Module 3

The Fall & The

Promise
 PRAYER BEFORE STUDY
By St. Thomas Aquinas

Lord, true source of light and wisdom,

give me a keen sense of understanding,
a retentive memory,
and the capacity to grasp things correctly.
Grant me the grace to be accurate in my expositions
and the skills to express myself
with thoroughness and clarity.
 Be with me at the start of my work,
guide its progress and bring it to completion.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Our Father…
St. Thomas Aquinas (Pray for us.)
Module 3

The Fall & The

Promise
 Learning Objectives
1. understand the story of humanity’s Fall from glory and its
consequences;
2.refer to biblical references and link them to God’s promise of
salvation;
3. appreciate God who fulfills his promises; and
4.present a symbolic image in a poster regarding the
consequence of humanity’s Fall from glory.
 Group Activity

The Modern
Garden of Eden
Module 3

The Fall & The

Promise
The Fall at the origin of our
From race, man and woman
Glory of turned away from God
their Creator in
the disobedience and
Human pride, thus rejecting
God’s friendship
Race
Serpent: Did God really say “you must not eat from
must not eat from any tree in the garden?”
Woman: we may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden,
but the fruit of tree that in the middle of the Garden.
 Glory Lost inheritance

Pride

Disobedience

Concupiscence

Our inheritance from

our first parents
Death
 Consequence
Creation Original Sin
s
Original Sin
• Original – Its roots in the origins of the human
race alone explain its universality;
• Sin – It is a state contrary to God’s will. It
affects our capacity to love God, become our
true selves, and achieve our destiny with our
fellow men and women.
Sin
• A "sin" in the context of Thomas of Aquinas, can
be defined as "something human beings do
which causes them to be unreasonable and
unhappy."
 •brought evil and
originating brokenness into the
sin world

• actual sinful state into

originated which we are born
sin • concupiscence
Concupiscence

Concupiscence is
also described as
our inclination or
tendency to sin.
 How does the Church teaching explain
original sin?
The Church clarifies that we do not inherit Adam’s
personal sin, but its consequences, that is, that as
members of the human race, we are born
deprived of sanctifying grace, into the sinful
condition in the world with our weakened human
nature resulting from his sin.
 How do we experience this “heart of darkness”
within us due to original sin?

St. Paul describes this experience: “I do,

not the good I will to do, but the evil I do
not intend” (Rom 7:19). The desire to do
right is there but not the power” (Rom 7:18).
 What is meant by the “capital sins”?

• Capital or “root sins” are basic evil

inclinations or disvalues which are
the origin of many sinful thoughts,
words or deeds.
 THE 7 Pride
Anger
CAPITAL
Lust
SINS
Envy
Gluttony
Avarice
Sloth
 Pope Gregory the Great

•  Pope Gregory the Great revived the idea of

"The Seven Deadly Sins" in the sixth
century.
• He listed the spiritual offenses with Pride
being the first and gravest of the seven
because it can lead to the other six.
• The seven deadly sins are usually
committed against one's self and can
destroy a person's physical and spiritual
health.
 Capital Vices
 During the 13th century, the Roman
Catholic Church incorporated
these sins into its teaching.

The church called them "capital

vices" that can lead to sin.

Literature such as Geoffrey Chaucer's

"Canterbury Tales" and various
paintings have illustrated the
seven deadly sins.
 1.PRIDE/Vanity
(a desire to be important or attractive to others)

• A person thinks he/she already "knows it

all" and "has it all".

• Pride is a sin when it is in excess because

it prevents one from growing and
evolving, and from accepting oneself and
others fairly and realistically.
 Vanity:
the Narcissus myth
• In Greek mythology, Narcissus
was an extremely beautiful
young man who was obsessed
with his own beauty.
• When he saw his face in the
water, he fell in love with it and
could not stop looking at the
reflection.
• He gradually turned into a flower,
now commonly known as
Narcissus.
 Vanity:
the Narcissus
myth
• In another version of the
myth, Narcissus drowns
after trying to kiss his own
reflection.
• Narcissism is a term
meaning “excessive self
love.”
 2. GREED/AVARICE
(a desire to possess more than one has need or use for.)

