Now, that came out bluntly and reflects my personal understanding, which doesn’t mean it’s erroneous (I sure hope not) but may not be the most precise wording.
What I mean is that the offense of original sin was so terrible that we can only begin to understand it when we see the state of this fallen mankind, our own misery, or when we meditate on what it took to atone for it, the Lord’s passion.
The case of Noah was a different story. Of all generations born after the Fall, the family of Noah was the only one who remained faithful to Him when everyone else wasn’t. What took place is too great for me to understand. Perhaps it was a teaching and a warning for future generations. But God made a *covenant *with Noah and his sons and told them: “be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.” This is the beginning of God’s divine providence repairing the Fall. God does not change. What He did at the time of Noah, He had foreknown and decided at the beginning of time. God doesn’t sit waiting to see how things go and at some point get annoyed and say: “Enough! Let’s wipe them all out, I should never have allowed them to multiply.”. No, God is providence. All has a meaning. Even suffering and death.
The “fresh start” with Noah of course did not wipe away original sin, but we do not know how God dispensed sanctifying grace in those days. The only thing we know is that under the New Covenant sanctifying grace is given in Baptism ex opere operato (by the very act of the Sacrament). Before Baptism, we just don’t know.
As for the consequences of sin (inclination to further sin, sorrow, death) they play a role in the redemption of mankind and also must be born, first as an act of justice because it’s the price we all pay for our original act of disobedience, and second as an act of mercy to participate in the redemptive suffering of Christ. That is why even in Baptism those are not removed, although the stain of original sin surely is.
By the way, I meditated a lot on your question yesterday, having before my eyes the image of a suffering mankind. We need to pray for peace and benevolence. Some things are unavoidable, but by prayer and penance we can help delay or shorten these things - God told us in Scripture and in Christ’s own words. We also need to pray for the Holy Father. He suffers very much for these things.
