Jesus in the gospel gives us a reality check,
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.'"
"...but will not be strong enough."
St. Teresa of Avila in the introduction to her work "Interior Castle" on the spiritual life states that she is writing this work because her superiors have asked her to and in contemplating this reality she states that "true strength rises in obedience."
To be strong enough to enter is a pathway of choosing to do it not your own way. The path to the Kingdom, the narrow path, is paved with obedience to the Father's will. In obedience we stand strong, strong enough to enter not because the strength is in us but because we are dependent upon the strength of the one who walks the narrow path first and carries the cross to mark the way.
Secondly, Jesus exclaims the master will say, "I do not know where you are from."
Pope Benedict reminds us that to name God as 'Our Father who are in Heaven' is a summon for us to both act like children and to recognize where we are from. Every time we pray the Our Father we are directed to remember to where we are called and from where we come.
To live the Our Father is truly to embark on the narrow path and to never have to fear of hearing the words, "I do not know where you are from."
The gravitational pull of our selfishness is over come by the lofty heights invoked in the prayer taught to us by Jesus from whom we are sons in the son.
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