“I do not know where you are from.”
Imagine – our Lord saying these words from the Gospel today to you! Ouch. Like, an eternally-lasting-ouch.
We often shy away from this truth, but hell is a very real possibility. It is a very real choice that ordinary, everyday people make. I once heard it said that the anthem of hell is to say, instead of “Thy will be done, “my will be done.” No wonder hell is easier to choose than we think! Sadly, once we’re dead, we can’t go back on the decisions of our lived actions.
That’s why the Lord, in His great mercy, literally gives us everything we need to strive eagerly for the Kingdom of Heaven while we’re on earth: the Sacraments. Frequent confession as much as possible, praying without ceasing, ordering our lives toward our ultimate end, receiving the Eucharist daily, increasing our devotion, suffering well, receiving last rites – making the choice daily to live a life of heroic virtue in your current circumstances – that is the way through the narrow gate.
You may wonder, how can a merciful God say to us, “I do not know where you are from… depart from me, all you evildoers!” The thing is – He does not condemn, we simply choose. Be assured that our Heavenly Father is merciful, and it is in this great mercy that the Lord offers us ample opportunities for our sanctification and redemption.
There is nothing in your life that is extraneous to what God is completing in you and through you! And, hear me out – there will never be “better conditions” conducive to your holiness. The exact season of your life you are in, with all of its circumstances and complex realities, is exactly what the Lord desires your holiness to come from. None of that, “well, once I am married,” or “well, once the semester slows down”, or “once I figure out my career”, or “once I am fully healed”, etc. The time is now. Holiness is for you, as you are, right now.
There’s a hilarious quote attributed to one of my favorite saints and mystics, St. Teresa of Avila. She was complaining to Jesus in prayer after falling off a horse into a running stream (well, who wouldn’t complain about that?), to which He responded to her to not fret about the trials of life, for He gives suffering to his friends. With her fiery sense of humor she shot back, “Lord, if this is how you treat your friends… no wonder you have so few!” All that to say, it is not easy to be a friend of Jesus.
Let this be our examen today: How often do I choose my own will over the Lord’s? How often do I make excuses or wish away the present moment? Do I have a healthy sense of my own mortality? Do I frequent the Sacraments and devote myself to daily prayer?
Allow yourself to be malleable in the hands of God -- to become obedient to His will, like clay in the hands of the potter. It starts by choosing Him every day, starting now.
Laurie Medina is an alumna of the Echo Graduate Service program through the University of Notre Dame, where she received her M.A. in Theology. She recently moved to sunny SoCal from Texas to pursue licensure in Marriage & Family Therapy. She loves spending time outside, having heart conversations over coffee, and finding beauty in the holy ordinary. You can find her on Instagram.