Lesson 1: Old Testament: Creation

The Creation of the World by Eustache Le Sueur

Creation is something that only God can do. Human beings can’t create anything; we can only
build things out of the materials that God has created for us. God alone can create or make
something out of nothing.

In this unit we will read through parts of the Old Testament and learn all about what happened
leading up to the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In this lesson we will learn about Creation, Adam and Eve, and how sin entered the world.

Click here to begin this lesson by reading about the Saint whose feast we celebrate today.
Opening Prayer:

The Temptation of Christ 2 by Jacopo Tintoretto (Robusti), 1579-81

Let’s begin this lesson by praying the Our Father. In this prayer we ask God to help us avoid
temptation and sin, which were real problems for Adam and Eve. Let us pray the Our Father in
English and in Latin.

Our Father:

English

Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. Amen.
Latin

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas
tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis
debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed
libera nos a malo. Amen.
Scripture:

The Fall of Cain by Giambattista Mengardi

For this lesson, we focus on the account of Adam and Eve, Original Sin, and the death of Abel by
the hand of Cain.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” And the
woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, ‘You
shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it,
lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when
the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the
tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to
her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the
sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the
LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound
of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who
told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I
ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman
said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.” The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you
have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you
shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his
heel.” To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall
bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And
to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil
you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you
shall eat the plants of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the
ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The man called
his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for
Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, “Behold,
the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” -- therefore the LORD God sent him
forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the
man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which
turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man
with the help of the LORD.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of
sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an
offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat
portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he
had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why
are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?
And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master
it.” Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field,
Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is
Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the LORD said,
“What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And
now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's
blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you
shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is
greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from
thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever
finds me will slay me.” Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance
shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon
him should kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land
of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city,
and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad; and
Irad was the father of Me-hu'ja-el, and Me-hu'ja-el the father of Me-thu'sha-el, and Me-thu'sha-
el the father of Lamech. And Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the
name of the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and
have cattle. His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and
pipe. Zillah bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister
of Tubal-cain was Na'amah. Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you
wives of Lamech, hearken to what I say: I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for
striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” And Adam knew his
wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me
another child instead of Abel, for Cain slew him.” To Seth also a son was born, and he called his
name Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Genesis Chapters 3 & 4

The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden by Lambert de Hondt

The Baltimore Catechism

39. Q. Who were the first man and woman?

A. The first man and woman were Adam and Eve.

40. Q. Were Adam and Eve innocent and holy when they came from the hand of
God?

A. Adam and Eve were innocent and holy when they came from the hand of God.

43. Q. Did Adam and Eve remain faithful to God?

A. Adam and Eve did not remain faithful to God; but broke His command by eating the
forbidden fruit.

44. Q. What befell Adam and Eve on account of their sin?

A. Adam and Eve on account of their sin lost innocence and holiness, and were doomed to
misery and death.
45. Q. What evil befell us through the disobedience of our first parents?

A. Through the disobedience of our first parents we all inherit their sin and punishment, as we
should have shared in their happiness if they had remained faithful.

47. Q. What is the sin called which we inherit from our first parents?

A. The sin which we inherit from our first parents is called original sin.

50. Q. Was any one ever preserved from original sin?

A. The Blessed Virgin Mary, through the merit of her Divine Son, was preserved free from the
guilt of original sin, and this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception.
Integration:

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Luca Giordano

In this lesson we’re going to learn about the story of Adam and Eve, and how it teaches us about
the roles of men and women, the Trinity, and the Sacrament of Marriage.

God created the world out of nothing. He created light and dark, night and day, the sun and
moon, the Universe, the Earth and everything and everyone on it. God made Heaven so we could
be with Him forever. God created everything. He didn’t need any tools or any equipment.
Everything that He created was good.

Once God had made everything including animals, He made humans. He made man and woman
in His own image and likeness. He made all of us to be special and unique human beings.

We just need to look at the beginning of the Baltimore Catechism to find out why God did all
this:

1. Q. Who made the world?

A. God made the world.

A. God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.

3. Q. What is man?

A. Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.

4. Q. Why did God make you?

A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy
with Him for ever in heaven.

God gives all of us the free will to decide whether or not to follow Him. He gave this free will to
the very first people, Adam and Eve.

Let’s examine the story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis:

We already learned about how God created the world and human beings. After He did this, He
placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They had animals and gardens and great beauty all
around them. He gave them one rule: to not to eat the forbidden fruit.

But one day the evil serpent said to Eve, “You don't have to listen to God. You can eat the
forbidden fruit from the tree!”

So Eve went over to the tree to look at the fruit. It looked so delicious. Then she made a choice.
She picked a piece of fruit and took a bite. She brought the fruit to Adam and asked him to eat.
Adam listened to Eve. Once they had both taken a bite, they were ashamed because they had
broken their promise to God and disobeyed Him.

They had done the wrong thing and committed the very first sin. This first sin is called ‘Original
Sin.’ Because of Original Sin, Adam and Eve were separated from God and no longer had God’s
life (or sanctifying grace) in their souls. God closed the gates of Heaven and kept them closed
until He sent His Son Jesus to open the gates for us.

Adam and Eve were very frightened of all that lay ahead. When they left Eden, they had to work
hard to find enough to eat. Adam and Eve felt very sad. They knew God would continue to show
His love for them. The worst part of their punishment was that they would never be as close to
God as they had been before they chose to eat the forbidden fruit and disobey Him.

What happened to Adam and Eve as a result of their sin?

