THE PERFECT SEASON FOR HIKING/WALKING:
Scripture: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” – Matthew 7:13-14
Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it…The prudent person determines and directs their conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue, we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.” – CCC #1806
Brothers and sisters, we had this Gospel reading at daily mass today (June 23); it is my second most favorite scripture passage and it was a joy to hear it. It was a joy because it reminded me to continually evaluate my life, my thoughts, my behavior, to make sure that I am on the right path – the “narrow road” that leads to eternal life.
And there is no better time like the present for all of us to take stock of our lives to see where we are on our journey to the Lord. Are we on the journey that we want to be on? Are we doing what we can to love God with our entire being and our neighbor as ourself? If not, then we must choose to make the necessary changes in our lives – in our hearts – to correct our course; always aiming for the Light.
Brothers and sisters, when we use the Light of Christ as our compass we shall never stray too far off course; unless we choose to follow the dark. He is there to guide us, to direct our lives in such a way that we will never be totally lost.
Yes, there may be times when our lives can become difficult, times can be hard, and we will have struggles along the way. However, we are called to remain faithful, no matter what the struggle is – no matter what the difficulty may entail. We must remember that life was never promised to be easy for any of us; only rewarding with Christ in it.
And we should be clear that no matter what our struggles in this life may be, Jesus is always there with us; struggling as we struggle, grieving as we grieve, mourning as we mourn. He never leaves our side brothers and sisters, even when we do everything we can to drive Him away. He is there with arms outstretched ready to embrace us once more when we choose the Light.
In addition to the struggles we find in life, many of us also suffer from guilt and shame (which are tricks of the evil one) over our inability to remain on the right path all of the time – every waking moment of our lives. But we must remember that Jesus understands the weaknesses of our human nature. As St. John Chrysostom once said, “Let no one mourn that they have fallen again and again: for forgiveness has risen from the grave!”
All we can do brothers and sisters is to sincerely make the effort to stay on the road that leads to the narrow gate. It will be difficult sometimes, even to the point that we may feel we have no other choice but to take our own path rather than the one God has placed us on. But we do, we always have the choice.
It just depends if we are willing to be inconvenienced sometimes in order to remain faithful. We have been conditioned by our world to search out the easiest way possible, with no stress or discomfort, and convenient for us, without regard for others. The world is not like that; God did not create it to be that way. If He had, how could we ever learn to love Him?
“The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort.
You were made for greatness.”
-Pope Benedict XVI
