From The Deacon’s Desk for August 28, 2022

Dear Friends:

Our Gospel reading today is from Luke 13:22-30. It’s the famous story of the person who asked Jesus if only a few people will be saved if only a few people go to heaven. Jesus answers by telling the man that we must all strive to enter through the “narrow gate.” The narrow gate means that we must develop a special relationship with God. It will take more than just throwing prayers at heaven in order for us to enter the kingdom of God.

I think most of us try our best to be good Catholic Christians. We pray our rosary, go to Mass on Sunday, and treat others with respect and kindness. These are all good things and we should continue to do them throughout our lives. The question I have is this: do we spend any time just talking to God one person to another? Do we take just a few minutes every day to talk to God as if he were sitting in the room?  Are we willing to devote even a small amount of time in conversation with God?

We do not have to be theologians or have any special training. God knows we have enough of those around. What we need to do is tell God how our lives are going. Tell him about the struggles we have in our relationships. Tell him when we’ve lost patience with our spouse or children. Tell him when we made a decision that is totally and absolutely selfish, and ask for his forgiveness!

The way to enter the narrow gate that Jesus is talking about is to know God, to understand what it is to have a friend that is with you every minute of your life, and promise him you will always be his friend too!

Peace and All Good!

Deacon Jim

*The article published today should have been published last week. Last week’s article that was published was for today.*