LESSON

2
Rejection
of God’s
Love : the “But this alone I have
found : God made
Cause of humankind honest, but
they have pursued
Man’s many design.”

Downfall Ecclesiastes 7:29

 The previous chapter presents the original plan
of God when He created the world. Discussed there
is the concept of a just community that the Creator
was designed for human beings as they are called to
live in loving communion with God and in perfect
harmony with fellow humans and the rest of creation.
This new chapter, however, tells the story of how the
original plan of God would be destroyed by humans
themselves when they chose to turn their back
against the Creator by disobeying Him which even-
tually resulted to their downfall.
 ACTIVITY
News Analysis
Answer the following questions:

1. What image of our country is being

portrayed in the different news

2. Do you agree that the image of our

country being portrayed in the news is
exactly the kind of society that we have?
Justify your answer.
3. Are you contented with the kind of
society that we have? Support your
answer

4. Describe the kind of society that you are

dreaming of.
 Teaching Minds

Every time we watch news on TV or read

newspapers, we find lots of negative things happening
in our country and around the world. Corruption,
murder, theft, and other forms of crimes have been
normal contents of daily news. News usually gives us
the impression that our society is not good and just.
Sometimes, it makes us wonder if there is still hope
for our society to become a better and safer place to
live in. Sometimes, we tend to think “is this really
what God wants for us?” If God have originally
planned a just community for humanity, then why do
we keep on seeing and experiencing injustices in our
world today?

Man’s rejection of God’s love led to his downfall.

Genesis 3:6-7 The woman saw that the tree was

good for and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was
desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of
its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her
husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the
eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew
that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves
together and made loincloths for themselves.”

When God created Adam and Eve, they were

living in full communion with Him as they share in His
divine life. This state is called original holiness.
Having God as the source of their lives and
happiness, they also lived in perfect harmony with
one another and with all of creation. This state, on
the other hand, is called original juice ( Singer-
Towns 2012). The first human beings clearly lived
a beautiful life in a perfect world designed for them
by the Creator. However, their pride which led to
their abuse of freedom spelled tragedy for them and
for the rest of their descendants. Tempted by the
devil, through the serpent, to become like God who
knows the difference between good and evil, Adam
and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit which He
commanded them not to touch and eat. Their
ambition to become like God led them to doubt the
fact that they already share in the Creator’s divine life
which constitute for the perfect happiness and
ustice that they already enjoy.. So, when they
committed their first sin, the original sin , they
destroyed the perfect communion they have with
God, with one another and with the rest of creation.
This ultimately led to their downfall as the conse-
quences of the original sin entered the world.
 Humanity suffers the consequences of original
sin.

Genesis 3:23 The Lord God therefore banished

him from the garden of Eden to till the ground from
which he had been taken. He expelled the man,
stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword
east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the
tree of life.
 The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains
clearly the consequences of the original sin not only
to Adam and Eve but to the entire humanity as well
being their descendants. The authoritative document
states that:

CCC 399 “Scripture portrays the tragic

consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and
Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness.
They become afraid of the God of whom they have
conceived a distorted image – that of a God jealous
of his prerogatives.

CCC 400 The harmony in which they had found

themselves., thanks to original justice, is now
destroyed: the control of the soul’s spiritual faculties
over the body is shattered: the union of man and
woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations
henceforth marked by lust and domination.
Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation
has become alien and hostile to man. Because of
man, creation is now subject “ to its bondage to decay.”
Finally, the consequent explicitly foretold for this disobedience
will come true: man will return to the ground, “ for out of it he
was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history.

As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the

loss of original holiness and justice as consequences of Adam
and Eve’s disobedience to God led them and the entire
humanity to a shattered state where in the lost their intimate
communion with God and destroyed their harmonious
relationship with other people and the rest of creation. It has
become a very difficult struggle for them to develop intimate
with God and maintain an orderly and just relationship with
everyone. Man has lost a clear concept of who he really is- a
special creation of God who would only find his true meaning
and happiness with his Creator. He has also lost his sense of
oneness with his fellow human beings and with all of God’s
creation that he only often cares about the good of his own
self. Lastly, as Catechism of the Catholic Church indicated,
Adam and Eve’s sin brought forth death not only to
themselves but to the entire human race as well.
 God promised man salvation from sin.

