Day 58: Man's Spiritual Battle

The consequences of original sin and of all men's personal sins put the world as a whole in the sinful condition aptly described in St. John's expression, "the sin of the world". [Jn 1:29] This expression can also refer to the negative influence exerted on people by communal situations and social structures that are the fruit of men's sins. CCC 408

In today's reading, the Catechism wraps up discussing Original Sin and our struggle to overcome the state we find ourselves in. Because of sin, we have a wounded nature since the Fall, which is challenged by the brokenness within us and throughout Creation. I like how the Catechism tells how we were "not abandoned by God" but right after the sin of Adam & Eve, we find God heralding "the coming victory over evil and [man's] restoration from his fall" (CCC 410). In Genesis 3:9-15, what the Church calls the Protoevangelium, we see that laid out by God:

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and hers;

They will strike at your head,

    while you strike at their heel.

 Jesus Christ is seen as the New Adam and the Blessed Theotokos is the New Eve. Christ redeemed us and "became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8) and "in Christ shall all be brought to life" (1 Cor 15:21-22). It is a spiritual battle we have with the "Father of lies" and our own nature. As the Catechism Companion, Vol I states:

If we ignore or don't know the fact that we have a wounded nature, then we might think everything we are inclined to must be good. But the full story is that we are made good but broken. We are inclined to evil. and so we have to be on guard even against our own hearts. (p. 120)