Entering Through the Narrow Gate: Jesus Shows Us The Path to Salvation!

Fr. Bernard Maganga, SMM

Entering Through the Narrow Gate: Jesus Shows Us The Path to Salvation!

Today’s gospel recounts a moment when someone approaches Jesus with an important question: “Will only a few be saved?”

Jesus responds, urging, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate. Many will try, but only a few will be strong enough to succeed.” This gate, Jesus explains, is not only narrow but will also close at some point.

The message is clear: enter while you still have the opportunity. Jesus continues, warning that many will knock when the gate is closed, saying, “We ate and drank with you! Open the door for us!” Yet the Lord will reply, “I do not know where you come from.”

Simply identifying as Catholic, being a priest, praying the rosary, or practicing novenas, while valuable, do not guarantee salvation. The Jewish people, as God’s chosen race, believed that their identity alone assured them salvation. Jesus came to challenge and correct this thinking.

Practicing Religious Rituals Alone Is Not Enough For Salvation

Affiliation with the Catholic Church, being a priest, or practicing religious rituals is not enough for salvation. We must strive to pass through the narrow gate. But what is this narrow gate? Elsewhere in the gospel, Jesus reveals that true freedom in passing through it lies in doing God’s will.

What does doing the will of God entail?

Salvation cannot be achieved without passing through Jesus. He calls us to daily commitment, guiding us with His teachings. Listen to this Meditation Media. Listen to:

Entering Through the Narrow Gate: Jesus Shows Us The Path to Salvation!

The Wide Road and the Narrow Road: Dutch Artist: Jan Luyken: 1712

Today’s engraving by Dutch artist Jan Luyken, printed in 1712, serves as an excellent visual companion to our Gospel reading. On the left side of the engraving, we see the wide gate, where people are joyfully dancing and celebrating as they pass through the broad arch. Atop this gate, a carved relief of the earthly globe is displayed, symbolizing the world’s temptations. This path represents the road the world urges us to follow.

On the right side of the engraving lies the narrow path mentioned by Jesus in our reading. A man, having taken up his cross, is depicted walking through the narrow gate, joined by others who are also carrying their crosses further along the path. They journey toward a radiant light atop the hill, symbolizing Heaven. In contrast, those on the left are headed toward a storm.

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