Soul Food for Teachers January 2010

Catechist Reflection on Life

Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? These are some of the most universal questions of our human existence‹questions each of us faces at one time or another. Perhaps the best way to begin answering these questions is to say that we are, in our very essence, an expression of God¹s love. Out of love he created us, and out of love he reveals himself to us.

It makes sense then, that we should search for and desire to know God. We are by nature religious beings and we cannot truly know ourselves until we come to know God, who created us. ³Without the Creator, the creature vanishes² (Gaudium et spes, 36). In his Confessions, St. Augustine states, ³You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.²

We live in a culture obsessed with self-interest and self-esteem.

Unfortunately, the type of self-esteem we find in secular culture is often based on feeling good about one¹s self-esteem "just because" -- a continuation of the "I¹m OK, you¹re OK" relativism so popular in the 1970s. However, this type of self-esteem is shallow and easily shattered. As Christians, we have deep and lasting reasons for feeling good about ourselves. Our faith tells us that God made us good. Just after God creates human beings, the Genesis account states, ³God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very good² (Genesis 1:31). We are created to do good things‹to show love for God and for others. And, freed from Original Sin through Baptism, we have the grace to be everything God made us to be if we are open to his call.

From Allelu! Catechist/Teacher Guide, Lesson 2