Objective:
The middle school youth will develop a deeper understanding of the Catholic teaching on salvation and grace and discover the need for both in their lives.
Overview:
“Have you been saved?” This is the question that makes most Catholics uncomfortable because we are not really sure what the answer is. We are not born saved and we believe that we can lose our salvation when we commit a mortal sin. The goal of every Catholic, however, is to have a soul pure enough to be able to live eternally with God, or in other words, to be worthy of eternal salvation. The process of salvation begins with the grace of God, which touches a sinner’s heart and calls him to repentance. This grace comes from the love and mercy of God. It is through the Church that we find salvation.
“Are you saved?” you are asked. A Catholic could reply: “As the Bible says, I am already saved (Acts 4:12, Ephesians 1:7), but I’m also being saved through the help of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments, walking every day with Christ my Savior (1 Corinthians 1:8, 2 Corinthians 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved (Philippians 2:12, Hebrews 3:14, Romans 6:3-5, Galatians 3:27). Like the apostle Paul, I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence to be saved when Christ, my Redeemer, comes again” (Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15).