which darkened our understanding, weakened our will, and left in us a strong inclination to evil.

Question 47

What is the sin called which we inherit from our first parents?

The sin which we inherit from our first parents is called original sin.

Question 48

Why is this sin called original?

This sin is called original because it comes down to us from our first parents, and we are brought into the world with its guilt on our soul.

Question 49

Does this corruption of our nature remain in us after original sin is forgiven?

This corruption of our nature and other punishments remain in us after original sin is forgiven.

Question 50

Was any one ever preserved from original sin?

The Blessed Virgin Mary, through the merits of her Divine Son, was preserved free from the guilt of original sin, and this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception.

Goodness comes first

Questions 39, 40, 42

The lesson begins with human beings made good, not with evil as their defining purpose. The current Catechism describes original holiness as friendship with God and harmony within human life and creation. Genesis 1 places both man and woman within the divine image. This provides the starting point for reading everything that follows: the loss described by the lesson is a loss of an intended good. It does not erase the dignity of the person who needs healing.

The command and the broken relationship

Questions 41, 43, 44

Read the prohibition in Genesis 2 before the temptation in Genesis 3. The narrative shows a gift, a limit, a distorted account of that limit, and a choice. The catechism's short answer condenses that sequence. Notice what follows in the story: hiding, fear, and blaming another person. These details help a reader consider sin as damage to trust and relationships, rather than treating the fruit as an object with an unexplained magical power.

Inherited condition and personal responsibility

Questions 45, 46, 47, 48, 49

Catechism 404–405 clarifies that original sin is an inherited condition, not a personal wrongdoing committed by a newborn. Human nature is wounded, not completely destroyed. This is essential context for the older words guilt and corruption. Baptism gives the life of grace; weakness and the struggle against sin remain. The distinction also prepares for the next lesson, which concerns actual sins: choices for which a person can be responsible. Avoid reading these different uses of the word sin as if they were interchangeable.

Mary and the Immaculate Conception

Questions 50

The Immaculate Conception concerns Mary's own conception and preservation from original sin through Christ's saving grace. It is different from the virginal conception of Jesus. Question 50 itself connects Mary's privilege with her Son; Catechism 490–493 develops that connection. When reading the Annunciation later in the course, keep the two terms distinct so that a statement about Mary is not accidentally substituted for a statement about Jesus' birth.

Genesis 1:26–31

The account establishes the goodness and dignity of humanity before the lesson turns to the Fall.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 2:15–17

The command is read in the setting of the garden and the work entrusted to the human person.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 3:1–15

The narrative follows temptation, disobedience, fear, and God's response in sequence.

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Romans 5:12–19

Paul compares Adam and Christ, placing the discussion of sin within the account of saving grace.

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.