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Promise of Redemption and Incarnation
Q. 319. Did God abandon man after he fell into sin?
A. God did not abandon man after he fell into sin, but promised him a Redeemer, who was to satisfy for man's sin and reopen to him the gates of heaven.
Q. 320. What do we mean by the "gates of heaven"?
A. By the "gates of heaven" we mean the divine power by which God keeps us out of heaven or admits us into it, at His pleasure.
Q. 321. Who is the Redeemer?
A. Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of mankind.
Q. 328. Did Jesus Christ die to redeem all men of every age and race without exception?
A. Jesus Christ died to redeem all men of every age and race without exception; and every person born into the world should share in His merits, without which no one can be saved.
Q. 329. How are the merits of Jesus Christ applied to our souls?
A. The merits of Jesus Christ are applied to our souls through the Sacraments, and especially through Baptism and Penance, which restore us to the friendship of God.
Q. 344. Did the Son of God become man immediately after the sin of our first parents?
A. The Son of God did not become man immediately after the sin of our first parents, but was promised to them as a Redeemer.
Q. 345. How many years passed from the time Adam sinned till the time the Redeemer came?
A. About 4,000 years passed from the time Adam sinned till the time the Redeemer came.
Q. 346. What was the moral condition of the world just before the coming of Our Lord?
A. Just before the coming of Our Lord the moral condition of the world was very bad. Idolatry, injustice, cruelty, immorality and horrid vices were common almost everywhere.
Q. 347. Why was the coming of the Redeemer so long delayed?
A. The coming of the Redeemer was so long delayed that the world—suffering from every misery—might learn the great evil of sin and know that God alone could help fallen man.
Q. 348. When was the Redeemer promised to mankind?
A. The Redeemer was first promised to mankind in the Garden of Paradise, and often afterward through Abraham and his descendants, the patriarchs, and through numerous prophets.
Q. 349. Who were the prophets?
A. The prophets were inspired men to whom God revealed the future, that they might with absolute certainty make it known to the people.
Q. 350. What did the prophets foretell concerning the Redeemer?
A. The prophets, taken together, foretold so accurately all the circumstances of the birth, life, death, resurrection and glory of the Redeemer that no one who carefully studied their writings could fail to recognize Him when He came.
Q. 351. Have all these prophecies concerning the Redeemer been fulfilled?
A. All the prophecies concerning the Redeemer have been fulfilled in every point by the circumstances of Christ's birth, life, death, resurrection and glory; and He is, therefore, the Redeemer promised to mankind from the time of Adam.
Q. 352. Where shall we find these prophecies concerning the Redeemer?
A. We shall find these prophecies concerning the Redeemer in the prophetic books of the Bible or Holy Scripture.
Q. 353. If the Redeemer's coming was so clearly foretold, why did not all recognize Him when He came?
A. All did not recognize the Redeemer when He came, because many knew only part of the prophecies; and taking those concerning His glory and omitting those concerning His suffering, they could not understand His life.
Q. 354. How could they be saved who lived before the Son of God became man?
A. They who lived before the Son of God became man could be saved by believing in a Redeemer to come, and by keeping the Commandments.
Q. 355. On what day was the Son of God conceived and made man?
A. The Son of God was conceived and made man on Annunciation Day—the day on which the Angel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she was to be the Mother of God.
Q. 318. What does "incarnation" mean?
A. "Incarnation" means the act of clothing with flesh. Thus Our Lord clothed His divinity with a human body.
Q. 341. What do you mean by the Incarnation?
A. By the Incarnation I mean that the Son of God was made man.
Q. 342. How was the Son of God made man?
A. The Son of God was conceived and made man by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Q. 343. Is the Blessed Virgin Mary truly the Mother of God?
A. The Blessed Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God, because the same Divine Person who is the Son of God is also the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary.