Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 13: 22-30

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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Lord, how many people will be saved?” An anonymous voice asks the Lord in today’s Gospel.

If Jesus gave a precise number – let’s say, one hundred million, four-hundred thousand, eighteen – then I’d imagine the questioner would stand there, count the number of people in town, and weigh the possibility of being either in or out.

“One hundred million…. That’s a lot of people,” the person might reason. “There’s a pretty good chance I’ll be saved. And if I’m already saved, then why change a thing?”

Mediocrity becomes acceptable.

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This is why the Lord never plays the numbers game. Jesus refuses to tell us how many people will be either in or out of heaven. Will everyone make it? Most people? Some? A few?

We don’t know.

And there’s a good reason for that.

The Lord wants us to act as if the door leading into the kingdom of God is open, but only cracked open, as if we must squeeze, or thrust ourselves inside.

This does not mean that anything we do merits salvation, or that somehow, we can save ourselves. However, what God does not want is for us to take him, his grace, and above all, his sacrifice for granted.

We should live as if we are the only people in the world… and Jesus died just for us.

But knowledge of such an incredible sacrifice demands a response, a personal response, a loving response that leaves us forever changed.

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How has faith in Jesus changed my life?

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“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” An anonymous person wonders.

God does not give us a clear yes or no. Rather, a command: “Strive.” 

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,” he says.

What might it look like for me to strive for heaven today?

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Image credits: (1) The Narrow Gate, Makaila Kruse, Missio Dei (2) Adobe Stock (3) Safeguarding the Eternal, WordPress

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Gospel: Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Some years ago, a story went viral about an 89-year-old man named Fidenzio Sanchez. For more than 20 years, he pushed his popsicle cart through the streets of Chicago, daring to make ends meet.

Little did people know just how essential that cart was to his survival. Just a few months prior, Fidenzio’s only daughter – the breadwinner of the family – died tragically, leaving him and his frail wife with bills to pay.

One day, a neighbor noticed Fidenzio hunched over his cart – his dark, leathery hands ringing a silver bell to attract customers. Overcome with emotion, the neighbor snapped a picture, then posted it on GoFundMe, hoping to raise funds in support of this poor elderly man.

In less than 24-hours, people around the United States donated over $100,000. Within weeks, over $300,000 was raised, spread across 50 different countries.

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A single picture – a “mustard seed” – forever changed Fidenzio’s life.

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In a similar way, Jesus likens the kingdom of God to a mustard seed or a pinch of yeast. What started with one follower, turned into twelve, then thousands.

Today more than 1.2 billion people identify as Catholic, a growth of more than 1 million percent since the call of the Apostles!

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Mysteriously, this is how God works in our world, starting with something small – one photo, one person, one call.

Suddenly, the world is changed.

Never underestimate the power of a mustard seed.

Of you.

Of me.

Of us.

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) Fidenzio Sanchez, Facebook (3) Community Renewal Society

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Gospel: Luke 6: 12-16

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Two of the Twelve Apostles were named Judas.

There was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ, and Judas Thaddeus, thought to be the cousin of our Lord. Judas Thaddeus, commonly referred to as, “Saint Jude,” is the patron Saint of hopeless cases. 

We celebrate his feast day today.

Jude developed this title because of a tradition dating back to the early Church, when Christians sought his intercession for the “hopeless cases” in their lives – people who were lost; sick; depressed; addicted; or who had strayed from their faith.

The idea – as simple as it seems – was that, if Judas Iscariot and Judas Thaddeus shared the same first name, then they also shared common ground; a type of bond. So, if anyone could reach the ears of “Judas Iscariot” and convert him, then it’d be Saint Jude.

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Deep faith does not require deep theology. What is needed is hope. 

Perhaps today we can embrace the spirit of the early Church, turning to Saint Jude for all of those people or things we consider “hopeless cases.”

May Jude, who walked alongside our Lord here on earth, now bring our petitions to him in heaven.

Saint Jude, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) 12-step Philosophy (2) Aleteia (3) Saint Jude Shrine, Baltimore