• One allows material items control his/her

sense of contentment.

• People under the influence of greed want more

and more and are never satisfied.
 3. ENVY
(resentment of others for their possessions; jealous competitiveness.)

• Those suffering from envy wish

they were someone else because
of the qualities and/or possessions
a person has.
• Instead of honoring what they do
have, they dishonor the gift of life
they were given by being
dissatisfied with it.
 4. ANGER
(Uncontrollable feelings of resentment, revenge or even
denial, it is also known as Wrath. )

One becomes angry at someone or

something to the point that one loses
control over actions and words.
• rage, fury, ire, wrath, resentment, indignation,
offense, rant, temper, seethe, livid,
annoyance, antagonism, rile…

“Anger and intolerance are the twin enemies of correct understanding.”

--Mahatma Gandhi
 5. Lust
Sexual desires that disrespect the dignity
of self and others

Sufferers of lust may

have a strong sexual
attraction towards a
person and can't get
him/her out of their
minds.
 6. GLUTTONY

eating for pleasure;

overindulgence in food, drink or
intoxicants

• Instead of being satisfied with what one has,

he/she wants more, more, more.

• The chief error about Gluttony is to think it only

pertains to food. Some people can't have
enough toys, television, entertainment, sex, or
company.

• It is about an excess of anything.

 7. SLOTH
(laziness or idleness)
• Slothful people occasionally do
something, but they only do it
haphazardly -- only enough to get it
done.
• Instead of giving life their best, they give
much less than their best.
 Theological &
Lower & Higher Faculties 7 Capital Sins Cardinal Virtues

Nutrition Pride Faith

Growth Anger Hope
Reproduction Lust Love
Sensation Envy Justice
Locomotion Gluttony Fortitude
Volition Avarice Temperance
Intellection Sloth Prudence
How does Baptism “take away original
sin”?

Baptism “takes away original

sin” by bringing to the
baptized the gift of the Holy
Spirit, God’s saving,
sanctifying presence.
Why do we baptize innocent babies?

Baptism is to grace the child with the

gift of the Holy Spirit, within the
Christian community of parents,
sponsors and neighbors, to effectively
symbolize the Christian atmosphere
needed for growing up as a disciple of
Christ in faith, hope and love.
God Promises a
Savior
Covenant
Mediator Adam Noah Abraham Moses David Jesus

Covenant Marriage Rainbow Circum- Deca- Throne Eucharist

Sign cision logue

Covenant Universal
Form Couple Family Tribe Nation Kingdom Family
(Catholic)

In each covenant, there is always a “promise”

What is the value of the Old Testament (OT) for
Christians today?
The Old Testament gives us the
living Word of God that brings God’s
promise of salvation to us. Salvation
is not a material thing, but a spiritual
reality only gradually understood
through its promise.
Where is God’s Promise of salvation
found in the OT?

