WordOfLife February 2010

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

Jesus presents himself as the one who fulfils the divine promises and the expectations of a people whose history is marked by its covenant, which has never been cancelled, with its God

The idea of the gate is both like and explained clearly by 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 gate leading to the Father, to God himself.

What does this Word of Life mean, practically speaking?

There are many things that can be drawn out from other Gospel passages related to these words in 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.

Why choose this one? Because it seems that perhaps it is the closest to the truth Jesus tells us about himself, the one that best throws light on how to live it.

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

Jesus forsaken on the cross is the gate through which the perfect exchange between God and humankind takes place. In making himself nothing, Jesus unites the children to the Father. He is that emptiness, the space in the gateway, where human beings come into contact with God and 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.

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

In his forsakenness on the cross, Jesus became our 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 means to go up to that gate and pass through it. How?

When we are taken aback by disappointment, damaged by trauma or a misfortune coming out of the blue or an illness that 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.

Yes, he is present in everything that speaks of suffering. Every suffering of ours bears his name. So let’s try, then, to recognise Jesus in 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.

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’ sufferings in the poor and the sorrowful, so as to go through the gate and find beyond it a joy never experienced before, a new fullness of life.

“Word of Life”, monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. Original text by: Chiara Lubich, April Graphic design by Anna Lollo in collaboration 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, TV and internet – for more information visit This Powerpoint presentation is translated in various languagesAnna LolloPlacido D’Ominawww.focolare.org and is published on “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture ” (Jn 10,9).