I think it’s very interesting that many people walk around today assuming that if we go through life, doing the best we can and being good, that’s all that’s needed. Just do the right things; go to church regularly and one day when we die, we go to heaven. And I think there’s a lot of misinformation maybe or the wrong assumptions for what is really happening here.
Moving from this life into the next, putting purgatory aside for a moment, will not amount to some magic snap of the fingers and we are holier than we were in this line.
Our goal in this life is to be holy so we can be with Jesus in heaven. Because nothing that is unholy can be in heaven. But it won’t be because of some magical experience, but that we lived a life of holiness, striving always to be closer to God and doing his well more and more. And then when we die and leave this world, anything that is not ready, any part of us anything we’re holding onto, will be handled in purgatory. But it’s very important for us to understand that if we end this life out of Grace, if we end this life not living a holy life…we will not be where we expect to be when we leave this life.
That is why preachers preach to be holy and to work hard at being holy and getting rid of anything in our life that stands in our way. And the more we have the harder it will be to be holy. That is why the poor are blessed. That is why the sorrowful are blessed. Not because God wants us all to be poor and sorrowful but being filled with rich things and knowing few sorrows is the hardest way to get to heaven and be holy.
To road to heaven is narrow because few will enter. Most people will be taking the broader path. Because it was easier to do so on this earth. Being holy means always choosing God first and always choosing to love others first. It means emptying ourselves of anything that we are holding onto, as a must have, or can’t let go of thing, or can’t live without. Because the only thing we should hold onto tightly and not be able to live without is Jesus Christ. Holiness is not made in heaven. Holy people do not become holy just because they go to heaven. They were holy here on earth.
We are all called to be saints. God has great plans for each one of us in his kingdom. We have a place, we have fruits that he expects us to provide in this world, works that he expects us to be involved in others.
We are not unimportant to the kingdom of God. In fact, we are required.
Each one of us has a place and a role to play in the salvation of others. So, as we hear, Jesus, talk about the narrow path. As we hear him say, the first will be last and the last will be first, we must understand we are not insignificant or unimportant bystanders or passer buys or someone just going through the motion. That is not what we’ve been born created and molded to be.
We are children of God made in his image and then molded in his image more than ever by our works of mercy and charity, and our prayers and our love for others. Each day we must live purposefully to try and be holier than the day before. We must make progress. We are only on this planet for so long and then it’s over and we will be accountable. We all must go out and be holy for others so we can grow into holiness.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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