Genesis 3:9-15 “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.”

Despite man’s rejection of God’s love and

separation from His grace, the Lord continued to love
and show concern for him. In fact, the Lord God
Promised him salvation from sins and final victory
over evil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church
states:

CCC 410 After his fall, man was not abandoned by

God. On the contrary, God calls him in a mysterious
way heralds the coming victory over evil and his
restoration from his fall. The passage in Genesis is
called the Protoevangellum ( “first gospel”): the first
announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer , of a
battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of
the final victory of a descendant of hers.

CCC 411 The Christian tradition sees in this

passage an announcement of the “New Adam” who,
because he “became obedient unto death, even
death on a cross” makes amends superabundantly
for the disobedience, of Adam. Furthermore many
Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the

Woman announced in the Protoevangellum as Mary,

the mother of Christ, the “new Eve”. Mary benefited
first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin:
she was presrved from all stain of original sin and by
a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind
during her whole earthly life.

Because of one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience

to God, sin, and all its evil effects entered the world.
But because of one man’s (Jesus’) obedience to God,
even until His death on the cross, sin all its
consequences have been conquered and defeated
resulting to man’s salvation. When Jesus Christ the
Son of God came to save the world from sin, as
promised by God, He brought the entire humanity
back to God’s grace and reconciled them with Him.
Christ’s salvation even gave more blessings to
humanity than that which sin has taken from. (CCC
420).
Summary
God’s original plan of a just community for
human beings was destroyed by our first parents,
Adam and Eve, when they committed the original sin
by disobeying the command of God. As a result of
the original sin, we lost the original holiness and
justice which enables human beings to enjoy full
communion with God and perfect harmony with fellow
human beings and with the rest of His creation. As sin
entered the world, death, suffering and
concupiscence engulf humanity making, therefore,
more difficult our struggle to live a life centered on
God’s love and anchored on a just relationship with
our neighbors and the rest of God’s creation. But
despite humanity’s separation from Him, the Lord
God did not abandon us that He promised to bring
salvation from sin and complete and complete victory
over its consequences. He fulfilled His promise of
redemption by sending His Divine Son Jesus Christ to
liberate us from the bondage of sin and bring us back
to the loving arms of God. Jesus brought with Him
Abundant blessing that more than compensate for the
grace that was lost when our first parents committed
sin.

Pause and Reflect

Are my decisions and actions in accordance

with God’s will?
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 Touching Hearts

The Example of Mother Mary

“In stating her total “yes” to the divine plan,

Mary is completely free before God. At the same
time, she feels personally responsible for humanity,
whose future was linked with her reply.” St. John
Paul II.
 Mother Mary’s obedience to God’s will made
possible the incarnation of Jesus Christ. She
cooperated with God’s plan of salvation when she
said “yes” to Angel Gabriel when the latter told her
about the Good News of the coming of the Savior.

When Mary said “Behold, I am the handmaid of

the Lord. May it be done to me according to your
word” (Luke 1:38), she gave humanity a huge favor
by letting God fulfill His promised redemption of
human beings from sin. It’s a total surrendering of
the Virgin Mary to God’s will since when she
accepted her role of becoming the Mother of God,
she was still single and this could ruin her
engagement with Joseph and her reputation as well.
The idea of conceiving a child in Virgin Mary’s womb
through the power of the Holy Spirit is something
that the people during that time would not easily
comprehend. However , she did not mind the
possible negative consequences of her decision but
instead totally and completely submit herself to the
annunciation-mid.html wisdom of God, and so with
her compliance, the salvation of humanity
materialized in the coming of the savior Jesus Christ.

Pause and Reflect

Do I pray hard enough to determine what is God’s

plan for me? In my daily living., how often do I follow
the will of God?
 Transforming Lives

The Life of St. Francis of Assisi- an inspiring

example of obedience to the will of God.

Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who

astounded and inspired the Church by taking gospel
literally- not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by
actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully,
without limit and without a sense of self-importance.
 Serious illness brought the young Francis to
see the emptiness of his frolicking life as leader of
Assis’s youth. Prayer lengthy and difficult-led him to
a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by
embracing a leper he met on the road. It symbolized
his complete obedience to what he had heard in
prayer: “Francis! Everything you have loved and
desired in the flesh it is your duty to despise and
hate, if you wish to know my will.. And when you
have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely
to you will become intolerable and bitter, but all that
you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness
and exceeding joy.”

