August 21, 2023
Monday for Week 20 for Ordinary Time
Readings for Today
Listen for English
“If you want to dey perfect, go, sell wetin you get and give di poor, and you go get treasure for heaven. After dat, come follow Me.” When di young man hear dis word, e go away with sorrow, because e get plenty property. Matthew 19:21–22
Na so di talk between Jesus and one rich young man end. Di young man come meet Jesus and ask, “Teacher, which good thing I must do to gain eternal life?” Jesus tell am make e keep di commandments. Di young man talk say e don dey do so since e young, and e want know wetin else e fit do. So Jesus answer im question. But di answer pass wetin di young man fit accept.
“If you want to dey perfect, go, sell wetin you get and give di poor, and you go get treasure for heaven. After dat, come follow Me.” You want to dey perfect? If na so, Jesus don set high standard for dis goal. E be like say plenty people wey dey follow Christ dey satisfied as long as dem just dey manage do well. For another way to talk am, e be like say to find person wey give im whole heart to becoming perfect no common. Plenty people fit get good intention, but e be like say na few people dey give demself completely to everything wey e go take to truly reach di perfection wey God dey call all of us to.
E good to note say di first answer wey Jesus give dis rich young man explain wetin person need to enter eternal life, dat is, di least wey person must do to reach Heaven. To put am simply, Jesus talk say if you stay away from serious sin by keeping di commandments, you go inherit eternal life. Of course, dis one still mean say you don receive di gift of faith and your heart dey open to di gift of salvation. So, na only dat one you dey satisfied with? You dey satisfied to do only di least wey e go take to reach Heaven?
To dey perfect fit look like wetin pass our power. Plenty times, we fit think say, “Na only human being I be.” But as human beings wey God don call, E dey invite us to work towards greater holiness, and na goal wey we fit reach. Even though we no go always reach di mark, we must do our best to dey as holy as we fit, without holding anything back.
Even though di invitation wey Jesus give dis young man to “go, sell wetin you get and give di poor” no be requirement wey our Lord put for everybody, E dey call some people to do am exactly like dat. But for everybody else, di invitation still dey—but for spiritual sense, no be to actually sell everything. Na spiritual call to poverty of spirit deep inside our heart. God dey call every one of us make we completely free our heart from attachment to di things of dis world, even if we still keep our property. Di only thing wey we must hold as our own na love of God and service to His will. To free our heart from attachment reach dis level mean say na only God and His holy will we desire for life. And if E ever call us to actually give up everything, we go do am without delay. Even though dat one fit look like wetin too much, na exactly wetin go benefit us pass. Na di only way to become fully human and fully become di person wey God mean make we be. And di reward for di end no be only to reach Heaven, but also glory for Heaven wey plenty pass wetin our mind fit understand. Di more holy we become here for earth, di greater our eternal reward go be for Heaven. No hold back from doing everything wey you fit do to gather dat treasure wey go dey with you forever.
Today, reflect on di high calling wey God give you to dey perfect. Ask yourself with all sincerity whether you dey satisfied to just dey manage do well, or whether you want far more than dat. You want di greatest riches for Heaven? You want make di spiritual treasures wey you dey gather now dey with you throughout eternity? No hold back from accepting dis high calling from Jesus. Let His invitation to dis rich young man continue to sound inside your heart as His personal invitation to you too. Tell Am “Yes” and know say you go dey grateful forever say you do so.
My loving Lord, You invite di rich young man make e strive to dey perfect. You still invite me and all Your children to dis holy and high calling. Give me di grace wey I need to free my heart from everything wey dey block dis goal, so dat I fit make You and Your holy will di centre and di only goal of my life. Jesus, na You I trust.
Novena to Saint Monica
(Dem dey pray am especially for children wey don go astray)
August 18-26
More Reflections on the Gospel
Reflection Dem about God im Mercy
Meditations on Scripture for Ordinary Time
Saint for Today – Saint Pius X, Pope
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