30TH WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 13:22-30) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” (Lk 13:24)

FIRST READING - Rom 8:26-30

"All things work for good for those who love God."

A reading from the Letter to the Romans

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. ²⁷ And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.

^28 [a]We know that all things work for good for those who love God,^[b] who are called according to his purpose. ^29 [c]For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 13:22-30

"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.

✠From the Gospel according to Luke

²² He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. ²⁵ 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.’ ²⁶ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ ²⁸ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. ²⁹ And 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. ³⁰ For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

30TH WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 13:22-30)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear people of God,

In today's Word of God, God calls everyone to strive to enter through the narrow gate that leads into the Kingdom of Heaven, to repent of our sins, and to walk the path that Jesus Christ has walked so that we may inherit the happiness of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven in the life to come.

God instructs everyone that, in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, everyone must undergo purifications, must go through thorny and diffcult paths, and must be refined, pruned, and cleansed by God of every thorns, all impurities, and every sins of our earthly humanity so that we may become holy, righteous, pure, and perfectly immaculate, so that we may enter and inherit the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, God continually calls humanity, while still living on this earth, to always live and put into practice what He has taught. Do not speak empty words or profess the Word of God with our lips without living it out.

God desires that those who receive His grace must know how to share and proclaim God's word and His grace to others; we must know how to guide and invite everyone to know the God of love, so that they may live and act according to God’s teachings, so that they too may enter and enjoy the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven.

He does not want humanity to live selfishly for ourselves, but to know how to love, to give, to share, to support, and to help the souls of others.

To help other souls, we must live according to what God has commanded: We must renounce all passions, power, honor, and worldly glory to follow the narrow path that Jesus Christ has walked: that is, the path of the cross, the path of suffering. For only suffering in God's grace leads to glory; only then can eternal life be attained.

Today’s Word of God calls upon humanity to:

• Always walk on the path God has walked, which is the narrow path of the cross and suffering.

• Look at the image of Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Almighty God, who still had to endure crucifixion and death on the cross, as a lesson for each of us in obedience, humility, self-emptying, sacrifice, and love for others, just as He lived.

Thanks be to God. Amen.