25-06-24 Jalan Sempit Menuju Surga: Seberapa Kuat Kita Bertahan?

Tuesday 12th week in ordinary time "Mt 7:12-14" "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Two important teachings in the Gospel today: 1) The gate of Heaven is narrow; there is no way to change its dimensions, there are no shortcuts, no easy alternative way... 2) the gate of hell "is wide and the way is easy," and many take it. Let's learn the lesson: If others show you a wishy-washy path, downhill, with a wide gate... be suspicious; that's not the way you are looking for. Our Lord said it: many take the easy way. To become a saint is an exhausting task and some people give up. The enemy is a professional discourager. If people walk an arduous way and see others near them walking on a very nice path, the temptation to change route can be strong. And there is a second way the enemy can use to discourage us: to show us people we know, people we love or admire, taking the easy way. Even saints suffered from this. But that should never dishearten us. On the contrary, it's one more reason to be faithful to God. St Thérèse of Lisieux explains in her autobiography her reaction when she visited Rome at the age of 14. Until then she considered priests' souls as "pure as crystal." But during that pilgrimage to Italy, being close to some priests, she realised that they were "still but weak and imperfect men". Nevertheless, she wasn't scandalised by that. A discovery which could discourage the weak gave a boost to Thérèse's vocation. She wrote years later how, seeing that the 'salt' of those priests had lost its savour, she felt called "to preserve the salt of the earth." So it has to be also a stimulus: the fact that many choose the easy way has to strengthen our decision to be faithful to Our Lord. Because if we keep walking on the narrow path, we are able to bring along others from the wide and easy path. Holy Mary, Refuge of Christians, help me to persevere, keeping a steady pace on Jesus' narrow path – and intercede for those who have chosen the wide one.