Lovesick Souls

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled... Jesus

 

St. John of the Cross quoted one verse more than any other, "Narrow is the road that leads to eternal life and few are those who find it." Eternal life, according to Jesus, is to know Him and the One Who sent Him. The narrow road is where this "knowing" takes place. It's a hilly, winding, long, and treacherous road. What happens on this road? Prayer, the Sacraments, faith, works of mercy, various crosses, peace, joy, hope, love, trust, dying to self, giving everything away, abandonment, devotion to the Sacred Heart, waiting, helping others, humility, humility, humility, a deep abiding hunger. "Wide is the road that leads to destruction, and many are those who find it." The wide road? Sin, pride, ego-drama, chasing the almighty dollar at the expense of everyone around you, drunkenness, greed, bitterness, sloth, anger, relativism, idols, the worship of comfort, shallowness, and a sense of satisfaction with things. The example we have in the Saints of the Church teaches us about the narrow road and what it is that keeps us crawling, walking, and running on it. In these lives you find one driving characteristic, hunger. A hunger for a deeper knowing of and affection for the King. In every age, from the 2nd century with Justin Martyr to the 20th with Mother Teresa, these people were starving for more and more and more of Jesus! Our souls are lovesick for our Beloved alone, and everyone or anything else won't do! To be filled more and more with Him is our hope and eternal life, and for 2000 years, the narrow road has never grown even a little bit wider.

 

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