Monday, March 4, 2019
Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Casimir – Optional Memorial
Jesús lo miró con amor y le dijo: «Una cosa te falta: ve, vende lo que tienes y dáselo a los pobres, y tendrás un tesoro en el cielo; luego ven y sígueme». Al oír estas palabras, se le ensombreció el rostro y se fue triste, porque tenía muchos bienes. Marcos 10, 21-22
Hay dos cosas importantes que destacar en este pasaje de la Escritura. La primera es la reacción de Jesús y la segunda es la reacción del joven rico.
Jesus, it says, looked at him and “loved him.” It’s important to be aware of this line as a precursor to what Jesus calls this young man to do. He calls him to give up everything he has, give it all away, and come follow Jesus. And Jesus invited him to do this out of love.
Jesus is inviting this young man to gain much more than he currently possesses. That’s why Jesus looked at him with love before He invited the young man to follow Him in a total and radical way. But, in this case, loving Jesus was going to hurt. It was going to hurt in the sense of his following of Jesus required a total sacrifice of everything. It was total and radical. It was hard, at least from a purely human and worldly standpoint. But Jesus’ love for this young man was so perfect that He was willing to invite him to endure the sacrifice of everything so that the rich man could gain so much more.
We are invited to do the same. No, we may not be called to follow Jesus in the unique and radical way of giving up all our physical possessions. But we are called to follow Jesus to the same degree of trust and abandonment to His divine will. And that will inevitably require sacrifice. Sacrifice to the greatest degree.
Our reaction to Jesus’ call to discipleship is key. How will we respond to this invitation to give completely of ourselves? The rich young man reacted at first with sorrow. He did not accept the invitation Jesus offered. We do not know if he eventually did follow Jesus in this radical and total way, but we do know his first reaction.
Muchas veces, esta es también nuestra primera reacción. Queremos ser fieles y queremos seguir a Cristo sin importar lo que nos pida. Pero cuando recibimos una invitación concreta a responder a su llamado, nos alejamos con tristeza, pensando que la invitación es demasiado exigente.
Reflexiona hoy sobre este joven rico. Mira tu propia vida y pregúntate qué tan preparado y dispuesto estás a decir «Sí» de manera total a todo lo que Jesús te pida. Decir «Sí» con espíritu de sacrificio es la mejor decisión que puedes tomar. Es, en realidad, aceptar libremente la vida más gloriosa que puedes vivir.
Lord, following You at times can seem hard and demanding. It can seem as though it’s too much. Help me, especially in those moments, to trust You more than the many attachments I have in this world. Jesus, I trust in You.
Reflexiones sobre la Divina Misericordia
Saint of the Day – Saint Casimir
