21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 22, 2010


“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.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.”
Luke 13

All roads do not lead to heaven—only one road, one path,
through one narrow gate. Salvation comes when we accept Christ
and start to follow him; follow him when we leave our church
each Sunday, when we decide how we’ll use our free time
and spend our money, when we make decisions, when we pray,
when we transact business in our offices,
and when we are going about every other activity
that makes up our daily lives. Everything we do,
every word we utter, every thought we hold,
every feeling we experience proclaims to the world
that we love Christ
and that we’re following him through the narrow gate.
The stakes are extraordinarily high and the last thing we want is
to have the door shut in our faces and to have God tell us,
“I don’t know where you are from.”

Our Prayer
Lord, help us to not be indifferent to this call.
The first could become the last.
Lift us from the lethargy and
complacency of our daily lives.
Help us to be open to receive the Good News of Salvation that
you offer us afresh each day in the people whose lives touch ours.
Help us to love one another as You love us.