STRIVE TO ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE NARROW DOOR.
STRIVE TO ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE NARROW GATE.
“Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
He answered them,
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
'Lord, open the door for us.'
He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from.'
And you will say,
'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'
Then he will say to you,
'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last." (Luke 13: 22 - 30).
When you decide to follow Jesus, the choice is clear but challenging for most of us. The narrow door are the Beatitudes and the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. This is how Jesus lived. Jesus is Our Example. He is the "The Way, the Truth and Life" set for us.
For Christians, there is no alternative. "For many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough." (Luke 13: 24).
Many will be tempted to compromise but will fall short. The 300 English Bishops tried to compromise their faith with King Henry VIII in the 16th century. They failed miserably. Henry the VIII proved stronger than them all. Some evangelicals tried to compromise with Adolf Hitler in 1940s. They failed miserably. Adolf Hitler proved stronger than all of them.
What does it profit a man to get everything he wants in this life but to be confronted with this scenario when he takes his last breath:
"Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from." (Luke 13: 25).
The regret will be huge and unspeakable.
"And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out." (Luke 13: 28).
I will rather be last now and enter the kingdom than be first and lost.
"For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”. (Luke 13: 30).
October is the Holy Rosary Month.
"The whole purpose of the Rosary is to lead to this deep experience of Our Lady, who together with Jesus breathes the Spirit into us." Thomas Keating).
The Great Month of October ends tomorrow. If you have been faithful, be prepared for a rich harvest. The Rosary can be compared to the tiny mustard seed that the Holy Spirit planted in your heart this October. If you nourish this tiny mustard seed and allow it to grow, what will it become in 10 years, 20 years or 30 years?
For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:
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