{"id":3257,"date":"2007-08-27T19:06:28","date_gmt":"2007-08-28T00:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/2007\/08\/27\/get-your-passport-ready\/"},"modified":"2007-08-27T19:06:28","modified_gmt":"2007-08-28T00:06:28","slug":"get-your-passport-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/2007\/08\/get-your-passport-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"Get your passport ready"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ufffdWhat does the \ufffdnarrow gate\ufffd mean?\ufffd, the Pope asked pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. \ufffdWhy do many not succeed in entering through it? Is the way reserved for just a few elect?\ufffd<\/p>\n

The Pope said it is often a trap and a temptation to interpret this passage as a reference to religious practice as a source of privilege or security. But in reality, \ufffdthe message of Christ is actually quite the opposite\ufffd, the Pope explained. \ufffdAll can enter eternal life, but for everyone, the door is narrow. They are not privileged. The path to the eternal life is open to all, but it is narrow because it\ufffds demanding, asks for commitment, abnegation, and the mortification of selfishness.\ufffd<\/p>\n

The Pope said that to pass through the narrow gate, means \ufffdwe must commit ourselves to being small, that is humble of heart like Jesus; like Mary, His and our mother\ufffd. \ufffdChristians call upon Her as Ianua Caeli, Heaven\ufffds Gate,\ufffd the Pope said. \ufffdLet us ask Her to guide us in our daily choices and take us to the path that leads to \ufffdHeaven\ufffds Gate\ufffd.\ufffd<\/p>\n

The Pope added that Christ is the one Redeemer, \ufffdinviting us to his feast of immortal life, but on one and only one condition, that of following and imitating him, bearing as He did our own cross and devoting one\ufffds life to one\ufffds brothers. This is the single, universal condition to join the heavenly life.\ufffd<\/p>\n

The Pope stressed that on the last day, \ufffdit is not on the basis of alleged privileges that we shall be judged but on the merit of our deeds. The \ufffdagents of iniquity\ufffd will find themselves excluded while those who did good deeds at the cost of sacrifices shall be welcomed.\ufffd<\/p>\n

The Pope added: \ufffdIt will not be enough to say that \ufffdI was a friend\ufffd of Christ, and claim false merits such as: \ufffdWe ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets\ufffd. True friendship with Jesus is expressed in how one lives; in the goodness of one\ufffds heart; in one\ufffds humility, kindness and mercy, in one\ufffds love for justice and truth; in one\ufffds sincere commitment to peace and reconciliation. This, we might say, is the \ufffdidentity card\ufffd that qualifies us as true \ufffdfriends;\ufffd it is the \ufffdpassport\ufffd that will let us enter eternal life.\ufffd
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

You want to make sure you get the passport that is stamped with sanctifying grace and not the one printed on asbestos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\ufffdWhat does the \ufffdnarrow gate\ufffd mean?\ufffd, the Pope asked pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. \ufffdWhy do many not succeed in entering through it?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3257\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}