21st Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 24th August 2025

The Lord Jesus admonishes us to pass through the Narrow Door. In our initial catechism, to the question, why did God make you, we answered: God made me to know him, love him, serve him and to be happy with him forever in heaven. That is the summary of our mission on earth with heaven as the goal. Reaching that goal, we have to pass through the narrow door. Passing through a narrow door entails focus and attention and when it has to do with paradise (Heaven), we need help from above. 
In the Gospel text, a man asks Jesus, ” will there be only a few saved?” His response is not yes or no but rather an admonition thus: ” Try your best to enter through the narrow door because many will try to enter and will not succeed.” Jesus by this, is telling him to make heaven his priority and not focus on numbers. Archbishop Fulton Sheen makes a distinction between a Narrow Path and a Broad one. For him, the narrow path(door) refers to the challenging journey of the Christian life which requires self-denial, fidelity and commitment to doing God’s will. The Broad path(door) is the easy road of worldly temptation, filled with lies and rebellion against God. It is filled with everything to please the eye and satisfy the carnal heart, illuminated by deceit rather than truth.

A true Christian thus is the one who rather than sliding downhill, swims against the current of the world and walks uphill towards Jesus, bearing in mind that ” friendship with the world means enmity with God” (Jas 4:4)
Again, familiarity with Christ is not enough. We can eat and drink with him, preach him and even work miracles in his name but we need to go beyond. Commitment to him is not just from the outside but must be from the inside, from within. We must strive(agonise) to let go of(prune) everything that is not ordered to God. We must squeeze humbly into Jesus. However, mere will power is not enough. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to come pray in us and with us and inspire and sustain goodness in us.
The narrow door immediately connects us to the concept of the Holy Door in this Jubilee Year of Hope with the theme: ” Hope does not disappoint ” (Rm 5:5). The Holy Door represents Christ who say: ” I am the gate to the sheepfold, he who passes through me is saved “(Jn 10:9). Passing through the Holy door symbolizes a passage into the presence of Christ; it is a passage from sin to grace. If we fulfil the necessary conditions during this Jubilee Year (Go for sacramental confession, attend Holy Mass, receive Holy Communion, say a prayer for the intention of the Pope and Pass through the Holy Door), we obtain a plenary indulgence for ourselves or any faithful departed of our choice. 

Let us be conscious of our mission on earth and our goal- eternal life with God. Let us make heaven our priority.  Let us strive to pass through the Narrow door. 

Fr. Marcel Kofon