Monday, March 4, 2019
8th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
Sirach 17:20-24
Gospel: Mark 10:17-27
Just as Jesus was setting out on his journey again, a man ran up, knelt before him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat, honor your father and mother.” The man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.”
Then Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him and he said, “For you, one thing is lacking. Go, sell what you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.” On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”
They were more astonished than ever and wondered, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked steadily at them and said, “For humans it is impossible, but not for God; all things are possible with God.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
There was nothing bad in the rich young man being admitted to the band of disciples along with his priced properties. The financial gain of the group would have been legitimate source of funding for their missionary activities. But detachment occupied higher place in Jesus’ ladder of values. And so he told the man to sell everything he had and give the proceeds to the poor.
The rich young man apparently valued comfort more. That is why he went away sad. “Man”, wrote Adam Smith, “is a convenient-seeking organism; he will always find ways to comfort himself”. Is detachment impossible to attain? Not if one wants to have total freedom for God! Experience tells us that it is difficult to be totally for God while wallowing in material abundance. Detachment is all about freedom from material greed in order to be free for God.
One’s detachment quotient (DQ) is equal to “freedom for” God, divided by “freedom from” material greed. The formula is DQ = Ffor/Ffrom x 100. The formula assigns Ffrom the value of 100 since Jesus demands total detachment from followers. When Ffor is also 100 because the desire for God is total, the formula yields one hundred percent detachment. But when Ffor is lower than 100, the ratio yields a fraction, resulting to a detachment quotient of below one hundred percent.
For one to attain the level of detachment required by Jesus, he only needs to intensify his love for God. – (Atty.) Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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