Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 10-12-03

Reading I
Wis 7:7-11

I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

Reading II
Heb 4:12-13

Brothers and sisters:
Indeed the word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.

Gospel
Mk 10:17-30 or 10:17-27

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

or

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."

From: Hebrews 4:12-13

Through Faith We Can Attain God's "Rest" (Continuation)

[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints
and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
[13] And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid
bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Commentary:

12-13. The "word of God", which the text speaks about, probably refers
to Revelation taken as a whole, particularly Sacred Scripture; but it
may also refer to the "Logos" or Word, the second person of the Holy
Trinity. The "word" of God is presented as an expression of God's
power: it is that active word (Genesis 1:3ff; Psalm 33:9) which creates
everything out of nothing. In the Wisdom books we find this word
personified (Sirach 42:15; 43:26; Wisdom 9:1; 18:15; Psalm 148:1-5).
But this living and active word of God is also to be seen in the New
Testament (Galatians 3:8, 22) and in its full and perfect form in
Christ himself (John 1:1; Revelation 9:13).

God's word is also very much at work in Revelation: "In the sacred
books the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children,
and talks to them. And such is the force and power of the Word of God
that it serves the Church as her support and vigor, and the children of
the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure
and lasting fount of spiritual life" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 21).

God's word is consoling and life-giving, but it also inspires fear in
those who try to ignore it. "The word of his truth is hotter and
brighter than the sun, and pierces the very depths of hearts and minds"
(St Justin, "Dialogue with Trypho", 121, 2). The depths of a person's
heart, his deepest thoughts, attitudes and intentions, lie open to
God's all-seeing eye. "What a person does or thinks is expressed in his
actions, but one can never be sure of what motivates his actions. That,
however, is never hidden from God" (St Thomas, "Commentary on Heb.", 4,
2).

The last judgment, which is a hidden backdrop to these words of the
sacred text, calls us to present conversion. "The Apostle of God wrote
this not only for his [immediate] readers but also for us. It behooves
us therefore always to keep that divine judgment before our minds, and
to be full of fear and trembling and to keep God's commandments
faithfully and be ever hopeful of that rest promised us which we shall
attain in Christ" (Theodoret of Cyrus, "Interpretatio Ep. ad Haebreos,
ad loc.").

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Mark 10:17-30

The Rich Young Man

[17] And as He (Jesus) was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and
knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?" [18] And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me
good? No one is good but God alone. [19] You know the commandments:
`Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false
witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" [20] And he
said to Him, "Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth."
[21] And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, "You lack
one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me." [22] At that saying his
countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great
possessions.

Poverty and Renunciation

[23] And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it
will be for those who have riches to enter the Kingdom of God!"
[24] And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them
again, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter
the Kingdom of God!" [25] It is easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." [26] And
they were exceedingly astonished, and said to Him, "Then who can be
saved?" [27] Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible,
but not with God; for all things are possible with God. [28] Peter began to
say to Him, "Lo, we have left everything and followed You." [29] Jesus
said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers
or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the
Gospel, [30] who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and
brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions,
and in the age to come eternal life."

Commentary:

17-18. As Matthew 19:16 makes clear, the young man approaches Jesus as
an acknowledged teacher of the spiritual life, in the hope that He will
guide him towards eternal life. It is not that Christ rejects the
praise He is offered: He wants to show the depth of the young man's
words: He is good, not because He is a good man but because He is God,
who is Goodness Itself. So, the young man has spoken the truth, but he
has not gone far enough. Hence the enigmatic nature of Jesus' reply
and its profundity. The young man's approach is upright but too human;
Jesus tries to get him to see things from an entirely supernatural
point of view. If this man is to really attain eternal life he must
see in Christ not just a good master but the divine Savior, the only
Master, the only one who, because He is God, is Goodness Itself. Cf.
note on Mt. 19:16-22.

19. Our Lord has not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew
5:17). The commandments are the very core of the Law and keeping them
is necessary for attaining eternal life. Christ brings these
commandments to fulfillment in a double sense. First, because He helps
us discover their full implications for our lives. The light of
Revelation makes it easy for us to grasp the correct meaning of the
precepts of the Decalogue--something that human reason, on its own, can
only achieve with difficulty. Second, His grace gives us strength to
counter our evil inclinations, which stem from Original Sin. The
commandments, therefore, still apply in the Christian life: they are
like signposts indicating the way that leads to Heaven.

