Wednesday – 30th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Luke 13:22-30

A Tight Squeeze

Entrance to the Church of Holy Sepulchre

 

Let me share with you the meaning of old age.  It means I can still get down on my knees and crouch while working under the kitchen sink.  But it doesn’t guarantee I can get myself back up!  It means I can’t squeeze myself in-between those piles of boxes to reach my tool chest!  It means that, when I was teaching World Religions and putting myself in a lotus position to teach meditation, nowadays I can’t assume I won’t find my legs permanently locked in that position!

Jesus talks a lot today about tight places and narrow gates.  In His time, the gates of Jerusalem would be closed and locked at night.  Only one gate would be left open and it was small – narrow and low!  And yet Jesus cautions us to enter through the narrow gate. 

His meaning is clear!  In order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, leave behind all our unnecessary baggage.  Stop ‘measuring’ yourself according to the world’s demands – money, power, popularity, possession!  Let them go and leave them behind!  Strive to enter the narrow gate with a clean conscience and a compassionate heart, with faith and love and hope!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Tuesday - Third Week of Easter Gospel – John 6:30-35 Knead to Know Cooking Class Over the past month or so, I gathered together a couple groups of my altar servers for a cooking class!   They learned not only my recipe for zucchini chocolate chip muffins but how to make them from scratch!   And, YES, they took home their finished products, or at least the muffins they didn’t wolf down as soon as they came out of the oven!   It was a fun, wonderful (and messy) experience!   Who knew that cracking eggs and measuring out flour could be so ‘untidy’.   But it brought home the lesson that, in order to get those yummy muffins, it takes time, effort and a heaping cup of patience. And it reminded me not only of their loyal service but those long months of Covid when they missed their Mass ministry.   So from time to time during the pandemic, I stayed in touch with them by dropping off goodie bags filled with chocolate chip cookies, zucchini chocolate ...
Read more
Image
Sunday – Feast of Holy Trinity Gospel – John 3:16=18 God Above, Beside, Within Church of All Nations, Gethsemane Today we celebrate the Feast of Holy Trinity, a key church doctrine – 3 Persons in 1 God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one of the great mysteries of our faith. We hear in today’s readings a description of those 3 persons.   The First Reading – God the Father, the Creator and Law-Giver.   The God so far above us all that we bow down before Him in reverence and obedience.   The Second Reading – the Holy Spirit – God who brings us peace and love and fellowship.   The Spirit or encouragement inside all of us by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation.   And the Gospel - God the Son – Jesus Christ – who took on human form to redeem us of our sins and lead us to eternal life.   Jesus who walked the same earth as all of us. Essentially the Trinity is a relationship – the love between father and son and that love so intense that it is ...
Read more
Image
  Friday – 7 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 21:15-19 Following a NEW path Hand in Hand!! Today is May 17 , a memorable day for my family, a mixture of joy and sadness.   If he were still with us, it would have been Bob’s, my father-in-law, 96 th birthday.   But sadly he passed away on April 22, just 6 days after Ginger’s Mom, Shirley, on April 16.   A day full of memories and love, a time of sorrow! And 9 years ago today, I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Archdiocese of Chicago.   A celebration of joy and faith with our friends and family!   And a new path to follow in service and in hope! And exactly 50 months ago today (and every day since), I shared with you my first daily Gospel reflection.   A time of pandemic and death, a time of loss and separation! One single day packed with so many memories!   And isn’t that exactly what life is all about – moments of tears and moments of smiles, times of elation and times ...
Read more