Growing up in the Catholic school system, I remember hearing this gospel passage and feeling a bit troubled by the image of a “fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” That intensity of a final judgment was impressionable upon a young mind.

But, years of experience later, I’m drawn less to the intensity of the fire and more to the inclusive invitation of Jesus. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.”

If Jesus were to look at the nets we cast each day, would he see that same inclusive spirit? Do the communities and groups within which we work, socialize, and worship reflect a diversity that results from that same intentional invitation of Jesus?

When my family lived in the Netherlands for several years, our Catholic church in The Hague hosted more than 75 nationalities, many different walks of life that we had never experienced.

Much of the diversity was due to the international organizations headquartered in the area. However, it was primarily attributable to the authentic invitation and inclusive spirit that the Dutch pastor, Fr. Sjaak, extended to everyone who walked through the church doors. From the embassy elites to the refugees and homeless, never before had the universal aspect of our Catholic faith felt stronger.

Fr. Sjaak often reminded us that the celebration of Holy Communion (common union) goes hand in hand with community (common unity).

That unity and desire to find and foster community in unexpected ways around us—that intentional invitation that we extend to others whose paths seem so different from ours—will benefit us most when that moment of separation between the wicked and the righteous ultimately arrives.