Course 2, Chapter 16: Our Lord restorer of the world

1. Why was the Messiah to come on earth?

According to the prophets, the Messiah was to come on earth to take away the sins of the world.

2. What does that mean?

It means, 1st, to expiate sin; 2d, to repair its consequences; 3d, to furnish us the means to avoid sin and attain eternal happiness.

3. Has our Lord expiated sin with respect to God 1

Yes, our Lord has expiated sin with respect to God; by sin, man had revolted against God, and our Lord humbled himself before God, even unto death. By sin, man had offended infinite justice; our Lord

suffered all that a man can suffer, and in a manner infinitely meritorious, since he was God and man.

4. Has our Lord repaired the consequences of sin?

Yes, our Lord has repaired the consequences of sin?

(I. What are the consequences of sin?

A. The first consequence of sin with respect to man, is ignorance. Before sinning, man knew God, knew himself, and knew creatures, as far as he should know them; by sin, he lost in a great measure this precious knowledge. Hence sprang idolatry, and all the errors which have appeared on the earth. In the person of our Lord man has recovered all his knowledge.

5. How so?

.4. Our Lord, in his capacity as man, had all the knowledge of the first Adam, and even more.

6. What is the second consequence of sin?

The second consequence of sin is concupiscence, or propensity to evil; the love of ourselves and the love of creatures. Before he had sinned, man loved all that he ought to love, and nothing which he ought not to love. Sin has rendered all his affections in ordinate.

7. Has our Lord repaired this second consequence of sin?

Our Lord has repaired this second consequence of sin; that is, he was, as man, perfectly free from all concupiscence.

8. What is the third consequence of sin?

The third consequence of sin, are death, sickness, and all temporal evils. In the person of our Lord, man has been freed from them; that is, our Lord, after having borne our infirmities and suffered death in order to expiate sin, has become, as far as he is man, immortal, impassible, glorious and triumphant in heaven for all eternity.

170 CATECHISM OF PERSEVERANCE.

Ot. Has our Lord taken away sin, with respect to God and man, conjointly considered?

A. Yes, our Lord has taken away sin, with respect to God and man, conjointly considered; for God and man having been separated by sin, are re-united in the person of our Lord in the most intimate manner.

9. Has our Lord taken away sin with respect to creatures?

.1. Our Lord has taken away sin with respect to creatures. By sinning, man turned away creatures from their end to make them subservient to iniquity. In the person of our Lord all creatures have been redirected to their end; for our Lord has made them subservient to the glory of God.

10. How can we profit by the means afforded us by the Saviour to participate in the benefits of redemption?

The condition on which we may profit by the means of salvation afforded by the Saviour, and participate in the benefits of redemption, is to unite ourselves to him.

11. How do you explain this?

As it is our union with the first Adam that renders us guilty and unhappy, so it is our union with our Lord, the second Adam, that will render us just and happy.

12. Can we enjoy perfectly this justice and happiness in this world V

We cannot enjoy perfectly this justice and happiness in this world, because it is only in heaven that the redemption of our Lord will bring forth all its fruits.

13. What must we conclude from all this?

We must conclude from all this: 1st, that our Lord has done all that the Messiah was to do, which was to take away the sins of the world; 2d, that we ought to use all our efforts to unite ourselves to the new Adam in order to become just and happy, as we

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were sinful and unhappy by our union with the first Adam.

14. Has our Lord obtained for us the means of avoiding sin and attaining to eternal happiness?

Yes, he has; as is proved by the example of the saints of all times, of all conditions, and of all countries.