Dear Catholic Exchange:
I was reading the Bible today and I saw a particular phrase that seemed to jump out at me. It goes something like this, “Only those whom the Father calls can come to me (Jesus).” My mind takes that and says, “You are not chosen by God.” How do I know if God chooses me? How do I know if I am saved? How do I know that God wants me at all?
Ms. Yeager
Dear Ms. Yeager,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
It seems that John 6:44 is the verse you are referring to. Here Christ is speaking of the initial grace needed to turn to Him and enter a personal relationship with Him. This grace is a free gift from God, who prepares our hearts before we even know Him to receive His grace. In John 6, Jesus is speaking to a group of people whose faith is based on His miraculous power, not His love and mercy. The crowds are following Him because He was able to feed them with loaves and fish, but Jesus wants to give them something more: His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Christ is speaking to everyone in the crowd, which included those who did not strongly believe in Him as well as His Apostles and closest friends. He leaves the decision to accept or reject His words up to them, and many of His disciples left Him because they did not accept His teaching on the Eucharist (Jn 6:66). Those who stayed professed their faith, as St. Peter said: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68-69). Our concern as Christians is not whether or not we have been “chosen” for such a gift but to simply be who we are: children of the Almighty Father. Our primary task is to know, love, and serve God in this life. For a deeper explanation, please read the article on “Grace and Justification” in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph numbers 1987-2016, available online at the Vatican website.
Your questions echo the young man of the Gospel who asked Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to be saved?” This question is deep within the human heart and a common one among Catholics. The truth is that God calls each and every one of us to a loving union with Himself. Each of His followers is different and responds to His call in a unique, personal relationship. God tells us in Jeremiah 1:5 that “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you….” God knew and loved us infinitely before we were ever created, and that indeed is an awesome mystery!
We can see God’s love for us in His creation, in His Son Jesus Christ, in His Church, and in our own lives. There’s no doubt about it: God is madly in love with His creatures. He made man in His own image, and we are His children (see Gn 1:26). God loves each person He created so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, so that through His death and Resurrection all who believe in Him might be saved and live with Him forever in Heaven (see Jn 3:16). Also, He loves us so much that He gave us our free will so that we could freely love Him in return. This means we can reject His love as well, but that didn’t stop God from giving us freedom.
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Imagine how ridiculous it would be to say to someone, “You must love me. You have no other choice but to love me.” That’s certainly not the way human relationships work; we cannot force anyone to love us. If someone told you, “I love you” because you were holding a gun to his head and forcing him to say it, that wouldn’t be real love at all. God doesn’t want fake or forced “love” from us. He wants the real thing. He wants you to freely choose Him out of love, not because you were “programmed” to love God. We know that He loves us because He created us, redeemed us, and continues to sanctify us through His Church (and the sacraments). God looks on all creation and sees that it is “very good” (Gn 1:31). God wants His people to be with Him now and forever. God wants you so much He is willing to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood so that He may be one with you. He wants you so much that if you were the only person who needed to be saved, Jesus would have come and given His life just for you. God wants you so much that He is calling you at this very moment to respond to His love, to be with Him in prayer, and to live your whole life for Him and with Him, on earth and in Heaven. He wants to save you; now you have to turn to Him and want to be saved.
God’s Word gives us many reasons to hope in His salvation. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul tells us that “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). Now, what did Paul and other biblical writers have in mind when they say that to be saved, one must “believe” in Jesus? To believe in Jesus would presumably contain the notion of giving your life to Him completely, trusting in His grace. Anyone can see the obvious contradiction in saying, “I believe in you Jesus, but don’t interfere with my life.” St. James tells us that the belief of demons (who know from experience that God exists) is of no profit to them (Jas 2:19). He further says that justification is not only a matter of faith, but grace-inspired works as well. So just to believe Jesus exists is not sufficient. Believing must also mean a course of life.
The fact that God wants to save us and we believe in Him does not mean that we can presume to say, “I know that I’m going to heaven some day.” Jesus Himself tells us in St. Matthew’s Gospel that “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (24:13). Jesus doesn’t want us to give Him a little bit of our hearts — He wants our whole lives. He doesn’t want us to say “I believe,” and then not act like it. If we believe in Him, we must do our best to act in a way that glorifies Him and shows our love for Him. We must ask for His help and His grace to persevere throughout our entire lives. We must always run back to Him through the sacrament of Reconciliation whenever we fall and remain close to Him in the Eucharist. St. Paul tells us to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:12). We are called to grow in faith, hope, and love, but not to presume on God’s mercy, which is His gift to us.
Even if we love God with our whole hearts, life will still present us with difficulties at times. However, our struggles and trials are opportunities to grow in our trust in God. Romans 8:28 tells us, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” We unite our sufferings to Christ’s sufferings on the cross and find healing in Him, Who is always “filled with compassion” for us (Lk 15:20).
Finally, the Gospel of St. John gives us a great sense of hope. In 3:17, John writes that “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” In John 6, Jesus promises to “raise [us] up on the last day” if we eat His Body and drink His Blood in the Eucharist. We are powerless to save ourselves; we depend on God’s grace in all we do. Jesus says, “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture…. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:9, 10). That life in Christ is the cause of our joy and our hope for salvation.
Please feel free to call us at 1-800-MY FAITH with any further questions on this or any other subject. Thank you for whatever support you can provide, through prayers and donations, as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”
United in the Faith,
Elizabeth Hruska
Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
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