A Message from Fr. Jay
Dear Friends,
This coming Wednesday, I will be leaving for India to visit my family and friends and returning on September 24th. You will not receive my weekly messages during my absence, but all my thoughts and prayers will still be with you. I would appreciate your prayers as well. Thank you to Fr. Jack Costello, who will be assisting us with daily and weekend Masses every Saturday in September.
This week, the readings help us to understand the nature of God as the ‘God of everyone’. The kingdom of heaven is not exclusive to some but is inclusive to everyone. I wish to share a joke that I enjoyed: St. Peter at the Pearly Gates of Heaven is the core of many jokes…
A Pastor who had served 40 odd years and a cab driver arrive at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter welcomes the cab driver with great excitement, while the Pastor is almost ignored. The heart-broken Pastor asks for an explanation and St. Peter replies: “Results…Padre…. results…. Up here we go by results… While you preached, many people slept. While he drove, almost everyone prayed hard.”
The yardstick of the people on earth may not have relevance in heaven! Jesus introduces a different yardstick to the Jews to accept every human at the gates of heaven. According to Him, all are welcome! When someone is ready to face difficulties or persecutions for the sake of Jesus, they are sure to share the table with Jesus in His kingdom.
Striving to enter through the narrow gate is fighting one’s own ego. Losing one’s ego makes the person light and easy to relate with others in true love. Such true love is the message of an inclusive God. God welcomes all!
God Bless,
Fr. Jay Raju
Reading 1: Isaiah 66:18-21
Reading 2: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30
