by Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
Today’s Gospel, Luke 13:22-30, reminds us that our Church is universal; it is inclusive – open to everyone. Everyone in this world can be saved. However, Baptism is not all that is required to enter into heaven.
It is true, as Pope Benedict XVI said to those gathered at St Peter’s Square on Jan 12, 2010, that with the sacrament of baptism, “the faithful become children of God, and brothers and sisters with each other.”
“With this sacrament”, he said, “Man really becomes son — son of God. From that point the goal of his life consists in arriving at, in a free and conscious way, that which from the very beginning was his destination as man…the basic educational principle of the human person redeemed by grace is ‘become what you are.’”
But to “become” what we are, we must live our faith. That is the challenge. Having a personal relationship with God involves living our faith in communion with others and with all of His Creation.
I remember being one of three judges for an art competition in a Catholic secondary school in a Borough where I was Deputy Director of Education in London. We awarded the first prize to a student, Andrew, whose painting was entitled: Your choice.
Andrew had painted a narrow, winding road leading to what he termed “The Pearly Gates”, and a wide road leading to what he called “The Other Place”. All along the road to “The Pearly Gates” he painted a number of obstacles while along the wide road to “The Other Place” were scenes of decadence and debauchery.
The written piece of work that accompanied his painting was very moving. It was clear that he had had a difficult life. His mother had died in a vehicular accident. His father became an alcoholic after her death and he abandoned his three children. Andrew and his siblings were taken into the care of the Local Authority.
The judges asked Andrew to tell us about his painting. He also shared with us the challenges he faced. This was a Borough in which the crime rate was high. It would have been easy for him to truant or drop out of school and join one of the gangs that roamed the Council Estates near where he lived.
Instead, Andrew found a friend in a teacher who felt compassion for him; who realised that he had artistic talent; and who was prepared to go the extra mile to assist him in developing his talent.
All teachers in our Catholic schools must realise that they can make a difference in their students’ lives. They can be the difference between a student going through “The Pearly Gates” or to “The Other Place”. You have an awesome responsibility. All that God asks of you in your vocation as a teacher is to be the best teacher that you can be. Remember the words in Micah 6:8. All that God asks of you is “to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Jesus urges us in today’s Gospel: “Try your best to enter by the narrow door.” The word “try” implies effort. These words remind us of those in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life and only a few find it.”
Throughout our lives we will be faced with choices. Temptation will always be in our path, luring us to take the wide road. John Quincy Adams rightly said that, “Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.”
We may not always make the right choice but, if we keep working on our relationship with God; if we are open to constant conversion when we fall (and we will); if we pray for God’s grace to live holy and virtuous lives, we will stand a better chance of taking our place “at the feast in the kingdom of God”(Lk 13: 29).
