BEADS OF JOY 10-26-16
“Enter By The Narrow Door”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:22-30 (Enter By The Narrow Door)
“ He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, `Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, `I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, `We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, `I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!' There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
Reflection:
What does Jesus mean by “Strive to enter by the narrow door”? Yes, there are many ways to interpret this; but there seems to be only one way fitting for Jesus to be the one saying this. If we are following Jesus, then we must take up our cross and follow Him; so, the only way through the narrow gate “door” would be through the cross of Christ. Hence our own cross! Then our struggles and pain and sufferings may just be the keys that open that door; because it is through all that, that we are united in Jesus’ suffering with Him. Stay with me. If we are united with Him in our suffering, we will be united with Him in our victory! It is only by the narrow gate that we will achieve this.
Do you fully trust in Jesus? Do you trust in God’s grace to help see you through your suffering and pain? Do you “strive” to enter through the narrow door? When you think of the doorway, what do you see? Do you see a pathway to Heaven? Are you closer to the Kingdom of God? Jesus warns us that we can be excluded, so we must strive for that narrow door. Didn’t Jesus tell us in John 10:9 “I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved” Now, think about that for a moment. Jesus, by way of the cross is indeed the way we must follow, the way we must enter. The ONLY way! Jesus was sent by God to save us, to free us and it is by His very cross that we are given access to enter Heaven to unite to Almighty God. There is no other way. That is why we must take up our cross and follow Him.
Now that we know this, we need to buckle down and focus and remain focused. Lest we lose our focus and chance to stay focused on entering through the narrow door, not the wide one. Embrace your trials! Embrace your pain! Embrace your struggles! I know, some of you are saying, “How can you say that, you don’t understand what I am going through!” Well, in some cases I do! I have seen death in the eyes of those I love, I have seen hunger in the eyes of those I love, I have seen poverty and discouragement in the eyes of those I love. I have seen countless tears in the eyes of those I love. I have been hospitalized for my own health issues weeks at a time. I have been bedside with my wife on two occasions and I was told that she may die through the night. I know PAIN! I know SUFFERING! I know TEARS! I know what it means to carry a very heavy cross. But, I refuse to turn my face from my Lord. I will not deny Him, instead I thanked Him and praised Him through it all, even through my tears. I am praying for all of you every single day, see you tomorrow.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
**(NEW DAILY FEATURE)
Today is Wednesday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. The Assumption of Our Lady
(Grace of a Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. The Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Glory and Honor and Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
Rosary Man Jim's Glorious Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-glorious-mysteries.html
