“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."
Deeply entrenched in my 78th year, and facing eighty in the no-longer-distant future, I notice hills where there used to slopes, steps have been added to stairways, and chairs are harder to get out of. Mornings come sooner, as do the evenings. I haven't the least interest in TV after Wheel of Fortune.
But some things don't change. It's still not easy to pay attention to long sermons and familiar prayers. The mind still wanders like a puppy dog in a field of high weeds. The gate that was very wide has narrowed; the road is more constricted, and there aren't as many choices as there used to be.
In today's Gospel the Lord urges us to enter through the narrow gate. A similar passage in Saint Luke's gospel urges us to strive to enter through the narrow gate. Clearly, we must strive.
Take nothing for granted, he seems to say. There's no call for anxiety. Not that we don't worry; but it doesn't help. Worry wastes too much energy and takes too much time. Rather, we keep our fixed on him as on a light in a dark place.
We find ways to make it work. We can still do for others as we would have them do for us, without throwing pearls to swine or giving what is holy to dogs. Perhaps it's become easier to see the difference. Trying to please others is wasted effort, and satisfies neither social norms nor God's law. Saying no to unrealistic demands should be easier by now, though pride still gets in the way.
It's good to stop and ask, What am I striving to do, and is it really necessary? Especially when there's another striving that is far more important.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
