I will make sure to be faithful in that moment today

by Father James Swanson, LC | Source: Catholic.net

Mark 10:17-30

Introductory Prayer:

I come to you Jesus, my friend and my teacher, so that by listening to you I will discover you more, learn from you more and fully accept the demanding conditions of following you. I love you Lord, and I trust myself entirely to you.

Petition:

Help me, Lord, to accept generously the sacrifices that you ask of me today.

1. A Sincere Question:

Jesus meets a man who wants to do whatever is necessary to obtain eternal life. How do we know this? When Jesus lists off the commandments for him as examples of what he must do to obtain eternal life, he replies that he has observed all of them since his youth. Mark goes on to tell us that, Jesus looking at him, loved him. If the man werenít telling the truth, Jesus would have said so, perhaps jogging his conscience and helping him to see where he still needed to improve in his following of the commandments. Jesus does this with us every day if we are sincere and ask ourselves daily if we are truly doing God's will. He has no qualms in telling us where we are failing and helping us to do better.

2. A Sincere Life:

Apparently this man is telling the truth. He has always made an earnest effort and has been successful in following all that his Jewish faith asks -- at least insofar as he understands Godís Law. Perhaps we wish we could also respond with a clear conscience, I have kept all these. Yet as human beings, we are weak. We can fall at any time. What God expects to see from us is not a life without sin, but that we seek repentance and a quick return to obedience when we do fall. A person who makes light of his sins against God, even in just little things, is destroying his conscience. In contrast, by taking responsibility for our sins, repenting and quickly getting up from our falls, we show our commitment to respect the moral demand of Godís commandments, and we prepare the ground to receive the grace of moral perfection that we cannot achieve by ourselves.

3. But He Can't Step Up:

The man is doing everything that his Jewish faith requires and still he wants to do more for God. He has never refused God anything. Jesus sees he is ready for the next step. He calls him to be an apostle. He calls him to give up everything else in his life and follow him. You would think that since he has never denied God anything, he would be able to say yes to this. But he cannot. It is too much. Although he doesnít realize it, there are things he possesses that he loves more than God. Sometimes we progress in our spiritual life, giving everything that God asks for, until the day he asks for something we aren't prepared to give. Our spiritual life stalls -- sometimes for years -- until we are willing to give what Jesus asks for. Christ calls all people to perfection, to place God above all things. He promises that if we give up our own selves to follow him, he will fill our lives with himself.

Conversation with Christ:

Dear Jesus, I have tried to follow you faithfully.

You know that sometimes it has been a struggle.

Help me to leave my comfort zone.

Help me to give up the other loves that come before you.

Help me to be as generous today as you hope I will be.

Resolution:

What is the moment in which I usually fail God on a Sunday? I will make sure to be faithful in that moment today.

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