A priest commented to me that many people today do not understand what "salvation" means. We tend to say it without thinking. But without God's help,
- We do not attain the meaning of our life or that of the world. They depend on the Creator.
- We do not achieve happiness, but only moments of satisfaction and joy.
- We are not saved from death.
- We are not free from the breakdowns of sin: from the ruptures between reason and feelings or between will and passions. Nor can we overcome the evil that exists in society, or do justice in the world. And we cannot resolve the distance with nature, which sometimes harms us and sometimes we mistreat it.
- We do not love God above all things and our neighbor as He has commanded us. We cannot be truly good.
We need the Lord's help to know the meaning of life, to attain happiness, to overcome death, to mend our moral brokenness and that of the world, and to live seriously the two commandments of charity. He gives us his forgiveness and his charity with the Holy Spirit; and a promise of eternity and happiness. That is salvation.
The authorJuan Luis Lorda
Professor of Theology and Director of the Department of Systematic Theology at the University of Navarra. Author of numerous books on theology and spiritual life.
