RCIA #5 Grace, Justification & Sin (Original, Mortal, Venial)

Transcription

1 RCIA #5 Grace, Sin, & Justification October 27, 2015 Page 1 RCIA #5 Grace, Justification & Sin (Original, Mortal, Venial) Reading 1 John 5:16-17 If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly. Psalm Response Create a new heart in me, O God. (Psalm 51) Gospel Matthew 19: 3-9 (Surprise! Not what you expected, right?) Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." Review: We can know there is a God by reason alone but it doesn t tell us much more. Theology, (study of God) does 2 things to move us beyond religious experience : 1) it s from the common experiences of millions of believers, 2) if you want to get anywhere, you re going to need a map, not just feelings. God is Family, and family language best describes the relationships Being Love explains why God is more than one person (the cosmic bachelor ) God is love; he s not just loving or has loved he is love. Love requires more than one The Son is the image of the Father Oreo analogy: identical 2, held together by a Love, who is a 3rd person Love between two is so great and real, it actually is another (the Spirit) Now those two love the third, and that increases their love Paradox- two beliefs held together at a higher level Person answers what? Nature answers who? The Father is God; The Son is God; The Father is not the Son.

2 RCIA #5 Grace, Sin, & Justification October 27, 2015 Page 2 Man is image of God Love of man and woman so great and real it can become another person too Love of first 2 deepened by shared love of 3 rd 3 rd is product of their love and the object of their love The Father = the Destination, The Son = the Path, The Spirit = the Engine I. Man before Original Sin and after 1) Reaffirm: God only creates good. Every thing is good. No Dualism No Pantheism No Determinism 2) The original relationship of God and man: Dependant Real Freedom Called to a Relationship We Were Properly Ordered 3) Original Sin Possible Interpretations literal Nature-Based St. Augustine Personalistic John Paul II s trust/grasp Fear/trust

3 RCIA #5 Grace, Sin, & Justification October 27, 2015 Page 3 In all Interpretations: Reject our creatureliness A lack of trust Man lost his likeness to God Though I mar your likeness, in your image I remain Eastern Rite funeral antiphon At the root: II. Results of Original Sin Lose grace Death Lose integrity (get concupiscence) Mess up relationships III. The big, fat uber-analogy (and more pictures!) Original State of Man: Grace:

4 RCIA #5 Grace, Sin, & Justification October 27, 2015 Page 4 Original Sin: (other ideas on Original Sin) Salvation: (other ideas on Salvation) Concupiscence: Mortal Sin Venial Sin

5 RCIA #5 Grace, Sin, & Justification October 27, 2015 Page 5 The Question isn t: Why are some sins mortal? It s: Why are any sins venial? Sins and a Road Trip: Kinds of Grace: Why do we have Original Sin? IV. Thoughts on Justification (and/or Salvation)