Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Today's Gospel has stirred up many debates amongst the saints
as to whether many will be saved or many will be not,
and ultimately it is not resolved in today's Gospel.
But what is indicated very clearly is that our Lord is saying
we must believe in Him and His true Church in order to be saved.
And so, if many are to be lost, it is because of their unbelief,
that willful stubbornness by which we refuse to accept
the revelation of God through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And so, we must strive always and everywhere
to study our faith, to grow in our faith,
and most especially to beseech God for the grace to put into practice
that which we know by faith.
For our Lord here indicates that not only the unbelievers,
but many even within the mystical body will be lost
because those who have the faith do not put it into practice,
especially by that virtue of charity.
And so, we must turn always and everywhere,
striving with every fiber of our being
to work out our faith,
to our salvation as St. Paul tells us,
in fear, in trembling,
so that one day we may be found numbered amongst the saints
within the mystical body of Christ.
And so, let us pray and strive always to conform ourselves
to Jesus Christ and to Jesus Christ crucified.
For what is most important in today's Gospel
is that passage that says Jesus, while He was teaching,
was making His way to Jerusalem.
That is, to Jerusalem, where He would be crucified,
where He would suffer His passion,
crucifixion and death, for the sake of mankind
and so we seek to follow a Lord who was good and forgiving to us
and that kindness towards us was manifested
and that which was most precious,
that is, the sacrifice of His sacred humanity
for the sake of mankind.
So, if and when souls are lost,
it is not because of anything lacking in the efforts of God,
but rather what is lacking
in us, a stubborn refusalness to exercise that humility by which we recognize Jesus Christ
as the one true God and hence the one true revealer of true religion. And so let us strive
always and everywhere to persevere in that religion that Christ has revealed and in that
religion which alone can our salvation be worked out in fear and trembling. To be outside of the
mystical body is a very dangerous place to be and to be inside the mystical body is to be in that
institute which is truly the instrument and vessel of God's mercy. And so we have greater opportunity
even if we are sinners within the church to work out our salvation because we always have at our
disposal our conversion through the sacrament of penance. And so we marvel always at the
wonderful things that the Lord has done.
Let us strive always to truly work out our salvation in fear and trembling and to offer
constant prayer and sacrifice for those who have not been blessed yet to come to recognize the one
true church and the one safe haven in this world by which we truly can persevere in the love of God
and ultimately acquire that love for all eternity in heaven.
Fr.
parishioner
Fr.
Eredan
Mercy
Gratitude
Faith
program
Training
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