The Punishment of the Sin of Adam

If a person, because of a fault, is deprived of what was bestowed on him as a favor, the deprivation is a punishment for the fault. Now, the perfect subjection ofman’s lower powers to reason was a great favor bestowed on man. Out of this perfect subjection of body to spirit came soundness of health and perfection of bodily function, and the supervening gift of bodily immortality was assured. But when man sinned the great favor mentioned was withdrawn (indeed, man’s sin rejected the favor), and it was withdrawn in punishment for the sin. The withdrawal of the favor meant that man was no longer immortal inhis bodily life; it meant that he would die. Therefore, death ismanifestly in punishment for Adam’s sin. Says St. Paul (Rom.5:12): “By one man sin entered the world, and by sin,death.”

Scripture recounts other punishments for Adam’ssin: expulsion of our first parents from Paradise; fatiguing toil;pains of childbirth; reluctance of the earth to yield fruits, etc.{-All these punishments were blessings for fallen man. Once fallen, man would have found Paradise and life as it was before Adam’s sin, so delightful that he would no longer have had thought or time for God. Fallen man cannot stand a diet of Paradise. Were it not for the hardships and punishments we must bear in consequence of Adam’s sin, we should all inevitably goto hell. Herein appear the infinite love and mercy of God: when he strikes us in punishment, while we are wayfarers, his blow turns into the caress of blessing.-}