When entering the city of Jerusalem there was a gate known as the Eye of the Needle. We hear this referenced later in the Gospel of Saint Luke when he comes to state: “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” In our Gospel this morning we were told that we need to “strive to enter through the narrow gate.”
These verses are related to one another for they point towards this Eye of the Needle. If you were to pass through this gate you would first have to go through the trouble of unloading your camel. A camel with baggage attached to it would not be able to fit through this gate thus allowing it to enter into the city of Jerusalem.
Here we are receiving a lesson on the necessity of stripping away everything from our life which keeps us from the Kingdom of God. There are some who do not fell compelled to strip away this baggage and thus when they come to meet God the just judge upon their death He will be forced to state of them: “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”
In our Epistle we were given the theme of “discipline.” If we desire to strip away the baggage of our life in order that we may come to see God more clearly we should learn to practice Saint Paul’s advice. The concept of “discipline” has been present in our practice of faith from the very beginning. Despite this being an ancient practice there are many who have forgotten about it, regulated it to Lent, or do nothing to assist in their pursuit of virtue thus putting their vices to rest.
In the words of Saint Josemaria Escriva: “Where there is no self-denial, there is no virtue.” This is precisely why practices such as fasting and mortification are so important. They help to form us in letting go of what is not important in our life in order in order that we may grow in what is important. I believe that we need to rediscover Fridays throughout the course of the year as being a day of penance in which we come to unite ourself to the cross.
The current Code of Canon Law to the surprise of some reminds that Fridays remain a day of penance for this is the day that our Lord expired upon the cross. Canon Law further asks that we abstain from meat throughout the course of the year. The United States Council of Catholic Bishops further ask that we freely give up meat on each Friday of the year or give something else up thus coming to embrace the cross and Saint Paul’s concept of discipline. Some believe that fasting, that undergoing mortification, or to embrace the cross is to be so intense that it puts us into a hospital. Here Saint Josemaria Escriva reminds us of its simplicity: “The day you leave the table without having done some small mortification you have eaten like a pagan.”