Because they sinned, Adam and Eve lost three things. They lost sanctifying grace (when we are
in a state of sanctifying grace, we our God’s friends and He lives in us); they lost the chance to go
to Heaven, and they lost the special gifts of health and life they had in the Garden of Eden.

Instead, Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden, where they would find suffering and
death. They would be tempted by more evil to sin.
After the Garden of Eden, people needed a Savior. God had closed heaven. Because of Adam and
Eve’s sin, all people are born with Original Sin on their souls. Not only did Adam and Eve need a
Savior, but we all needed a Savior. Generations of people would wait thousands of years to meet
that Savior.

Before Jesus, people had no way to reach Heaven. Scripture tells us that the people walked in
darkness. They sinned and worshipped false gods. They did not have a way to reach God. They
did have hope, though. They listened to the prophets and knew that God would send a Savior. In
spite of all the darkness and sin in the world, they trusted God and worked to keep His
Commandments. They watched and waited for the Messiah. We all share in Original Sin, which
is why the Church teaches us that we must be baptized to cleanse us of Original Sin and become
children of God.

God never forgot the love He had for the people He created. God was waiting for the time to
send a Savior into the world, so that we could be in Heaven with Him.

In our own lives, we might have bad times. We might be sick or sad and think that God has left
us. God never leaves, though. God is always with us, even when we cannot see Him or His love in
our lives. We must never lose hope because God will never abandon us.

What does the story of Adam and Eve mean in our daily lives and our world today?

The very first thing we notice is that God created in the Garden of Eden a man and a woman. He
didn’t create two men or two women; He created two different kinds of people. We call them
female and male, and they are different. They are not the same. Men and women have different
traits and they complement each other. For instance, boys tend to be aggressive and girls tend to
be more passive. Girls are gentler, boys are rougher. Boys have deeper and commanding voices
and girls have softer and more inviting voices. Generally speaking, the men tend to be the
defenders, which fits their rougher characteristics, and women tend to be nurturers, which fits
with their gentle side.

We could talk for days talking about the differences between boys and girls. You probably have
heard people say that men and women are equal. This is true! Before God, men and women are
perfectly equal. Being equal, though, doesn’t prevent them from being different. Not all activities
that are appropriate for women are appropriate for men, and not all activities that are
appropriate for men are appropriate for women. Keep in mind for the rest of your life that God
makes it clear that men and women are different. They are equal, but they are not the same.

When we study the Trinity, we find that the Trinity is three Persons in one God. All three
Persons in the Trinity are equal, but they are not the same; they are unique individuals. To be
equal is not the same as being identical. To be equal does not prevent being different.

When God created Adam and Eve, God created man and woman, and He wanted them to be
together. We call that togetherness ‘Marriage.’ It is clear from the earliest revelations of God to
man that God wanted men and women to be together. Together, men and woman still have their
differences.

Although it’s fine for men and women to be friends with each other, God tells us that men can
only marry women and women can only marry men.
The purpose of marriage is to create new families. God wants husbands and wives to be
mommies and daddies and raise nice children who will follow Him.

During the month of January, we often pay special attention to how important it is to protect
unborn babies who are growing in their mothers’ wombs. We have already established by
studying God’s words that new human beings are called into the world through a husband and
wife to be part of a new family. God makes a new human being very special and unique.

Sadly, there are some people who think it’s alright to kill these new human beings if they don’t
want to cooperate with God in making a new family. Catholics and other people who care about
babies’ lives demonstrate in Washington D.C. against the law that makes this very sinful and
horrible act of abortion legal. Abortion, in the eyes of God, is a very immoral action, but it is
legal in America.

Sometimes our elected officials and appointed judges do the wrong thing in the eyes of God. The
holy Mother Teresa of Calcutta has warned us that abortion will ultimately be the downfall of the
USA. We must work hard to protect the lives of all human beings, especially the little babies that
God places safely in their mothers’ wombs.

From our focus on Adam and Eve, one Bible story from the Old Testament, we have learned the
Catholic teaching on marriage and how important it is to protect babies in the womb.

A poet some time ago wrote that God created the woman by taking the rib of Adam, which is the
closest bone to his heart. If he had wanted her to appear to be unequal, He would have taken a
bone from the foot. If He wanted to make it appear that she was better, He would have taken a
bone from Adam’s skull. But God took the bone from near his heart because He wanted men and
women to be equal and loving toward each other.
Activity:

Brook in Autumn, Keene Valley, Adirondacks by John Lee Fitch

Take a walk today and notice all of the things around you that God created. Notice how
wonderful His creation is and thank Him for making all of this for you. Try to make a list of all
the things that God has created in your life.
Closing Prayer:

Portrait of a Prelate, three-quarter length, in a black cassock, holding a biretta, by a table in a draped interior by
Alessandro Longhi

We encourage all students to learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours because this truly brings you
into the life of the Church, as it is praying with the Church as the Church prays. Holy Mother
Church encourages all of her faithful to regularly pray the hours, especially in common:

Other members of the Christian faithful, according to circumstances, are also earnestly invited
to participate in the liturgy of the hours as an action of the Church (Code of Canon Law, Canon
1174.2).

The Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) is immensely helpful to a life of grace, and it is a great
grace to be able to enter into the prayer of the Church before God.

Let us now pray with and for, the whole Church by saying one of the “Hours” of the Divine Office
just like your Bishops, Priests and Deacons do every day. Click on the “Hour” closest to the time
it is right now. | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer |