We are faced with a sobering question in today’s Gospel (Luke 13.22-30), as we here a man asking Jesus, “Will only a few be saved?” And maybe he is asking because he is wondering of his own salvation. Maybe, at one point or another, we have asked of ourselves the same question, “Will I be saved? Will I go to heaven?” Jesus responds with an equally sobering response; “Many will try to enter [through the narrow door] and will not be able?” What does this mean for us? If our God is a God of love would he not want all of us to be with him. The answer is “YES, ABSOLUTELY!” And yet his response for some, as he says, will be, “I do not know where you come from.” I think the reality of this is that many have presumed that they are saved by baptism or take comfort in the presumption that the vast majority of people will go to heaven and so they try to be good and end up in that crowd. Yet scripture states it very clearly, and differently than this. And so what are we to do?

One thing this scripture places on my heart is the call to urgency, to act now! We are encouraged and challenged by Jesus’ words; “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many… will try to enter and will not be able.”

As I was reflecting on this Gospel for today, I couldn’t help but think of the Olympics, which are just wrapping up today after a couple of weeks of events. I have been really captivated by many of the athletes as I watch them and hear their stories. These athletes, I imagine many of them, have been in intense training for years to prove that they can make it and stand among the top in the world. I also imagine for most, if not all, this requires intense discipline, a strict diet, grueling commitment, and pushing through the pain; they have to eat and sleep with their goal in mind, to push to limit and be the best. How will they know that they are the best, that they are able to make it? By giving it everything that they have.

Also, behind every great athlete is a coach, someone who knows how to guide them down the one right path and who has usually gone there before them. They push you to accomplish great and difficult things, sometimes things you never thought you could do. And so, likewise, we are not alone as we have the example of our great teacher, Jesus. He leads the way for us by taking up his cross. He is the narrow gate, and so it is only by following him and comforming to him that we are able to enter.

It seems to me then that this is our answer, we must be spiritual athletes; striving to enter through the narrow gate. This is our spiritual training program, if our goal is heaven. There are many paths that lead away from this narrow door, but only one that leads to it; the path of Jesus. There will only be victory for those who are willing to push on.

It is not an easy thing. As we hear in the letter to the Hebrews (12.5-7,11-13), “Endure trials for the sake of discipline.” You must be willing to walk the path of love in all that you do every day and you must take up your cross and be willing to endure the trials of resisting temptation. Ultimately you must be willing to surrender to the grace of God and then allow that grace to invade every aspect of your life so that grace flows through you and into the wider world.

So today I encourage you to take consolation that you have a loving coach, a loving teacher, who is willing to show you the way if you are but willing to commit and push on! There is no better day than today. There is no better moment than now!

Further reading:

Isaiah 66.18-21

Psalm 117

“I came to bring to bring fire to the earth… I came, not to bring peace, but rather division.”

These words of Jesus are intense. His words make clear the purpose he came for, to embody the all-devouring love of God who has a passion for us that doesn’t let us settle in mediocrity, but rather calls us to something greater. These words also speak a truth that sets aside any notion of compromise and coexistence with evil. The truth is that we are in a constant battle. And in order for there to be true peace and holiness there must be clarity in our lives, not compromise. There are two camps, not a third, one must win while the other loses! Jesus is the one who can bring clarity to our lives!

In today’s first reading(Jeremiah 38.4-6, 8-10) we hear about the prophet Jeremiah, a man who spoke clarity which he received from God. And he was hated for it! Jeremiah was amidst God’s Chosen people, the Israelites, and was sharing God’s word with them; that they would face destruction by the Babylonian empire because of their sins. However, the popular opinion of the people was that they needed to fight and that God would deliver them, as he had in the past from other oppressors and foes. And so they didn’t believe Jeremiah’s message. And this was even in a Theocoratic culture, a culture that widely recognized God. Jeremiah was hated for speaking God’s word to them.

Earlier in Jeremiah we hear the famous verse, “I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm, plans to give you a future full of hope.” And Jeremiah stood in that truth. He stood against the popular opinion of his day and chose to stand uncompromising on God’s word and was hated for it, even being thrown into a cistern.

We also are called to stand, as Jeremiah did, uncompromising in the truth against all that is a lie in our world today. But how was Jeremiah able to stand amidst the culture of his day with such strength? He was consumed by this fire that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel; the devouring fire. This image of fire is important. Fire is powerful and transformative! It gives warmth and also consumes and destroys. When I think of fire I always think of forest fires. You can see the devastating effects of fire out of control, devouring everything in its path. As devastating as it is have you seen, years later, an area devastated by a forest fire? It is flourishing, space is made for new life and new growth; seeds that were unseen now take life and so are able to flourish.

In the same way, in order to establish his kingdom on earth Jesus had to clear out, burn away, and destroy certain things; all that is false. And he seeks to do this in our hearts and our lives. Instead of settling for the ways of our fallen world he calls us to take a stand, as Jeremiah did, in his promise; not caring what others will think and not settling for what will make others “happy”, by our compromising (and this comes even in our own families), but only settling for the truth. It will most definitely never be the easy way, but it is this fire that will burn away all the underbrush and the dead wood in us that clings to this world and that will leave us open to grow and flourish in the all-devouring love and truth of God.

As we read from St.Paul’s letter to the Hebrews; “Consider Jesus who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”

So let us actively seek out His fire to consume our hearts, knowing the goodness and truth that it will bring!

Further Reading:

Psalm 40

Hebrews 12.1-4

Luke 12.49-53

I’d like to start by sharing a story with you that I heard once:

A vacationing American businessman standing on the pier of a quaint 
coastal fishing village in southern Mexico watched as a small boat with 
just one young Mexican fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small 
boat were several large yellowfin tuna. Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American complimented the Mexican on the quality of 
his fish.

"How long did it take you to catch them?" the American casually asked. 

"Oh, a few hours," the Mexican fisherman replied. 

"Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American 
businessman then asked. 

The Mexican warmly replied, "With this I have more than enough to meet my family's needs." 

The businessman then became serious, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" 

Responding with a smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, "I sleep late, 
play with my children, watch ball games, and take siesta with my wife. 
Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll into the village to see my 
friends, play the guitar, sing a few songs..." 

The American businessman impatiently interrupted, "Look, I have an MBA 
from Harvard, and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the 
additional income that larger boat will bring, before long you can buy a second boat, then a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats."

Proud of his own sharp thinking, he excitedly elaborated a grand scheme 
which could bring even bigger profits, "Then, instead of selling your 
catch to a middleman you'll be able to sell your fish directly to the 
processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control 
the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny 
coastal village and move to Mexico City, or possibly even Los Angeles or New York City, where you could even further expand your enterprise." 

Having never thought of such things, the Mexican fisherman asked, 
"But how long will all this take?" 

After a rapid mental calculation, the Harvard MBA pronounced, "Probably about 15-20 years, maybe less if you work really hard." 

"And then what, señor?" asked the fisherman. 

"Why, that's the best part!" answered the businessman with a laugh. "When the time is right, you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." 

"Millions? Really? What would I do with it all?" asked the young 
fisherman in disbelief. 

The businessman boasted, "Then you could happily retire with all the 
money you've made. You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village 
where you could sleep late, play with your grandchildren, watch ball 
games, and take siesta with your wife. You could stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play the guitar and sing with your friends all you want."

"What do you think I am doing right now?" asked the fisherman.

The question I want to share with you today and ponder is “What is the state of my soul?” “Where is my heart?”

From the story you just heard we see an example of someone who is content with their life,  living from God’s provision. It contrasts with the story of the man who hoarded his goods, in the Gospel today(Luke 12.13-21), highlighting for us what greed does. I imagine he took a lot of time to collect all his crops and then to destroy and rebuild his barns, and it seems to me that it was at the exclusion of all else, including the state of his soul.

It seems to me that there is no middle ground to stand on here. The moment we become greedy for ourselves we stop being generous. This can apply to many facets of our life, not just with wealth. The moment we stop being generous with our gifts, talents, and treasures is the moment that we are taken over with greed and the moment we turn away from God. Why didn’t the man share out of the wealth he had with those in need? It would have saved him a lot of time and money.

The truth is, that any time we seek fulfillment in anything apart from God our world is incomplete without Him whom we were created for.

This reminds me of the famous quote from St.Augustine: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you O Lord.”

I watched a movie recently “The Bee Movie”. Have any of you seen it? It is an animated kids movie. It seems I watch a lot of these lately. The story is about a honey bee, Barry, who after going to college realizes he will be forever stuck in the same job at the hive. Through a series of events he meets a human and shockingly discovers that humans take the bees honey to eat. He is also shocked to discover the exploitation of bees and so decides to sue the humans. Winning the case, and now with no more demand for honey, the sudden stockpile puts every bee out of a job. As a result, without anything to pollinate them, the world’s flowers slowly begin to die out. I won’t give away any more of the story. We can see what Barry’s greed ends up leading to; death. When we are not living for what we are made for we are not content and this has an effect on us and on the world; quite a negative effect really. When we realize what our purpose is, even without initially realizing what it is, we can live out of that purpose and it brings our lives meaning and fulfillment.

I know I have to remind my self often, that I am a pilgrim on a journey on this earth. My life; being preparation for a final destination. If one day I want to live in the beauty of God it makes sense to me that anything else, besides Him, will just be a distraction! In the words of St. Paul that we hear in the second reading; “Christ is all and in all.”

So let us seek today to be generous with our lives; to open our eyes and our hearts so that we can see God in all things, drawing us to Himself, bringing life to our hearts, and our souls, and our lives.

Further Reading:

Ecclesiastes 1.2; 2.21-23

Psalm 90

Colossians 3.1-5, 9-11

“Whoever loses their life for my sake will save it;” with these words Jesus calls us to be intentional about the faith that we profess and about being his followers. This is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian life; how can we lose our life and yet still save it?

When I think of losing something it is usually due to some neglect on my own part, me maybe not being fully present in that moment or simply forgetting where I put something. However Jesus speaks of this “losing our life” as something done quite intentionally. So this is not something we can merely do by accident.

Why would we want to lose our life?
Because Christ has promised us much more than what the world has to offer. That sounds pretty good to me!

So how do we lose our life then?
Jesus Christ sums it up in the sentence previous; “If anyone wants to become my follower, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” That doesn’t sound so nice though.It it is a choice we must make, a daily decision to follow in Christ’s steps, to follow his way. As St.Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live… I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
And it begins when we choose Christ over ourselves. But how do we get to this point of having a faith like what St.Paul speaks of.

This may seem like a complicated task or maybe even unattainable, so I want to break it down into practical steps, as I like to do for myself.

Denying ourselves means making small daily sacrifices. As a parent this is kind of built in, as we are constantly making sacrifices for our children, but what may seem like small and insignificant actions, like going without dessert(or something you really enjoy eating) and offering a prayer for someone you know who is struggling with an addiction, or doing a task that you really don’t want to do or don’t enjoy doing as a prayer for someone who is sick or dying to ease their pain. These little things, when united in prayer and done intentionally with love, mean a lot and help us to unite ourselves with Christ and his body.

Taking up our cross means opening ourselves to God’s grace. He can give us the strength to face the challenges in our lives through the sacraments; Reconciliation or Confession, and the Eucharist, through conversation with him in prayer. Making these three simple things a priority in our lives helps us to embrace God’s will for us and helps us to build good virtues.
For example, imagine a pianist who has taken up his daily cross, learning scales and basic music. Soon enough, he is able to play complex pieces of music. But consider a student who has refused daily practice. Now, looking at the notes of even one of a simple piece and trying to play it seems impossible—and it likely is. The daily cross of practice helps avoid the nearly impossible crosses that would inevitably come without it. –Msgr. Charles Pope

Following Christ means moving outward, serving Him in others. This can be as simple as an intentional smile or a wave, a conversation or making a meal. It is going out of our way to bring the Christ in us, “who has first loved and given himself for us”, to another.

In a world where traditional Christian values are no longer the ‘norm’; where we are faced with the killing of vulnerable persons and a loss of respect for life, and where mediocrity and relativism are ever present, among many other things, we must be intentional about losing our lives for Christ! It is too easy to fall in to our own personal preferences or to settle with the ways of the world, to find the middle road. But in order to lose your life He must become everything to you!

What will your choice be for today? It is only in losing your life that you will truly find it! It is a daily choice!

Scriptures for today:

Zechariah 12.10-11

Psalm 63

Luke 9.18-24

The stories we hear in the Sciptures today start out as sad stories, stories about death, yet they are not without hope as death is short lived and we see what we have to look forward to, maybe not in this life but in eternity. They also show us the true desire of our Lord and God for us!

What is most striking to me in this Gospel passage is the compassion of Jesus: “When the Lord saw her (a widow who had lost her only son in death) he had compassion for her.” It is an immediate reaction, on Jesus’ behalf, that he “suffers with” her (this is what the word compassion means). He feels her pain. Her sorrow becomes his own. This is our God and his love for us, that he wants to be with us in our sorrow. Even though there is much mystery to God’s allowance of suffering we must never think that the Lord is unmoved or uncaring.

I am also struck by the Jesus’ immediate response; without even being asked he performed this miracle of raising this women’s son to life, “And Jesus gave him to his mother.” Scripture is filled with passages of Jesus’ miracles yet usually most are preceded by an act of faith, or belief, on behalf of the person needing the help. However this one is slightly different, it is very personal and intimate, as Jesus suffers with her he can feel her pain and deep need. No words need to be spoken by her for Jesus to know her desire. This woman who feels so alone, even though she is surrounded by a large crowd, is no longer alone as Jesus comes to her and places her resurrected son’s hand in hers.

This woman who has not even asked for the Lord’s help has received so much of the Lord’s compassion (his intimate presence), even so, how much more will the Lord Jesus do for us if we but turn to him and ask (as the Prophet Elijah does in the first reading)? This story is also a glimpse for us of what Jesus will accomplish in all of our lives, as he restores all to himself. He will give back to us all that the world and the devil has stolen. It also shows us that we do not need to suffer alone for we have a God and Father who has a deep, personal love for each one of us, who can relate to our sufferings, and who desires to suffer with us in our woes.

As we reflect on this message today let us remember and trust in Jesus’, in God’s, love for us and not be afraid to turn to him in our sorrows and our woes. We have so much to be hopeful for in our eternal home, and we do not have to make the journey there alone. Let our prayer be, “Jesus, I trust in your love for me. Jesus, I trust in your love for me!”

1st Reading: 1 Kings 17.17-24
Psalm 30
2nd Reading: Galatians 1.11-19
Gospel: Luke 7.11-17

There is an old saying, “You are what you eat.” Somehow what we eat, through the process of digestion, becomes the very stuff that we are made of; the vitamins from fruits and veggies go to making our skin and strengthen our bones while sugar, not burned off as energy goes straight on our hips or our gut as fat. This is why most people, I would say, pay attention to what they eat, making sure they receive enough proper nutrition.

So what do we think happens when we receive Holy Communion? We are receiving Jesus in his entire being, body and blood, fully human, while at the same time fully divine. And even though he comes to us in the form of bread and wine substantially it is him, and it is him whom we are becoming. Just in the same way that we consume food and it becomes a part of us, so also we become him whom we receive when we are faithful and receive him fruitfully.

How powerful is this? Perhaps you never think about it, or perhaps you do, but it is not something to be taken lightly. Jesus was rejected for teaching the Eucharist, as he put it plainly, “Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)

Where do you stand? Do you realize the actual reality of what we are receiving? That this is not just bread and wine that we are receiving but Christ in us, our very life. Do we realize this? The second reading says it plainly, “The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” Afterwards many of Jesus’ followers left him because of this teaching. When the 12 apostles were asked if they also would leave, Peter responded, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

And Jesus asks us this every time we come forward to receive him. Let our “Amen” be an affirmation of Peter’s words. “The body of Christ”: “AMEN” (Yes, Lord I believe it is you! You are here! You are eternal life!) It shouldn’t just be a, “well yeah”, or head nod, as we would greet someone on the street, or even a stare, but a reception, an acknowledgement of who he is and what we are receiving!

Why do we have a sanctuary lamp? To proclaim Christ’s presence here, in the tabernacle, in the Eucharist. To say ‘this is important.’ He is truly here!

You know, my patron saint (St.Maximilian Kolbe) said, “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.” Why is this? We receive Christ in us, slowly we are transformed into him. While the angels can be in his presence in the heavens we have the special opportunity of becoming one with him, his very life in us, transforming us.

So it is no surprise that Jesus desires to feed us, to give us his very life in us; that we might receive his Body that was handed over and his Blood that was shed. The story we hear in the Gospel today, the feeding of the five thousand, is a foreshadowing of how Christ would provide for us in the Eucharist. He desires that we would be healed and nourished by his hand and be filled with blessings overflowing. That we would have in abundance.

So let us come with reverence and awe today before his presence in the Eucharist, to receive the Lord in His Body and Blood. Let your ‘Amen’ be an acknowledgement of the value of his presence in your life and the gift that it is to you. And ask the Holy Spirit to stir in you a deeper desire for him, and to show you how your reception of communion has changed, and is changing, your life as you witness to his transforming power.

First reading:
Genesis 14.18-20

Second reading
1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Gospel
Luke 9:11-17