Catechism Takeaways: Part IV

Good evening friends!

Running late again this week, but here are the takeaways from pages 90-120, CCC 355-483.  Some topics covered in this section of the Catechism are:

• Man Created in the Image of God
• The Fall of Angels
• The Fall of Men
• Original Sin/Sin Post-Fall
• The Meaning Behind Jesus's Names
• The Incarnation (the beginning of this section)

These were the three points I decided to highlight this week, followed by brief summaries of what I say in the video:

Each Person is Part of One Human Race

This first point I decided to highlight because it cuts to the core of what compelled me to start this series.  From the beginning, the Church has reaffirmed again and again the equality of each member of the human race in terms of value and worth in the eyes of God.  CCC 361 states:

"'This law of human solidarity and charity,' without excluding the rich variety of persons, cultures, and peoples, assures us that all men are truly brethren."

This has been the attitude of the Catholic Church from the start: we are one body, all brothers and sisters in Christ, all of value because we were created as part of the same race by the Lord.  If a member of the Catholic Church acts as if some are less than others, they are not reflecting the attitude of the Church.

We don't need modern influencers or agenda-seeking politicians to help us understand that all men should be treated with fairness and kindness.  The Church goes further than that and says all men are part of the same race, a race deriving from the same source and held in existence by the same God, and thus each member of that race is equally valuable but also equally dependent wholly on God.

Sin is an Abuse of Freedom

Ah, Adam and Eve, the scapegoats of humanity since the very beginning of creation.  The Catechism  touches on the problem of evil a couple times prior to this section, however, I liked the ways it explained things here the best so far.

The last part of CCC 387 says:

"Only in the knowledge of God's plan for man can we grasp that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another."

Sin is an abuse of freedom.  That definition sheds Adam and Eve in a different light, doesn't it?  It should also place our own responsibility for our sin right back on our shoulders.  Yes, post-Fall concupiscence makes us more inclined to disordered things, but we have the freedom to choose better for ourselves.  In many ways, we have the same freedom as Adam and Eve.  Though we have to struggle harder to make the right choice, no one, including Adam and Even themselves, is making us choose the wrong thing.

Freedom not only gives us the freedom to do the wrong thing, but also the ability to love.  Love is a choice, the most beautiful choice we can make.  Without freedom, there is no love, only obligation or obedience.  But we may choose to love.

In CCC 396 the Catechism says that the tree in the Garden that Adam and Eve were not to touch "evokes the insurmountable limits that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and respect with trust."  Men and women struggle to acknowledge powers higher than them.  Whether that's parents, teachers, legal limits, or the Church.  People want to be their own lords, but there is only one Lord: Jesus.  And that leads to my next point:  

There is Only One Lord

There is a line in the Avengers that I have always loved.  Captain America, in reference to Thor, says to another character: "There is only one God, m'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

That line sums up the point here in a simplistic way.  The Catechism has this important message for us:

"From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"  CCC 450

Nothing and no one (including superheroes) deserves our complete submission of freedom before God.  This includes good things, such as sound government, our spouses and friends, our children.  It also includes bad things, like addictions, sinful behaviors, and leaders who pull us away from Christ.  If we are answering to the call of something or someone that is not serving the Lord, we need to re-examine the place of that thing or person in our lives.

Our freedom is a valuable thing, perhaps something Americans like myself have learned to take for granted after so long of living with it as the norm.  But when your freedom is restrained, even for holy reasons such as being married, having children, working, we can start to realize how special that freedom was.  When we have the ability to make a choice, the Lord Jesus Christ must always be the first in our sights.

I hope you enjoyed this and that it blessed your faith in some way.  I would love to hear the feedback of others on this section, especially if there were other points you found of particular value that I did not highlight here.  If you share your takeaways on social media, use the hashtag #catechism2020 and feel free to tag me as well or DM me your post so I see it (@writinghiswaves).

Hope to have this week's section up on time.  Thank you for your patience and God bless!