Sunday Mass Readings and Reflections on August 24th 2025

 

First Reading: Isaiah 66:18–21

"I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; they shall come and see my glory… they shall declare my glory among the nations… and some of them also I will take for priests and Levites, says the Lord."

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 117)
Response: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”

Second Reading: 

(Hebrews 12:5–7, 11–13)
"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord… For the Lord disciplines the one he loves… Later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet."

Gospel: 

(Luke 13:22–30)
"Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able… Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Today’s readings express God’s universal saving will and the personal effort required from us. Yes, God wants you to be saved, but do you want to be saved? Heaven is wide enough for everyone, yet only those who cooperate with God’s grace will enter.

God has already provided everything: His Son’s sacrifice, the sacraments, His Word, and ministers of the Gospel. Isaiah assures us: “I am coming to gather every nation and every language.” The psalm echoes: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”

But the effort does not stop with God. Like a teacher who instructs diligently, the student must still study to pass. Likewise, salvation requires our cooperation, our prayer, repentance, discipline, and daily struggle against temptation.

This is why Jesus says: “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” The road to heaven is not smooth; it is narrow and demanding. Discipline, as Hebrews reminds us, may be painful at first, but it produces “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

The frightening reality is that familiarity with Christ is not enough. Saying “I was in church” or “I belonged to many groups” will not guarantee entry. What matters is living the life of faith and holiness. Will Jesus recognize you?

The Gospel challenges us not to focus on whether others will be saved, but to ask: “Will I be among the saved?” That is the real question.

Let us then desire heaven above all things, cooperate with God’s graces, and walk daily through the narrow door of discipline, holiness, and perseverance, so that we may be counted among the saints when they go marching in.

God bless you

Amen.