Abbey-Roads2

Then who can be saved? 

The Gospel is rather sobering today.  The disciples ask, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”  He answers, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, I tell you, many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”  Then he goes on to describe - maybe many of us; the ones who in the end are locked out, those of us who imagine that we are always in his company, eating and drinking with him at Mass, listening to him in the preaching and teaching we hear throughout our lives, attending to him  in our prayers, and spreading his teaching through our advocacy groups, peace demonstrations, even our websites, etc., and so on… and so on.

Now days, when anyone dies and has a Catholic funeral, the deceased are always talked about as being finally at rest, in heaven with the Lord.  As if everyone is automatically saved and goes straight to heaven.  In the same way, some priests oppose the correct English translation in the words of consecration, which currently is recited thus, “…It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.”  In the Latin, the prayer says, “for many” instead of “for all”.   Nevertheless, bishops and liturgists have big arguments over this point - as if all people are saved.  Though our Lord offers salvation to all, not everyone accepts it.

Many of us, self included, can at times become rather smug about our salvation - especially when we have the measuring lines of orthodoxy.  Likewise, peace and justice activists, as well as  ’dissenters’ are just as convinced of the nobility of their cause and good intentions.  Nevertheless, I keep thinking of John of the Cross in his passionate admonition: “O, if souls only knew the denial the Lord wishes of them!”

I guess all any of us can do is keep on trying and trust in the Lord’s mercy…