Objective:
The middle school youth will discuss the life of St. Catherine of Sienna and our need to places our desires and trust in God.
Overview:
DESIRE: God calls us to align our desires with His. In a world where “things” seem so accessible, we are warned against materialism. Pope John Paul II spoke strongly about the negative impact that materialism has on a society. When our focus is on the accumulation of goods, we can lose our focus on our Christian life. Having or possessing “goods” is not a sin, but forsaking our relationship with God to acquire more goods leaves us empty and feeling alone. The focus for this session is to give us the opportunity to align our desires with God. To obtain true happiness, we must seek God above all else. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God. ‘The promise
[of seeing God] surpasses all beatitude. . . . In Scripture, to see is to possess. . . . Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.’ (#2548)
This session is to help direct the middle school youth toward God to find the desires of their hearts. Our call is to help them seek happiness, not in worldly goods and treasures, but in a heavenly relationship with God.