Word Of Life

1. Word Of Life February 2010

2. “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture ” (Jn 10,9) .

3. Jesus presents himselfas the one who fulfilsthe divine promisesandthe expectationsof a peoplewhose history is markedby its covenant, whichhas never been cancelled,with its God

4. The idea of the gate is both like and explained clearlyby another image that Jesus used: “I am the way ... No one comes to the Father except through me”. Therefore he is truly a path and an open gateleading to the Father, to God himself.

5. What does this Word of Life mean, practically speaking?

6. There are many thingsthat can be drawn outfrom other Gospel passages related to these wordsin John’s gospel.But from among them let’s choose the one about the ‘narrow gate’ we must strive to go through to enter into life.

7. Why choose this one? Because it seems that perhaps it is the closest to the truth Jesus tells us about himself,the one that bestthrows lighton how to live it.

8. When did Jesus become the gate, flung wide, completely opento the Trinity?In the very momentthe gate of heaven seemed shut to him,he became the gateto heaven for all of us.

9. Jesus forsaken on the cross is the gate through whichthe perfect exchangebetween God and humankind takes place. In making himself nothing, Jesus unites the childrento the Father. He is that emptiness, the space in the gateway, where human beings come into contact with Godand God comes into contact with human beings. So he is at the same time the narrow gate and the gate flung wide, and we can experience this.

10. “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture ” (Jn 10,9) .

11. In his forsakenness on the cross, Jesus becameour access to the Father. His part has been done.But to have the good that comes from so much grace,we must, each one, do our small part, which meansto go up to that gate and pass through it. How?

12. When we are taken aback by disappointment, damaged by traumaor a misfortune coming out of the blue or an illnessthat makes no sense, we can always remember the suffering of Jesus. He in taking on himself all these trials, and a thousand others too,is the personification of them all.

13. Yes, he is present in everythingthat speaks of suffering.Every suffering of ours bears his name. So let’s try, then, to recognise Jesusin every hardship, life’s tough situations, in all the darkness, our personal tragedies and those of others, in the sufferings of humanity around us. They are all him, because he has made them his.

14. It’s enough to say to him, with faith, “You, Lord, are my only good”. It’s enough to do something practical to lessen ‘his’ sufferingsin the poor and the sorrowful, so as to go through the gateand find beyond it a joy never experienced before,a new fullness of life.

15. “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture ” (Jn 10,9) . “Word of Life”, monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. Original text by: Chiara Lubich, April 1999.Graphic design by Anna Lollo incollaboration with Fr. Placido D’Omina (Sicily - Italy) This commentary on the Word of Life is translated in 96 languages, and it reaches millions of people throughout the world through the press, radio, TVand internet – for more information visit www.focolare.orgThis Powerpoint presentation is translated in various languages and is published on www.santuariosancalogero.org