Jesus today tells us to enter through the narrow gate, for the wide one is the one that leads us to destruction. As I thought about this verse, I reflected upon all that has gone on in the Church and in the world since the Fortnight for Freedom was declared by the Catholic Church this decade. We have seen a lot of attacks on the Church and on our faith since the Fortnight for Freedom was declared. A few years ago, the Church reframed the Fortnight for Freedom into Religious Freedom Week.
It feels like sometimes we are always being criticized, right? I remember being in front of the abortion clinic praying for the unborn with Christians from different denominations when the police threatened us with being arrested and having our cars towed. As you recall, too, the city of Jackson tried to pass all these rules recently to keep us from protesting in front of the clinic. Yet, the mayor of Jackson who opposed our right to protest is saying very different things in public today about the right to protest. Why the disconnect? Why the attacks on our faith?
For standing up for the values of our faith, we are not excluding people. Being God’s love and mercy into the world does not mean that do not proclaim the values of our faith. Standing up for what we perceive to be the truth is not always easy and comfortable. While we see so many in our society trying to go through the wide door, what sense does that make of the narrow door that Jesus mentions in today’s Gospel? It means living out our faith, not just proclaiming it in words. It has been so hard for us during the pandemic not being able to have public mass in our parishes, but also not being able to engage in a lot of our outreach ministries, which include going out to the prisons and the state mental hospital.
When I was out in front of the abortion clinic praying, being very visible in my collar, I thought about the fear of being arrested. I remember in Yazoo City when the chaplain at the prison was opposing me in my Catholic ministry there, I thought they were going to find a way to get me in trouble too. I remember being so tortured and agonized in those feelings, but ultimately I found the courage to continue in that ministry. As we celebrate Religious Freedom Week, I it as a way for us to be encouraged and supported as we proclaim and live out our faith.
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