The narrow gate to Heaven's door

In Luke 13: 23-25, “Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few people be saved?’ He answered them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’”

This is a powerful passage. We are constantly looking for easy ways to get into Heaven. We think it should be easy, but in reality, it’s easy to fall into a pit of destruction. It is easy to continue on the road of sinful behavior. It is easy to make excuses to not go to Mass. It is easy to make excuses to not pray. It is just easy to put Christ on the backburner.

That backburner is what makes us want our faith to be easy. We want that easy road for various reasons. We forget that our faith is supposed to be hard. We are supposed to be struggling with our faith. It is hard to love and do what God desires when we have a world telling us that God does not exist. It is hard to have faith in a world where we are required to hate our neighbors, complain about the issues facing the Church and also complain about a host of other things. This is why Christ said many of us will not be strong enough to enter the narrow door.

While trying to get through the narrow door, we find the struggle unbearable at times. We find it easier to throw in the towel and not deal with the struggle. However, would it be easier to just leave the struggle at the foot of the cross? What if the struggle ultimately leads you down a road of true peace and joy? Trust me, in the midst of some of my deepest struggles, there are many times when I wanted to throw down everything and run to the easier path. However, these words from a priest friend always ring in my head: “If it is easy, then everyone would be doing it. Just remember that it could be a lot worse. It could be a nasty Monday with ten feet of snow, and it’s not looking hopeful to dig out until May. The Eagles could have lost with no hope of the Super Bowl. And to top it all off, you are in the middle of the driest class.” I think Father gave some grand analogies to get his point across, but these points ring true with me.

The narrow door is not a door everyone will enter. A person may not enter for any number of reasons. Yet, it is my responsibility to remember that my faith is hard. It is hard to make the right choices and decisions when the rest of the world is making poor choices.

Some people think they can continue to sin and not make changes in their lives. They do not want to take responsibility because society teaches us no responsibility is required. However, my struggle or anyone’s struggle—especially with faith—is going to bring peace and joy. At the end of the day, we need to choose the door that requires us to make difficult decisions. Those difficult decisions are going to lead us to live a life of peace and joy. While the easier path may be the best option at the moment, it does not give us the satisfaction of knowing that in an easy world, we chose to deny ourselves in order to get through the narrow door.