Modern psychology gives great importance to feeling good and loving oneself as a precondition to loving others. But in today’s Gospel passage Jesus warns us that there is no easy way to be his disciples as he declares that the Kingdom of God can be accessed only through a narrow gate. Obviously, Jesus is not speaking of a material gate but of the narrow gate of daily faithfulness to one’s duties and the loyal observance of God’s law in all circumstances of life. That is what makes life challenging, but that is also the only way that leads to eternal happiness in heaven. The narrow door is a challenge to choose what is right in preference to what is pleasant or convenient. It is the courage to do God’s will rather than ours. Those who are unable to pass it are people who lock themselves out because they lack the determination to get rid of all that is incompatible with God’s presence and the holiness of His Kingdom. In this Eucharist, let us ask for the grace to have the moral strength to choose the narrow gate of self-denial, in preference to the wide gate of self-indulgence and other forms of self-gratification.
HOLY SPIRIT: INSPIRE US
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