Recently, 6
th - 8
th grade students from St. John the Baptist school gathered for a retreat in Daniel Hall at St. John Neumann Parish. There, they were greeted by a NET Ministries team of twelve young adults who were excited to share the love of Christ with them through games, skits, personal witness, small group discussion, prayer, and quiet reflection. The theme for the retreat was righteousness. People receive righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Christ, the sinless Son of God, took humanity's sin upon himself and became the willing, perfect sacrifice, suffering the punishment mankind deserved. God the Father accepted Jesus' sacrifice, through which human beings can become justified. But, we are not justified by faith alone. James 2:14 states, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone has faith but does not have works?” The definition of righteousness is very simple: it is a God given attribute that implies that our actions are justified. It can mean explicitly that we have been "judged" as leading a life that is pleasing to God. Students learned that prayer, sacraments, fellowship, and service are all important ways grow in righteousness. It was a great day of personal reflection and fun faith formation.