21-22. Our Lord knows that this young man has a generous heart. This
is why He treats him so affectionately and invites him to greater
intimacy with God. But He explains that this means
renunciation--leaving his wealth behind so as to give his heart whole
and entire to Jesus. God calls everyone to holiness, but holiness is
reached by many different routes. It is up to every individual to take
the necessary steps to discover which route God wants him to follow.
The Lord sows the seed of vocation in everyone's soul, to show him the
way to go to reach the goal of holiness, which is common to all.

In other words, if a person does not put obstacles in the way, if he
responds generously to God, he feels a desire to be better, to give
himself more generously. As fruit of this desire he seeks to know
God's will; he prays to God to help him, and asks people to advise
him. In responding to this sincere search, God uses a great variety of
instruments. Later, when a person thinks he sees the way God wants him
to follow, he may still not take the decision to go that way: he is
afraid of the renunciation it involves: at this point he should pray
and deny himself if the light--God's invitation--is to win out against
human calculation. For, although God is calling, man is always free,
and therefore, he can respond generously or be a coward, like the young
man we are told about in this passage. Failure to respond generously
to one's vocation always produces sadness.

21. "In its precise eloquence", John Paul II points out, commenting on
this passage, "this deeply penetrating event expresses a great lesson
in a few words: it touches upon substantial problems and basic
questions that have in no way lost their relevance. Everywhere young
people are asking important questions--questions on the meaning of
life, on the right way to live, on the scale of values: `What must I
do...?' `What must I do to share in everlasting life?'...To each of
you I say therefore: heed the call of Christ when you hear him saying
to you: `Follow Me!' Walk in My path! Stand by My side! Remain in My
love! There is a choice to be made: a choice for Christ and His way of
life, and His commandment of love.

"The message of love that Christ brought is always important, always
relevant. It is not difficult to see how today's world, despite its
beauty and grandeur, despite the conquests of science and technology,
despite the refined and abundant material goods that it offers, is
yearning for more truth, for more love, for more joy. And all of this
is found in Christ and in His way of life.... Faced with problems and
disappointments, many people will try to escape from their
responsibility: escape in selfishness, escape in sexual pleasure,
escape in drugs, escape in violence, escape in indifference and cynical
attitudes. But today, I propose to you the option of love, which is
the opposite of escape. If you really accept that love from Christ, it
will lead you to God. Perhaps in the priesthood or religious life;
perhaps in some special service to your brothers and sisters:
especially to the needy, the poor, the lonely, the abandoned, those
whose rights have been trampled upon, or those whose basic needs have
not been provided for. Whatever you make of your life, let it be
something that reflects the love of Christ" ("Homily on Boston
Common").

22. "The sadness of the young man makes us reflect. We could be
tempted to think that many possessions, many of the goods of this
world, can bring happiness. We see instead in the case of the young
man in the Gospel that his many possessions had become an obstacle to
accepting the call of Jesus to follow Him. He was not ready to say
"yes" to Jesus and "no" to self, to say "yes" to love and "no" to
escape. Real love is demanding. I would fail in my mission if I did
not clearly tell you so. For it was Jesus--Jesus Himself--who said:
`You are My friends if you do what I command you' (John 15:14). Love
demands effort and a personal commitment to the will of God. It means
discipline and sacrifice, but it also means joy and human fulfillment.

"Dear young people: do not be afraid of honest effort and work; do not
be afraid of the truth. With Christ's help, and through prayer, you
can answer His call, resisting temptations and fads, and every form of
mass manipulation. Open your hearts to the Christ of the Gospels--to
His love and His truth and His joy. Do not go away sad!...

"Follow Christ! You who are single or who are preparing for marriage.
Follow Christ! You who are young or old. Follow Christ! You who are
sick or aging; who are suffering or in pain. You who feel the need for
healing, the need for love, the need for a friend--follow Christ!

"To all of you I extend--in the name of Christ--the call, the
invitation, the plea: `Come and follow Me'" (John Paul II, "Homily on
Boston Common").

23-27. The reaction of the rich young man gives our Lord another
opportunity to say something about the way to use material things. In
themselves they are good: they are resources God has made available to
people for their development in society. But excessive attachment to
things is what makes them an occasion of sin. The sin lies in
"trusting" in them, as if they solve all life's problems, and turning
one's back on God. St. Paul calls covetousness idolatry (Colossians
3:5). Christ excludes from the Kingdom of God anyone who becomes so
attached to riches that his life is centered around them. Or, more
accurately, that person excludes himself.

