The catechist hands on the faith. Someone must receive what is handed on. The recipient may have little interest in receiving due to little faith. On the other hand, the recipient may be a person of faith who is eager to believe. The catechist must necessarily act differently in both cases.

My catechetical sessions are with Catholics or those seeking to become Catholic. As I think about that, I have realized one of my first principles: Catholics who believe also yearn to know more about their faith. They don’t doubt, and they don’t seek proof. They just want to understand the truth. 

It’s taken me a while to see that first principle because it’s my standpoint, and standpoints are hard to see because… we stand on them. 

My catechesis is rooted in that first principle. It is the proposition from which all of my other catechetical deductions are made. Does my first principle always give me the right idea about the situation? Not always, because stereotypes are oversimplified.

My first principle has nonetheless served me well. I talk as though talking to true believers, to folks who love Jesus, love the Church, and believe what the Church teaches. The subject matter is serious. We’re all serious, and we want to discuss it seriously. I’m teaching Jesus, and Jesus is teaching with my lips. It is a direct, self-assured, unapologetic, and bold speech.

When young people ask me to explain salvation, therefore, I’m direct:

God helps with law and grace.

Man governs conduct with law as its rule. Law is the means toward the end called Judgement Day. During his earthly ministry, Jesus taught us how to conduct ourselves to be judged favorably by him. It’s as if he spent his ministry teaching the exact questions on the final exam. Like he said, “This is how God wants people to act, and only those acting this way will I choose to be with God.” Jesus Christ is the loving son who gives his Father what he wants. 

Grace is “God at work in you.” It is the life of each person in the Trinity, given to a human. Grace is like a woman who is a Rhodes Scholar, brilliant entrepreneur, faithful spouse, and willing servant of the Church. People look at her and say, “I want to be like her.” Imagine that she could give them her intellect, servant-love, responsibility, acumen, and charity, while still retaining all of that in herself. She, of course, cannot do that. God can and does give us his life. It’s grace, and it is God’s preeminent gift. Christ expects us to put it to use and to cooperate with it so that it produces much good.

At the Judgement, we will be asked, “What did you do with my grace?” The faithful servant will answer, “I used it to become holy.”