"There are no privileged persons" for eternal life: it was said yesterday by Benedict XVI, before introducing the Angelus prayer from Castel Gandolfo. The cue to the Pope’s reflection was yesterday’s Gospel, which offered an "enlightening as well as baffling word of Christ". As a matter of fact, in replying to a man in "His last rise to Jerusalem", Jesus explains that to save oneself one should choose to enter through the "narrow door". "What does this narrow door mean? Why can’t many people enter it? Is it maybe a special passage for the chosen few?", wondered the Holy Father, who noticed: "Actually this way of reasoning by Jesus’ interlocutors, if we really look into it, is still relevant: the temptation to look at the religious custom as a source of privileges or certainties is always in ambush". Actually, he added, "Christ’s message means just the opposite: everyone can enter life, but the door is narrow for everyone. There are no privileged persons. The passage to eternal life is open to everyone, but it is narrow because it is exacting, it requires commitment, self-sacrifice, the mortification of one’s selfishness". Therefore, "the salvation that Jesus put in place through His own death and resurrection is universal". (continued)
