Enter by the Narrow Gate

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches: Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to complete destruction is wide and easy, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Jesus tells us clearly there are two destinations open to us: Heaven or Hell. We go to the one we choose. But how could a person choose Hell? I mean, how could a person see God and reject him? Because the feelings or desires prompt the will to choose what they like and avoid what they dislike. Well what happens when we desire or like what is bad for us, when our feelings prompt us to do evil and avoid what is good for us.

A person can get to the point in which they have a real dislike, a real aversion for the things of God like religion and prayer or Mass or talking about God. If this dislike for God continues until death, then when they see God, they will still have this dislike for Him and will not choose him. They will turn away and walk into hell.

But we can train our desires by focusing on what’s good and doing what’s good, even when we don’t feel like it. If you resist the wrong feelings and do the right actions long enough, the bad desires will fade and the right desires will grow – prompting you to do the right thing. So meditate on good things, think about them -- work at delighting in them. And, as always, ask God to give you desires for what is good and right and beautiful. Remember, everything ultimately relies on Him.