PaddlingPadre

At the beginning of this gospel, Jesus is surrounded by great crowds. Many had flocked to him because they had been healed by him or by his disciples, or else because they had been delivered from demons, and, some doubtless, because they were simply moved by his preaching, or else marveled at what they had seen him do for others, and thus hoped that he might be the messiah. In any case, all who followed Jesus as he preached and worked his miracles did so because they had in one way or another been attracted by him and by what he was doing, and so, having made this initial approach to Jesus, our Lord here turns to them and invites them to move from attraction to discipleship.

On the front of your worship aids is a quote of Pope Francis’s from Laudato Si: “When we can see God reflected in all that exists, our hearts are moved to praise the Lord for all his creatures and to worship him in union with them.” At the heart of this quote are the twin truths that all of creation comes from God and returns to him, that in coming from him it shows forth his power and brilliance, and that in returning it renders him the praise and adoration that is his due. The world itself, in other words, is caught up in the drama of salvation and redemption.

Strive to enter through the narrow gate, says our Lord, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. A lack of strength – that is what condemns one to the outer darkness, according to this parable. Not a failure to recognize the way to salvation – those who enter into the feast as well as those who are denied entry both recognize where the kingdom of God is to be found – but the latter, though they recognize the feast, have proved too weak to share in it. Of them, I think, our Lord speaks in another parable:

Esfuércense en entrar por la puerta, que es angosta, dice nuestro Señor, pues yo les aseguro que muchos tratarán de entrar y no podrán. La falta de fuerza es lo que condena a uno a las tinieblas exteriores, según esta parábola. No es el no reconocer el camino de la salvación —tanto los que entran en la fiesta como los que se les niega la entrada reconocen dónde se encuentra el reino de Dios — sino que estos últimos, aunque reconocen la fiesta, se han mostrado demasiado débiles para participar en ella. De ellos, creo, habla nuestro Señor en otra parábola:

Cristo ha venido a traer fuego a la tierra, y no paz, sino espada, que dividirá al hijo contra su padre, a la hija contra su madre. Estas palabras son, al mismo tiempo, palabras de consuelo y un dicho difícil. Jeremías, por ejemplo, bien pudo haberlas recibido como un consuelo mientras languidecía en el pozo, tomándolas como una confirmación divina de lo que ya había aprendido por amarga experiencia: que proclamar la palabra de Dios a menudo hace que uno sea odiado por sus semejantes. Los príncipes de la ciudad que habían denunciado a Jeremías ante el rey bien pudieron haberlo reprendido con palabras como las del Libro de la Sabiduría:

Seventy-five years ago, in another Holy Year when Rome, much as now during this present year of Jubilee, was thronged with pilgrims, Pope Pius XII, on All Saints Day, was carried in procession into St. Peter’s square, where, in the presence of bishops and archbishops, cardinals and dignitaries, and some seven-hundred thousand of the faithful who filled the massive square to overflowing, he had come to extol munificentissimus Deus, the great bountifulness of God.

Hace setenta y cinco años, en otro Año Santo en el que Roma, al igual que ahora durante este año jubilar, se veía abarrotada de peregrinos, el papa Pío XII, en el día de Todos los Santos, fue llevado en procesión a la plaza de San Pedro, donde, en presencia de obispos y arzobispos, cardenales y dignatarios, y unos setecientos mil fieles que llenaban la enorme plaza hasta rebosar, había venido a ensalzar munificentissimus Deus, la gran generosidad de Dios.