Dear Parish Family,

During Jubilee Years like the one we are in (the Jubilee Year of Hope), there are Holy Doors that pilgrims can pass through as an act of faith and hope in the Lord's mercy and generosity. The Holy Doors for this Jubilee Year are in Rome in the four major basilicas. By the end of the year, millions of pilgrims will have gathered in Rome and passed through these doors, entering these holy basilicas to pray and give thanks to God for all His gifts. Keep the Jubilee doors in mind as you listen to today's Scripture readings.

 

In the first reading, Isaiah focuses on the gathering of all the nations of the world in Jerusalem to adore the Lord in His glory. This is an expression of the unity God desires for the human family, for all His children to be gathered under the banner of faith, hope, and love. Our Catholic Church is this home, a place of gathering and adoration throughout all the parish churches, shrines, abbeys, basilicas, and cathedrals in the world. Our Jubilee Year is a great sign of this gathering power of our faith.

 

Our Catholic Church is also a place of going out. We enter the doors of the Church to be filled with the Lord's gifts, and then we are sent to "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News" as our Psalm today proclaims. Evangelization is the necessary and reflexive response to gathering. We enter the Church to receive from the Lord, and we exit the Church to generously give of ourselves and invite others into the Church. None of us would be here glorifying the Lord without the gift of evangelists who proclaimed the saving power of Jesus to us, and none of us would have the resources needed for evangelizing without the Word and Eucharist which strengthen us to go out.

 

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of the narrow gate as a response to a question posed to Him about how many 

people will be saved. Entering through the narrow gate of salvation is a choice we must make for ourselves. We know the teachings of Christ and His Church, and we must choose to know them and live by them if we expect to be with God eternally in heaven. This isn't a mean or exclusive reality. After all, why would we want to enter God's home forever if we had no intention of following the rules of His house?

 

In the second reading, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of the role of discipline. Just as a good mother and father discipline their children for their benefit and growth, so does the Lord discipline us to help us know and live by the rules of His Church. God is patient with us, and we need to choose to listen to the Lord's wisdom passed down to us from Christ through the Scriptures and the Church's Tradition and Magisterium.

 

This week, make it a priority to visit a holy place. It could be one of the Jubilee sites in our Diocese, an area parish, our cathedral, or a local shrine. Pray as you enter the doors of this holy space, grateful for the teaching of Christ and the gift of faith that He offers you!

 

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow