The reading from Ephesians today has got to be a favorite with Catholic parents around the globe. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your Father and Mother.” This offers a voice of authority to help us with our mission of being parents and raising our kids.
Narrow Gate
Moving on to the Gospel, we are reminded that Heaven is accessible, but it is a narrow gate to get through to arrive. Wide gates are easy to get through, narrow gates, not so much. We are also reminded that there will be “wailing and gnashing of teeth” for those who cannot get through the gate. There will be many who think they are ready to pass through the gate, but are self-deceived, and will not get through. This sounds daunting to me.
What To Do?
As I reflect on honoring parents, and how to not be deceived about passage through a narrow gate to Heaven, I think back to the trip that my wife and I took to Medjugorje earlier this month. This small, back water town is in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is next to Croatia, which is across the Adriatic from Italy. You can google on it, to get the whole story about the town, and the events of the last 43 years. The Pope has recently “green lighted” the Marian apparitions, so it can officially be a pilgrimage site.
However, about one million Catholics per year visit Medjugorje, so we certainly did not ask for permission to visit over all these decades! Countless miracles happen there. There is daily confession, and up to fifty priests, in many languages, hear confession from 5pm to 9pm. Even these many confessions every day is a miracle. I saw a man’s knee get healed.
Mary, Our Mother
Mary, our Mother, has been appearing there for 43 years. She actually appears to some of the original visionaries (now middle-aged adults rather than children of 1983) EVERY DAY at the same time of day. She also does wondrous signs for many to see, but not everyone.
During her visits, she offers recommendation on what to do to have people get closer to her son, Jesus. The visionaries write these recommendations down, so we can all learn from them. There are the so called “Five Stones” of daily living, plus specific things to do.
Returning to the first reading, even we adults should honor our mother and father, and Mary is our mother. Our Heavenly Mother. She is helping to guide us to her Son, our Savior, so that we have a chance to get through that narrow gate.
So, rather than pushing our interpretation of the first reading, and the commandment about honoring our parents to “kids,” let us try it ourselves. Not just honoring our earthly parents, but our Holy Mother Mary. Work on that relationship with Mary if you have not started. Strengthen it if you have it. For some tips, try Amazon for a book on Medjugorje, and perhaps you will be inspired.
Mary, Queen of Peace, Pray for us!
P.S. I took many photos of crosses and statues from our trip, and they will be used occasionally as part of reflections that we post on GVM.
