Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 24, 2025
Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
He will say to you in reply,
‘I do not know where you are from.
And you will say,
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.”
Today’s gospel reveals the difference between human logic and the logic of God. Human logic asks, “What is the minimum I need to do?” while God’s logic requires complete surrender to God’s will. We are content with knowing about God without truly loving God. We exalt those who are first, yet God raises up the last. It is clear, then, that salvation is always on God’s terms, not ours. It is not a one-time event but a lifelong process of cooperating with grace.
This gospel invites us to persevere in the faith. In my own life, I often insist on doing things my way, especially in school, relationships, or even prayer. I tell myself, “I’m too busy to pray or go to daily Mass,” or “There’s not enough time in the day to do everything I need to do.” I overextend myself, trying to do everything, and end up accomplishing less—or nothing. I skip meals, cut out leisure time, and micromanage every moment of the day, thinking this is perseverance. But it is not the perseverance God asks of me.
God calls me to take up the cross intended for me each day, not the one I construct out of anxiety or vainglory. True perseverance means daily trust and surrender. Fortunately, God does not leave us to guess what that looks like. We receive everything we need through the Sacraments. The narrow gate is hard, but it is clear. All we need to do is follow.
One of my favorite Latin hymns encapsulates this surrender: “Non nobis, Domine, non nobis; sed nomini tuo da gloriam.” It translates to, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to your name give the glory.” That is the heart of Christian perseverance: not striving for our own success but for God’s glory.
Prayer
Gracious Lord, we strive to do your will, although we often stumble and fail in our efforts. Help us in our weakness to know the path we should walk, and help us in our journey to find the narrow gate. Grant us, in your great love, the strength to enter into your kingdom where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We ask this in your holy name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
There is a fascinating, roundabout story in how Bartholomew came to be one of the twelve disciples:
Jesus walked by his cousin, John the Baptist, who encouraged two of his own followers to follow Christ. One of those two was Andrew, who went and found his brother, Simon Peter. Andrew and Simon Peter had a friend from their hometown, Philip, so Jesus went there to speak to him. Philip told his friend, Bartholomew, that he had found the messiah, and Bartholomew encountered Jesus for himself and confessed him as the Son of God (John 1).
Isn’t this how human beings work? When we find something important, we recommend it to our friends. In today’s age, we “like” something on Facebook, or “re-tweet” it on Twitter.
As Bartholomew experienced, however, nothing replaces a face-to-face encounter—it was only when he met Jesus for himself that he believed.
Bartholomew’s personal encounter with Christ changed him so fundamentally that he traveled as far as India to tell others about Jesus. He was willing to even die for this faith: he was flayed alive before being beheaded.
Jesus assembled his followers by diving into a network of relationships. He continues to do this today—he continues to call us within the relationships of our own lives. Let us be open to that call from others and respond, as Bartholomew did, by seeking a one-on-one encounter with Christ.
St. Bartholomew is depicted in stained glass in the Morrissey hall chapel; the knives are a sign of his martyrdom (he was skinned alive and beheaded). His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and this illustration of him is held by the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. He is patron of those with neurological diseases, butchers and leatherworkers.
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Bartholomew is always shown accompanying Philip; the name Bartholomew does not appear in the Gospel of John, but tradition holds that he is called Nathaniel in that Gospel because Nathaniel is shown in the company of Philip.
St. Bartholomew, you found Christ through your friends, pray for us!
Luigi Gregori (Italian, 1819-1896), Saint Bartholomew (after Perugino), n.d., black chalk on tracing paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of Luigi Gregori, AA2009.056.297.
