Will Only Few be Saved?

SHARING MY SUNDAY REFLECTION (LUKE 13: 22-30)
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"

The tone in today's Sunday reading sounds pessimistic in a sense because it contradicts the optimists notion of "universal salvation". For how can an all-merciful Lord allow souls not to be saved. But looking at the other side of the coin, I would opine that Jesus our Lord has good reasons for saying that the door to heaven is fraught with difficulties, many strive to enter, but in the end only a few would make it. Here, I think the Lord would like to remind us of our personal responsibility. God saves, He forgives, but we need to cooperate with Him with the assent of our free will. As free agent of our wills, we are not robots but we need to make our own decisions. Often the most agonizing part of being human is that we are endowed with freedom and making a choice is not easy. But no matter how difficult we need to make that decision. Our human frailty often causes us to commit mistakes in the way we make our decisions. But if we believe in God we can rest assured that his grace [unmerited favour] will suffice to guide us and to strengthen our faltering wills. Faith is the key that will open to us this possibility. Only we need to make that firm commitment. As I reflect on the changes in the translations of the liturgy several years ago during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, I think the Holy See made the correct move in revising the translation of PRO MULTIS from "for all" to "for many". The correct translation is "for many". Either use of the translation will have implications to meaning. The former one could be erroneously be mistaken by some that everyone will be saved, so it can encourage presumption on the part of the unrepentant sinner. While the latter translation, which is the correct translation, affirms the universal efficacy of Christ's sacrifice and yet unequivocally affirms the responsibility of the believer. This means that the merits of the sacrifice of Christ will only be appropriated to by those who believe and accept it. In another instance I heard a priest use the phrase: "The Lord is with you..." rather than the text: "The Lord be with you...". I do not know where this priest got his permission to change the words in the text of the mass. The use of the former implies that the Lord is with everyone but it can be mistaken as a form of encouragement to the unrepentant. While the latter, which is the correct form, is telling every one in the congregation that the Lord is with the repentant believer, but is not with those who persists in sin and have no decision to repent. I think that the words of the liturgy are very important. Thus a correct translation is necessary too. But the point of my reflection is that salvation is a matter of choice and a great gift too. May God give us the grace to follow Him. Amen. - Blessed Sunday to Everyone.