Monday, March 4, 2019
Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Casimir – Optional Memorial
Jesus olhou para ele com amor e lhe disse: “Só uma coisa te falta: vai, vende o que tens e dá aos pobres, e terás um tesouro no céu. Depois vem e segue-me.” Ao ouvir isso, seu semblante se abateu, e ele foi embora triste, pois possuía muitos bens. Marcos 10,21-22
Há dois pontos importantes a destacar nesta passagem da Escritura. O primeiro é a reação de Jesus, e o segundo é a reação do jovem 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.
Muitas vezes, essa também é a nossa primeira reação. Queremos ser fiéis e queremos seguir Cristo, não importa o que Ele nos peça. Mas, quando recebemos um convite concreto para responder ao seu chamado, nos afastamos com tristeza, pensando que o convite é exigente demais.
Reflita hoje sobre esse jovem rico. Olhe para a sua própria vida e pondere o quanto você está pronto e disposto a dizer “Sim”, de modo total, a tudo o que Jesus lhe pedir. Dizer “Sim”, com espírito de sacrifício, é a melhor decisão que você pode tomar. É, na verdade, aceitar de bom grado a vida mais gloriosa que você pode viver.
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.
Mais reflexões sobre o Evangelho
Reflexões sobre a Divina Misericórdia
Saint of the Day – Saint Casimir
