The Narrow Gate

So, I am so excited... Why? Because next year, next summer will be the Summer Olympics! I love watching the Olympics. I'm always amazed at all those athletes and their talent. But what amazes me even more is not the things that these athletes are able to do, but rather it is the amazing discipline and sacrifice that they have to go through. I can only imagine these athletes have to go through day in and day out in order to be able to do all those amazing things. When you watch them, you know that it is not just talent, they were not simply just born with this gift... they also had to work hard, train hard, sacrifice many things and be extremely, extremely disciplined.

And they do all of this for a gold medal, for a dream, a goal and for some to glorify God.

Our goal, our purpose in life is not a gold medal. Our goal in life is to be a Saint. At the end of our life, when we pass from this life, there is no Gold, Silver and Bronze. We will either become a Saint, or be something far far worse. 

As one French poet, Léon Bloy, said: "There is only one tragedy in the end, not to have been a saint."

The greatest tragedy in all of life is to find that at the end of our life, you and I did not become a saint, that we did not allow our lives to be completely burnt up by the fire of God. Like the Gospel said last week, Jesus wishes that our lives would be ablazed with his fire. Jesus desires you to be a saint.

Jesus, in the Gospel today, makes this point clear. He says to us, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough."

The message that Jesus has for us today is difficult. Basically Jesus says, "Few will be saved." Our western culture, the popular Christian attitude, is actually the opposite of what Jesus says today. If you ask around Christian circles, "Will many be saved?" Many will say the road to salvation is broad and wide and many who live a good and decent life will find it, while the narrow road are for those few who are so lost in sin and evil that will find themselves lost forever. But this is the exact, the exact opposite of Jesus' words. 

"The way to salvation is NARROW." Jesus tells us, today, it is not enough to just be present. The people in the parable protested, "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets." But Jesus says that this is not enough to save us!

Yes, it is very necessary to come to Mass every Sunday, to sit and listen to the words of Jesus, and participate in communion, but this is not enough.

If the words we hear, and the communion we receive does not change our hearts, does not change our lives, then we have lost the very essence of our faith. Our faith, our religion, the sacraments, prayer... everything... all of it... has a purpose and only one purpose: to lead us into a deep intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. "Strive to enter through the narrow Gate!" The narrow gate is JESUS CHRIST!

You and I know that it is possible to be called Christian only in name. We can tell others that we are Christian without really making an effort to follow the path of Christ in our hearts. 

You and I can go to church and be seen frequently in the parish, even be actively involved in many groups and activities, without ever really entering into a committed, personal relationship with Christ ... without changing our lives! This may be very uncomfortable for us, but today the Scriptures tell us that only those who are disciplined, those that have changed their way of life in order to follow Jesus Christ and because of that, those who have come to know Him intimately... Only they will be welcomed at the banquet. To the rest, he will say, "I do not know who you are, Depart from me you evil-doers…"

Jesus wants to have a relationship with all of us. Relationships require time and effort. I would dare say, it requires discipline. Just like the Olympic athletes cannot do what they do with just an hour of practice a week, you and I cannot expect to become saints with just going to Mass an hour a week. Our relationship with God requires more, it requires discipline and change. Ultimately God is the one that provides us the grace to become saints, but we must be disciplined and open enough to receive that grace. 

Let me make this perfectly clear: Within you, is the seed, a God-given talent you could say, that's necessary for you to become a saint. A seed to become a great saint, like the world has never seen before. But only with discipline, will that seed, that talent flourish. 

Jesus says, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough." The letter to the Hebrews says, at first it seems "a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.." (12:11).

Jesus does not want Christians in name only, better yet he doesn't want Catholics in name only... rather, he desires sons and daughters of God, who know and love him intimately and are known by him.

It is not enough that we know and possess God's love... we must allow God's love to know and possess us! Simply put we must come to Jesus and say to him: "Jesus, I give you permission to turn my life upside down, to transform it into however you see fit. I give you all of me, do with me what you will."

For all you engineers and practical people out there, who need something concrete... after having said that prayer... Here's a quick "training" schedule... A rule of life... a disciplined outline... of what working towards sainthood looks like. (This is from the greatest "athletes" of the Church, aka the Saints, by the way)…

Daily: 
1) 30 minutes of intimate contemplative prayer with Jesus.
(Best in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Preferably in the morning.
Less talking more listening.
Sacrifice sleep, time, energy, if needed.)
2) 5 minutes Scriptures everyday (length of a youtube video or a commercial break).

Weekly:
1) At least one daily Mass a week.
2) Fast on one thing a week (meat on Fridays or Wednesday, or something else). 

Monthly:
1) Confession once a month.
2) Day of prayer and reflection once a month
(mini retreat day or half-day, disconnect from media & work). 

Yearly:
1) A multi-day retreat once a year.
2) Read a good spiritual book yearly. 

Remember… the purpose of all of this is to grow in relationship with Jesus.

So, at the end of our lives, what do we want? Do we want Jesus to say to us "I do not know you! Depart from me, all you evildoers!"? Or ... to tell us, "good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of Lord" Welcome to the banquet laid out for you for all of eternity! The choice is yours, make the right choice today.