a) How did God create man, and how did original sin come about?
Man is the only created being composed of body and soul. He is made in the image and likeness of God, in that he is capable of freely knowing and loving his creator. The chief gift given by God to human beings was sanctifying grace, which made them children of God and gave them the right to heaven. He also gave them happiness in Paradise, great knowledge, control of the passions by reason, and exemption from suffering and death.
The first man and woman, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s commandment of not eating the forbidden fruit. As a result, they lost sanctifying grace, the right to heaven, and their special gifts. They became subject to death, to suffering, and to concupiscence (or strong inclination to evil), and they were driven out from Paradise. We, their descendants, inherit their punishment, and this condition into which we are born is called “original sin”.
b) What should an Altar Server especially know about man’s creation and original sin?
An Altar Server should especially remember that man was created to know, serve, and love God in this world and in the next. It would have been easy to do so, had our first parents been obedient to God, since we would have inherited their special gifts.
If we fall into the devil’s temptation, we abuse our freedom: like our first parents, we want to be like God, and put ourselves against God. Hence, we should try to avoid the occasions of sin as much as we could, by praying for God’s grace. If we sin, we should ask for forgiveness as soon as possible (and for mortal sins, go to confession).