How Difficult?
How much does it take to become a doctor in the United States? Of course, it depends a lot on the place and specialty, but as an average we can say that, first of all, it has a very competitive entry level: a GPA of 3.7 or more and a MCAT of approximately 512 or more. Timewise: the undergrad studies take 4 years, Medical School 4 more, Residency between 3 and 7 years, and the optional Fellowship between 1 and 3 more. That means a total time after high school of 11–15 years before independent practice. And what about the cost? The real cost depends very much on the institution and the aid. For the undergrad years it’s in between $40k–$250k, Medical School: $250k–$330k and the total education debt: $200k –$300k. And even more difficult is to become a professional athlete. Of the roughly 7 million students who play high school sports in the U.S. each year only about 7% go on to compete at the NCAA level (college varsity). And of those, fewer than 2% make it to the professional level. That means that less than 0.2% of high school athletes ever make it to the major professional leagues. We could use more examples of other hard achievements.
And how much does it take to go to Heaven? This is, indirectly, the question that that unnamed person asked Christ when he wanted to know “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” It’s a longing we all share with whomever he was because it is the greatest goal of our lives. Without it, everything else we do is meaningless. Without reaching heaven, our life could be said to be ruined.
It is a fact that Jesus Christ wasn’t a big fan of ‘straight answers’. We would have preferred a black-and-white response, such as “there are few” or, better yet, “there are many, most of the people, everybody.” Or a statistic, or at least a total number, or maybe an identifying external sign. But nothing at all. An answer that seems to say nothing but says everything: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” The Lord avoids giving us a specific answer in the form of a number that would lead us to think of determinism, predestination, or something we could control, and instead focuses us on the here and now: eternal salvation is a precious gift that is worth fighting for and requires us to give our best to receive it. In this sense, Sunday’s readings reveal two different, yet complementary, attitudes:
1. Confidence. God’s heartfelt desire is for human beings to enjoy the Heavenly Kingdom with Him forever: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:17). Desire recognized by the Church from the very beginning as the Apostle Paul shared with Timothy: “God wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tm 4:2). The universality of his desire is recognized in today’s readings when they say that the Lord comes “to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory” (Is 66:18) and that “people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” (Lk 13:29)
2. Determination. But we have an active part in receiving this gift, as the Gospel warns us. “Strive to enter through the narrow gate”, or in the words of St. Augustine: “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.” (Sermo 169, 11). Seriousness also recognized by Saint Paul while giving instructions to the Philippians: “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). That ‘narrow gate’ is the faith in Jesus Christ manifested in
the fulfillment of the commandments: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Also, as he reminded the young man who asked him what good he had to do to gain eternal life: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Mt 19:17). All of them, for “his commandments are not burdensome,” (1 Jn 5:3).
Therefore, let us give ourselves completely to accepting this gift of eternal life that already
transforms us in the present moment, and let us not make our faith a mere veneer. Attitudes such as “I received my sacraments, but I don’t practice,” “I just go to Mass at Christmas and Easter,” or “I take my children to religious education but nothing else” maybe could be compared to those who said in today’s Gospel, “We ate and drank in your company and you
taught in our streets.” (v. 26). The Lord’s answer is terrifying: “I do not know where you are from” (v. 27) With his grace to go through the narrow gate is possible.
Blessings,
Fr. Javier Nieva, DCJM
*****
Previous Letters:
August 17, 2025: Politically Incorrect
August 10, 2025: Got Faith?
August 3, 2025: Greed
July 27, 2025: Ask and You Shall Receive
July 20, 2025: The Better Part
July 13, 2025: Who is the Samaritan
July 6, 2025: Joy and Spoons
June 29, 2025: In Fire
June 22, 2025: A Beating Heart in the Tabernacle
June 15, 2025: The Mirror
June 8, 2025: Filled With the Holy Spirit
June 1, 2025: He Loved Us
May 25, 2025: Servant of Your Faith and Joy
May 18, 2025: Leo
May 11, 2025: The Deposit of Faith
May 4, 2025: Costly Mercy
April 27, 2025: Who is Peter?
April 20, 2025: I Make All Things New – Arise!
April 13, 2025: I Make All Things New – To Do My Penance
April 6, 2025: I Make All Things New – I Declared My Sin to You
March 30, 2025: I Make All Things New – I Firmly Resolve
March 23 2025: I Make All Things New – I am Sorry for Offending You
March 16, 2025: I Make All Things New – Examining Your Conscience
March 9, 2025: I Make All Things New
March 2, 2025: Pruning
February 23, 2025: The Anointed of the Lord
February 16, 2025: Be My Valentine
February 9, 2025: Wash Away My Guilt II
February 2, 2025: Wash Away My Guilt I
January 26, 2025: Catholic Education
January 19, 2025: Shall Marry You
January 12, 2025: Called by Name
January 5, 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
December 29, 2024: Priests for the Family
December 22, 2024: Messengers of Joy
December 15, 2024: Blessed Are the Poor
December 8, 2024: Love, Hope and Joy
December 1, 2024: Hope Does Not Disappoint
November 24, 2024: Are You King?
November 17, 2024: Seven Words
November 10, 2024: Tu es Petrus
November 3, 2024: Pray For Those Authority
October 27, 2024: These Are the Feasts
October 20, 2024: Someone Else
October 13, 2024: Be Prudent
October 6, 2024: Project and Dreams II
September 29, 2024: Projects and Dreams I
September 22, 2024: Pastor
September 15, 2024: Take Up Your Cross
September 8, 2024: Guardians of Shared Memory
September 1, 2024: From Their Hearts
August 25, 2024: The Cost of Discipleship
August 18, 2024: For Real?
August 11, 2024: Too Long For You
August 4, 2024: A New Manna
July 28, 2024: Bread of Life
July 21, 2024: Shepherds After My Own Heart
July 14, 2024: Woe to Me…
July 7, 2024: Come and Rest (II)
June 30, 2024: Come and Rest (I)
June 23, 2024: Storms
June 16, 2024: I Will be a Father to You
June 9, 2024: Burning Furnace of Love
June 2, 2024: In the Midst of Him
May 26, 2024: Forever I Will Sing the Goodness of the Lord
May 19, 2024: Through the Holy Spirit
May 12, 2024: The Ark of the Covenant
May 5, 2024: Source and Summit
April 28, 2024: Rejoice Always
April 21, 2024: I Believe in the resurrection of the body Part II
April 14, 2024: I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body Part 1
April 7, 2024: Rich in Mercy
March 31, 2024: Sine Dominico Non Possumus About Sunday
February 11, 2024: I Was Ill and You Cared For Me
February 4, 2024: Why Evil?
January 28, 2024: Catholic Schools Week
January 21, 2024: Attachments
January 14, 2024: The LORD Shines
January 7, 2024: Epiphany 2024
December 31, 2023: A Family of Families
December 25, 2023: New Beginnings
December 17, 2023: Christmas
December 3, 2023: Watch
November 26, 2023: Be Healed
November 19, 2023: Sealed
November 12, 2023: Religious?
