"By their entrances..."

and their exits you shall know them."  So runs the old theatrical maxim about actors.  There was a time when the same could have been said about the doors and doorways to our homes: the key in the door all day, doors left open even.  Those days are long gone, and the welcome to callers is of necessity more wary.

Where once the welcome was on the mat, perhaps we prefer that our doorways nowadays are more muted in the message they give.

In giving Peter the keys of the kingdom the Lord in a sense made him the doorway.  Peter wearing his heart on his sleeve, strong, fervent, full of faith; certainly not behind the door where conviction is concerned.

What does my doorway say to those who pass by ?  More importantly what kind of doorway am I, and could the Lord entrust me to be a key that opens to others a way to light and life and love ?

Fr. Eamon Devlin, CM

24th August, 2008