This has been a momentous year for the Christian, and particularly the Catholic community, with the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV. From the start Pope Leo has stressed that his role as successor of Saint Peter is not to lord it over the Church or the world, but to be at everyone’s service.

Pope Leo XIV’s focus might prove a helpful backdrop as we strive to understand the teaching of Jesus in this week’s gospel. There was a time, not that long ago, when many Catholics tended to feel very superior about their faith and their interpretation of the teaching that “outside the Church there is no salvation”. The old joke suggested that Catholics had to be confined to a particular corner of heaven because they believed they were the only ones there!

A similar mentality existed among God’s Chosen People in the Old Testament, but note how the Prophet Isaiah in todays’ first reading warns them not to be presumptuous. The Lord would reach out to everyone: “I am coming to gather the nations of every language.” Jesus squarely confronts the same issue, warning those who are tempted to compromise their integrity by turning to evil, thereby failing to respond to his invitation to love and serve his Father. He reminds them that it is no use appealing to claim allegiance because he had once dined with them and he had taught in their streets. Likewise, it is not enough for us to claim that we are Christians and then live contrary to the example Jesus has set before us.

The letter to the Hebrews reminds us that following Christ will demand a lot from us and be painful, but those experiences can teach us a lot and ultimately enable us to imitate Christ, who even as he died on the cross, prayed: “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.”

As in the days of Isaiah and Jesus, in the 21^st century we are still confronted with the consequences of real evil in the world. Human beings continue to compromise the truth in the belief that they can control the world, not accepting that the world is not theirs, but belongs to God. They remain unmoved by the sufferings of others, their minds closed to the message that God knows no boundaries, but is calling out to men and women of every nation under heaven.

At the same time, we are seeing that forces for good – love and compassion, reconciliation and peace – can still challenge the evil and that those willing to suffer for the truth and enter by the narrow gate can occasionally move mountains. As to how many will eventually enter by the narrow gate? I suggest we leave that to God, while striving with all our hearts to live our own lives without compromise and squeeze in!

Timothy J Buckley CSsR

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