tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736427810720155529.post7679345876320818333..comments2023-08-09T07:48:53.962-04:00Comments on Bear Witness to the Light: Behold, Some Who Are Last Will Be First, And Some Who Are First Will Be Last.Fr. John L. Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16167510362871783781noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736427810720155529.post-9784719882022387612010-08-22T09:59:59.305-04:002010-08-22T09:59:59.305-04:00Sarah, thank you for sharing with us a different p...Sarah, thank you for sharing with us a different perspective on "two gates", in particular your focus on the "family entrance" to the manor house. <br /><br />Thinking about this image brought me (eventually) to remember that when the Solemnity of the Assumption is celebrated on a weekday, the same weekday in the following week is the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. I then turned to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, with all of the magnificent titles given to her: <br /><br />MOTHER: of God, of Christ, of the Creator and Savior, of divine grace.<br /><br />VIRGIN: most prudent, venerable, powerful and merciful. <br /><br />QUEEN: of Angels, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Virgins, All Saints, and of the Holy Rosary. <br /><br />SPECIAL TITLES: Seat of Wisdom, Cause of our Joy, Mystical Rose. and, at last! the title that links today's Sunday readings with the Queenship of Mary: <br /><br /><br />If you seek a sure pathway to eternal bliss, "Strive to enter heaven by staying close to the Mother of Jesus and our Mother: the GATE OF HEAVEN.Fr. John L. Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16167510362871783781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736427810720155529.post-86440674032952289612010-08-22T08:22:04.674-04:002010-08-22T08:22:04.674-04:00'Strive to enter through the narrow gate'
...'Strive to enter through the narrow gate'<br /><br />Our Lord referred to Himself as the gate of the sheepfold. It must be a narrow gate, because it is only as wide as one man - Jesus Himself. Following Christ is a process of entering through a narrow gate.<br /><br />Houses with fences around them often have two gates - one narrow and one wide enough for vehicles to pass through. The narrow gate is the one used by the children of the family, in fact by all those close to the family. The wide gate is used by those who want to roll up the drive in style, or those who don't know the family well enough to enter without ceremony.<br /><br />If you don't know the family, it might be hard to find the narrow gate, but if you do know the family, the narrow gate is the simplest and most obvious choice.Sarah in the tenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13680566205364331756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736427810720155529.post-73765054185372708722010-08-22T03:24:57.352-04:002010-08-22T03:24:57.352-04:00The paragraph about love reminds me of a conversat...The paragraph about love reminds me of a conversation I once had with a senior manager who works for me. He had a lot of difficult employees whom he found challenging. Yet, I rarely have problems with such employees. So, he asked me what the key was to dealing with difficult people. I told him it was so simple that he probably would not accept it. When I said, "You have to genuinely love them," he told me could not do that. So, a short while later, he left, leaving behind a group of unhappy, "difficult" employees. The person who replaced him knew how to love them, and they are basically happy people today. I know we can love others, truly love them and not exclude folks we might for one reason or another consider "difficult" because I have seen people do it. I don't know how others manage it, but if they are like me, it is with a lot of prayer asking God to let His love flow through me to them for I would not have enough alone. That seems to be a prayer He always answers.Elizabeth Mahlouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00334700057953625321noreply@blogger.com