From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of

San Damiano, Christ told him, “Francis, go out and
build up my house, for it is nearly falling down.”
Francis became

` He must have suspected a deeper meaning to

“build up my house.” But he would have been content
to be for the rest of his life the poor ”nothing” man
 actually putting brick on brick in abandoned chapels.
He gave up all his possessions, pilling even he
clothes before his earthly father (who was
demanding restitution for Francis’ “gifts” to the poor)
so that he would be totally free to say, “Our Father in
heaven.” He was, for a time, considered to be a
religious fanatic, begging from door to door when he
could not get money for his work, evoking sadness or
disgust to the hearts of his former friends, ridicule
from the unthinking.
 But genuineness will tell. A few people began
to realize that this man was actually trying to be
Christian. He really believed what Jesus said:
“Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or
copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals
no staff” (Luke 9:1-3).

Francis’ first rule for his followers was a

collection of texts from the Gospels. He had no idea
of founding an order, but once it began he protected it
and accepted at the legal structures needed to
support it. His devotion and loyalty to the Church
were absolute and highly exemplary at a time when
various movements of reform tended to break the
Church unity.

He was torn between a life devoted entirely to

prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good
News. He decided in favor of the latter., but always
returned to solitude when he could. He wanted to be
a missionary in Syria or in Africa, but was prevented
by shipwreck and illness in both cases. He did try to
convert the sultan of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade.

During the last years of his relatively short life

(he died at 44), he was half blind and seriously ill.
Two years before his death, he received the stigmata,
the real and painful wounds of hrist in his hands, feet
and side.
 On his deathbed, he said over and over again
the last addition to his Canticle of the Sun, “Be
praised, O Lord, for our Sister Death.” He sang
Psalm 141, and at the end asked his superior to have
his clothes removed when the last hour came and for
permission to expire lying naked on the earth, in
imitation of his Lord.
 Pause and Reflect

How am I living my life according to God’s

will?
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Prayer

I will continue Oh my God

To do all my actions
For the love of You.

by St. John Baptist De La Salle

 Assessment

Answer the following questions:

1. Why is sin a rejection of God’s love?

2. What are the effects of Adam and Eve’s sin to

humankind?

3. What do you think is the social implication of the

Original Sin?
 In one whole sheet of
paper
My Reflection

Name : _____________________________ Year & Section : ________________

Matthew 10:33

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My
Father who is in heaven. “ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him
before My Father who is in heaven.
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Answer the following questions:
1. How many days was Lazarus dead before Jesus
brought him back to life?
2. What is the first book in the Bible?
3. What is the last book in the Bible?
4. What four books Jesus tell about Jesus life on Earth?
5. What is the longest book in the Bible?
6. Who did God tell to build an ark?
7. Who were Noah’s three sons?
8. How many days and nights did it rain when Noah was
on the ark?
 9. How many people were saved on the ark?
10. What God sign to Noah that He would never destroy
the earth again?
11. Even though Abraham and Sarah were too old, what
did God promise them?
12. Who were Isaac son’s name?
13. How many brothers did Jesus have?
14. Where did Joseph, Mary and Jesus live?
15. How old was Jesus when He first taught in the temple?
16. How many loaves of bread and fish did Jesus use to
feed the 5000 in John?
 Write True or False. Answers only.

____ 1. When God created Adam and Eve, they were

living in full communion with Him as they
share in His divine life.

____ 2. Despite man’s rejection of God’s love and

separation from His grace the Lord continued
to love and show concern for Him.

____ 3. Because of man’s (Adam’s) disobedience to

God, sin, and all its evil effects closed the
world.
______ 4. God’s original plan of a just community
for human beings was destroyed by our
first parents.

______ 5. Mother Mary’s obedience to God’s will

made possible the incarnation of Jesus
Christ.
 Match column A with its meaning in column B. Pick out the letter of the correct
answer.
A B

1. The union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ a. grace

2. Feeling or showing great surprise or wonder b. salvation
3. A body of Christians having a common faith and
discipline c. communion
4. Deliverance from the power and effects of sin d. astounded
5. A virtue coming from God e. incarnation