God’s promise of salvation is found

in all three parts of the OT: the Law
(Torah), the Prophets, and the
Writings (the Wisdom books and
Psalms).
Torah: 1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy
 Isaiah, Jeremiah
Prophets
Lamentations, Baruch,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea,
Joel, Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah,
Malachi
Writings Job,
Psalms,
Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes,
Song of Solomon,
Wisdom of Solomon,
Sirach
 Torah
The Law reveals a God
(What does for and with His people,
the Law teach whose commandments
us today are meant to liberate His
about God’s people, despite their
Promise?)
infidelities toward Him.
 Prophets
The prophets interpret
(What do the the present situation as
Prophets say viewed by God. They
of God’s constantly call for
Promise?)
conversion of heart.
How, according
to the Prophets, The messianic prophecies
would God foretell a Messiah King
accomplish who brings salvation to his
his promise? people precisely as a
“Suffering Servant”.
What is meant
by “prophetic The prophets
hope”? grounded the
hope of salvation
on God Himself
 Writings The Wisdom books remind us
how to be faithful to God in
(What promise daily actions and events.
of salvation do • Proverbs take up the
the “Writings” practical moral wisdom in
give?)
ordinary life.
• Job wrestles with the deepest
mysteries of evil and death.
 What is the The Church has
special value adopted the Psalms,
of the Psalms
for the the prayers Christ used,
Christian? to express the New
Covenant created by
the Triune God.
ANALYSIS AND •Deuteronomy 6:20-24
DISCUSSION •Deuteronomy 30:15-18
•Amos 5:6,14 (Call to conversion)
•Isaiah 1:16-17 (Call to conversion)
•Joel 2:12-13 (Call to conversion)
•Ezekiel 36:26-27 (Call to conversion)
Bible Tidbits •Proverbs 3:7
•Proverbs 15;1
•Psalm 73:26
•Psalm 119:41-45
INTEGRATION
The Catholic doctrine
on original sin naturally
goes with creation,
since it modifies the
believers’ view of all
reality.
 This doctrine of original sin radically
affects our moral perspective and vision.
The “power of evil” is more felt when we
attempt to follow Christ faithfully
through thoughts, words, and deeds. But
Christ promised that he will be with us
until the end of time.
 In worship, a more accurate understanding of
original sin would help the Filipino Catholic
Toward a far deeper appreciation of Baptism.
Instead of “social” ceremonial ritual which by
some magic supposedly “washes away” sin from
an apparently innocent child, Baptism would be
seen as a real force throughout our Christian lives.
A better understanding of the reality of original sin
would also both inspire a more intense prayer life
as well as help purify it from self-centeredness. A
‘pure and open heart’, ‘child-like simplicity’, and
‘intense sorrow for sin and firm purpose of
amendment’, are not qualities that ‘come
naturally’. When present, we recognize them as
gifts of the Spirit.
 In the Old Testament, we find Yahweh as the
shepherd who “seeks out the lost, bring back
the strayed” (Ez 34:16); a vine keeper caring for
his vine (Is 5:1-7); the savior who loved Israel as
a father loves his son (Hos 11:1); and with
tenderness of a mother for the child of her
womb (Is 49:15).
 The moral code of the “Ten Words”
(Decalogue) was affirmed by Jesus.
Moreover, the mystery of moral evil,
sin, is dramatically presented in
Genesis and throughout the OT. We are
called to the conversion of heart to
effect the change in the sin’s social
nature.
ENRICHMENT
ACTIVITY
Allegory
of the
Fall
1. Present a symbolic image in a poster (manila paper/colored paper)
regarding the consequence of humanity’s Fall from glory.
2. The group members should decide on the symbol that they choose
to represent the Fall of humanity and its consequences.
3. The chosen symbol or image will be drawn in a manila paper or
colored paper or bond paper.
4. The explanation will be provided by the spokesperson in a 60-second
presentation.
• Example: Drawing of Apple with few bites.
• Explanation: The apple, which is our chosen symbol, imagine
biting an apple, and leaving it for few minutes, the apple turns
brown. In the same way, the first human beings enjoyed the few
bites of the forbidden fruit, and then exposing the world to
deterioration. Also compare it to our personal lives and how
quickly they change and suffer when we open ourselves up to
negative influences. No matter how fresh and beautiful we are,
when we expose ourselves to sins, the consequences are
deterioration and death.
Rubric for assessing the students’ presentation
Criteria Description Poor Fair Goo Very Excellen
1 2 d Good t
3 4 5
Symbol used Applicability and clarity of the          
symbol used.
Description Relatedness of the descriptions to          
the subject being discussed.
Overall Impact The output is presented well with          
further enrichment of the lesson.
Total points            
Scoring Poor – 3 Fair – 4-6 Good – 7-9 Very Good – 10-12
Excellent – 13-15
EVALUATION • ¼ sheet of paper.
 HOME WORK

• Life and Work of St. Albert the Great (for IO-RE1)

• In a short bond paper: in the first paragraph, summarize
the life of St. Albert; in the second paragraph,
summarize his works and contribution; and in the third
paragraph, write a brief reflection on his life and
contributions to the Church and society.
LET US PRAY