Possessions can seduce both those who already have them and those who
are bent on acquiring them. Therefore, there are--paradoxically--poor
people who are really rich, and rich people who are really poor. Since
absolutely everyone has an inclination to be attached to material
things, the disciples see salvation as an impossible goal: "Then who
can be saved?" No one, if we rely on human resources. But God's grace
makes everything possible. Cf. note on Matthew 6:11.

Also, not putting our trust in riches means that everyone who does have
wealth should use it to help the needy. This "demands great
generosity, much sacrifice and unceasing effort on the part of the rich
man. Let each one examine his conscience, a conscience that conveys a
new message for our times. Is he prepared to support out of his own
pocket works and undertakings organized in favor of the most
destitute? Is he ready to pay higher taxes so that the public
authorities can intensify their efforts in favor of development?" (Paul
VI, "Populorum Progressio", 47).

28-30. Jesus Christ requires every Christian to practise the virtue of
poverty: He also requires us to practise real and effective austerity
in the possession and use of material things. But of those who have
received a specific call to apostolate--as in the case, here, of the
Twelve--He requires absolute detachment from property, time, family,
etc. so that they can be fully available, imitating Jesus Himself who,
despite being Lord of the universe, became so poor that He had nowhere
to lay His head (cf. Matthew 8:20). Giving up all these things for the
sake of the Kingdom of Heaven also relieves us of the burden they
involve: like a soldier shedding some encumbrance before going into
action, to be able to move with more agility. This gives one a certain
lordship over all things: no longer the slave of things, one
experiences that feeling St. Paul referred to: "As having nothing, and
yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:10). A Christian who sheds
his selfishness in this way has acquired charity and, having charity,
he has everything: "All are yours; you are Christ's; and Christ is
God's" (1 Corinthians 3:22-23).

The reward for investing completely in Christ will be fully obtained in
eternal life: but we will also get it in this life. Jesus says that
anyone who generously leaves behind his possessions will be rewarded a
hundred times over in this life.

He adds "with persecutions" (v. 30) because opposition is part of the
reward for giving things up out of love for Jesus Christ: a Christian's
glory lies in becoming like the Son of God, sharing in His cross so as
later to share in His glory: "provided we suffer with Him in order that
we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17); "all who desire to
live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2 Timothy
3:12).

29. These words of our Lord particularly apply to those who by divine
vocation embrace celibacy, giving up their right to form a family on
earth. By saying "for My sake and for the Gospel" Jesus indicates that
His example and the demands of His teaching give full meaning to this
way of life: "This, then, is the mystery of the newness of Christ, of
all that He is and stands for; it is the sum of the highest ideals of
the Gospel and of the Kingdom; it is a particular manifestation of
grace, which springs from the paschal mystery of the Savior and renders
the choice of celibacy desirable and worthwhile on the part of those
called by our Lord Jesus. Thus, they intend not only to participate in
Christ's priestly office, but also to share with Him His very condition
of living" (Paul VI, "Sacerdotalis Coelibatus", 23).

The Word Among Us

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Meditation
Mark 10:17-30

On Confirmation Day, the teenage candidates waited nervously for the questions the bishop would ask before anointing them with chrism. To their surprise he only asked them to remember one thing: “In regard to the truths of your Catholic faith, which you have learned during your preparation for this sacrament, the most important thing is not knowing these things but in living them out.” He repeated this over and over in various ways: “It’s not in the knowing but in the living it out.”

In his own way, the bishop was repeating the message that Jesus gave the rich young man. The young man knew the moral laws and was always careful to obey them. But Jesus challenged him to go further. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Mark 10:21). We can just imagine how difficult it must have been to hear these words. Mark tells us that the man “went away grieving”—after he experienced Jesus looking at him with great love (10:21-22).

Jesus understands that what he asks his followers to do will be demanding. Discipleship is not always easy. We are called to love the unloving, forgive those who have hurt us, share our goods with those less fortunate, avoid the sinful ways of the world, and honor God in all things. That’s quite a list! Granted, we do have the grace and mercy of God, but we also have to do battle with our fallen nature and stay clear of the allurements of the world.

Jesus knows all of this, and he promises that he will be with us always. But that doesn’t mean he’ll make our problems or the demands of the gospel go away. What it means is that whenever we feel weak, we can find our strength in him. The key—something the rich young man couldn’t accept but that Peter and the other apostles discovered—is to learn how to surrender control of our lives to God. So the next time you find yourself challenged by Jesus’ call, be courageous and take Jesus at his word: “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).

“Jesus, I surrender to you and to your perfect plan for my life. Help me on this journey to do good to others instead of harm and to love you in everything I think and do and say.”

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