But they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

luke 9:53

Luke 9:51-56

Reflection

Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem and sends messengers ahead of him. They enter a Samaritan village but are not welcomed because the destination is Jerusalem. James and John ask Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven, but Jesus rebukes them and they travel to another village.

Jesus’ destination was Jerusalem; our final destination is the heavenly Jerusalem. While he was not accepted in the Samaritan town because of this, we will also not always be welcomed by others due to our earthly goal. Most everyone wants to go to heaven, but there is much evil and evil people who will try to stop you from doing so.

We may experience some type of persecution because we strive to be holy and virtuous people, living out our Christian faith. We may not be welcomed by certain individuals because of our faith or faced with evil circumstances that try to stop us from doing the right thing. In all these various trials, we can turn to Christ for courage and strength. He is on our side, wanting us to get to heaven to be united with him. Pray for the fortitude needed to persevere through this pilgrimage on earth.

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Saint of the Day

St. Jerome: died AD 420

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” St. Jerome