SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, RELIGIOUS (MEMORIAL)

Enter through the narrow gate. 

Which road do you usually picture yourself on when you read about the wide road to destruction and the narrow road to life in today’s Gospel?

Perhaps you imagine you are on the narrow road. After all, if you are reading this meditation, you must be trying to follow the Lord. Or maybe you fear that you are on the broad road. You’ve made too many mistakes. You can’t seem to shed some sinful habits, and you wonder if your life will ever change.

The truth is, we have all spent time on both of these roads. We are all made in the image of God, and Christ lives in us. We have all received the grace of God, and he continues to pour it out upon us. But at the same time, we are also sinners who are prone to wander onto the wrong path. Especially when we have fallen into some kind of embarrassing sin, we might fear that we are doomed to remain on that broad road for quite a while.

But instead of thinking of these roads as separate, diverging paths, try picturing them as interconnected. Imagine the broad road as a busy superhighway with numerous exit ramps to the narrow road. Picture those exit signs saying, “This Way to Jesus!”

And instead of being concerned with which road you are on, focus on Jesus’ desire to save you. Remember that he didn’t create the broad road of destruction. It’s not something he devised as punishment for sinners. It’s something we ourselves have created by our own sins. That road is made up of the natural consequences of our fallen thoughts and actions.

By contrast, the narrow road was forged by Jesus himself. It’s the road of self-giving, the road of mercy, and the road of humility. It’s the road of the cross. Jesus welcomes anyone who wants to travel that road with him, no matter how long they had been on the other road. It may not be as populated as the broad road. The way in may be challenging. But it’s worth the challenge because this road leads to life—and life eternal.

“Jesus, help me to travel the narrow road of life with you.”

2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36
Psalm 48:2-4, 10-11
Matthew 7:12-14