“Strive to Enter the Narrow Door”
In previous lessons, we looked at the role of the Church in the salvation of Catholics, non-Catholic Christians, and those who are not (or not yet) Christian. Then we considered the “mystery of evil” — how some people obstinately reject the abundance of saving grace that the Lord pours out upon them.
But what’s the point of all this? How is this supposed to help us? In a nutshell, it should inspire us to action. To help us understand this, let’s make an analogy.
Professional athletes focus on what they want to accomplish, and then they pursue it. They adjust their lives to fit with their goal. They work hard, they deny themselves many things, and they add certain things to their daily routine. They do all this in hope of attaining that gold medal, or that championship. They come to love the pursuit of the goal, and to fear the consequences of flagging in the pursuit — like not practicing or exercising enough, or not eating right.
In their own areas, athletes (and professionals of all kinds) know how important it is to strive for the goal, and against the obstacles. St. Paul himself used athletes, soldiers, and farmers as examples for the striving that Christians are called to.
That’s why we’ve looked at the mystery of evil, as well as of God’s saving plan for everyone. We need to reflect on the nature of sin and its hellish consequences, as well as on the goodness and love of God. Doing so is meant to motivate us to work zealously for the goal: the salvation of ourselves and those around us.
Like the athletes I mentioned, we need to know the goal, work hard for the goal, and cultivate within ourselves the proper dispositions to motivate us. I’ll explain three of these dispositions: hope, love, and holy fear.
First, hope. Hope comes as we understand more deeply how it is that God saves the world. This is hope for ourselves, and hope for others. And it’s hope in knowing that God is good and doesn’t leave anyone without the means to come to Him. In fact, the Lord goes further than simply giving us means of salvation. As Jesus says in the Gospel, He ‘draws all people to Himself.’
If we don’t think that something’s really possible, then we won’t have hope that it can be accomplished, and we won’t work to make it happen. That’s why we’ve been considering the economy of salvation, and how it relates to everyone — Catholic, non-Catholic Christians, and non-Christians. We need to have real hope for the salvation of ourselves and others, if we’re going to work for that salvation.
Second, love. As we study the economy of salvation, we come to know more deeply the amazing mercy, love, and goodness of God. In doing so, we are inspired to love Him more in return, and desire that as many others as possible come to know and love Him as well. If we don’t love God deeply, we won’t seek Him and share Him with others.
Third, holy fear. Understanding better sin and the danger of hell can stir up holy fear within us. Most fears that we have are bad and destructive. But this is a good and useful fear.
Holy fear comes in at least 2 basic forms:
The first, and most important form of holy fear is the fear of offending God. This fear flows directly from the love of God which He poured into our hearts. Our God loves us with an everlasting love. He is our good, good Father. The heart that loves God fears committing those infidelities that weary the Spirit of God within us. We fear doing evil because we love God, and we don’t want to offend Him!
The second form of holy fear is the fear of the punishment, consequences, or ugliness of sin. It is fear that in spite of the graces we receive, we and those we love will, by evil choices, succumb more and more to the attraction of sin and suffer the shame and misery it brings. It is the fear that if we stake our lives on sin, hardening ourselves, we would finally be counted among the wicked, the allies of the evil one, citizens of hell. We fear doing evil because we don’t want to suffer its consequences!
This type of fear can be very helpful, or it can be deceptive. Fear of punishment can accompany love of God, or it can come from a shame that leads us to hide from Him. So love is the most important thing!
In any case, if we don’t have a healthy fear of what will hold us back from the goal, we won’t work nearly as hard to attain the goal! That’s why we considered the mystery of evil, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and hell.
Hope and love, by themselves, are not enough. Hope and love draw us forward to God, but fear pushes back against what we’re leaving behind. Together, they provide disciples of Jesus with a powerful motive that propels them forward in the ways of God. Through them, we can grow in holiness faster, and participate more deeply in the saving work of Christ.
Hope in God, love of God, and fear of God can motivate us to act. Only together can these holy dispositions and emotions move us to participate in God’s saving work effectively. They can drive us forward to strive for salvation & holiness. They can fuel us as we pray, sacrifice, and evangelize.
How do we stir them up even more? First and foremost, we should ask God to grant us these gifts. After this, we should continue to reflect and meditate on God’s saving plan, on the one hand, and on sin and hell, on the other.
This is what the saints did. Like soldiers and athletes for Christ, Saints are wholeheartedly dedicated to the work before them. So they study and meditate upon the goal, upon the obstacles, and upon the means needed to overcome the obstacles and reach the goal. The saints stir up ardor within themselves for the work of personal holiness, intercession, and evangelization.
A great way to do this regularly is to read the writings of the saints on these topics, especially short meditations written for this express purpose. Saint Francis de Sales has these kinds of meditations in his famous work, Introduction to the Devout Life (written for laity living in the world). So does Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in his work The Spiritual Exercises, and Saint Alphonsus Liguori, in his work The Way of Salvation and Perfection, and others. And of course, we can meditate on these truths as they are found in the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
There is some advice from Saint Francis de Sales that is relevant here. He talked about how there should be balance in our meditations upon the mysteries of grace and sin. Writing about St. Francis’ own approach on this subject, one of his friends wrote the following about this balance:
[He used to warn people to] beware of hurry, anxiety, and bitterness of heart. These he called the ruin of devotion. He was even unwilling that people should meditate upon the great truths of Death, Judgment and Hell, unless they at the same time reassured themselves by the remembrance of God’s love for them. Speaking to a holy soul, he says: “[This] meditation … will be useful to you provided that you always end with an act of confidence in God. Never represent to yourself Death or Hell on the one side unless the Cross is on the other; so that when your fears have been excited by the one you may with confidence turn for help to the other.”
He goes further, though. Not only should there be balance, but also proper order: love and hope should predominate over fear. Saint Francis de Sales’ friend continued:
The one point on which he chiefly insisted was that we must fear God from love, not love God from fear. “To love Him from fear,” he used to say, “is to put gall into our food and to quench our thirst with vinegar; but to fear Him from love is to sweeten aloes and wormwood.” Assuredly, our own experience convinces us that it is difficult to love those whom we fear, and that it is impossible not to fear with a filial and reverent fear those whom we love.”
So, with St. Francis’ teaching ringing in our minds and hearts, let’s be athletes for Jesus Christ. Let’s “strive to enter the narrow door.” Let’s meditate on the truths of the faith, stir up our ardor, and do the work to which we were called.