Most of us are not compulsive hoarders, and most of us are following the 10 commandments pretty well. The rich young man wasn’t an evil person, it seems he kept many of the commandments, but when Jesus invited Him to a deeper relationship with God, the rich young man rejected the invitation, he failed to see Jesus’ invitation as the pearl of great price worth selling everything you have to obtain. Jesus confronts such a person in the Gospel today, one who has developed a disordered attachment to this things, he has begun to be possessed by his possessions.
For we can all develop a disordered attachment to material things. There are no doubt many psychological factors involved in compulsive hoarding, but often the show challenges the viewer to examine his own life.
In many cases the houses become so unsanitary that children are forced into foster care, or the house is condemned. The show chronicles people whose accumulation and hoarding of material stuff has become so excessive that it is has become difficult to move through the house whole rooms of their house have become inaccessible due to this behavior. We pray to the Lord.Ī few years ago, the Arts & Entertainment channel began airing a show called, “Hoarders”.
The brutal hopelessness of love torrent full#
That young people may have the courage to leave behind the empty promises of the world in order to pursue the things of God, and that the Lord may raise up vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and prepare engaged couples for truly Christ-centered marriages.įor those preparing to enter the Church at Easter: that they will be profoundly blessed in their preparation for full initiation into the Body of Christ. That all families will recommit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness. That the Church will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent. For through our sacrifices and our Lenten practices we show the world the joy of following Jesus Christ, the joy of lives abandoned to the Divine Will of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. Unlike the rich young man who did not realize the value and reward of his sacrifice, let us as Sirach says be generous in our sacrifices, be cheerful, to give with a “spirit of joy” trusting that your Lenten sacrifice will be rewarded, seven, and a hundredfold. Your “generous spirit” Sirach says, “pays homage to the LORD”. Giving up ego, stinginess, resentment, the unguarded tongue, will be rewarded all the more. Giving up chocolate and alcohol and snacking and little earthly pleasures will be rewarded, for sure. As Sirach said today, “The just one's sacrifice is most pleasing, nor will it ever be forgotten.”
What you give up this Lent will echo into eternity. What a wonderful Gospel to reflect upon on the threshold of the great Lenten season in which we are invited to follow Jesus into the desert to practice prayer, fasting, reliance on the providence of the heavenly Father. This great promise is the glory and hope of all who embrace the Gospel. That’s a pretty big promise, but Jesus backs up the promise with his very life: emptying Himself on the cross led to resurrection and exaltation. That everything you give up to follow him will come back to you in abundance. No wonder the rich man went away sad: Jesus was asking him to give up not just possessions, but his security, his position, his ego.Īnd Jesus responds to Peter, “that’s right…put everything at the service of God…your home, your wealth, your time, talent, and treasure, your life.” Even that most important bond of family is to be considered secondary to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.īut then Jesus added a promise. Peter then speaks up, “If you give up everything for the kingdom, you are left-quite literally, with nothing. After the rich young man departs, the disciples were astonished when Jesus spoke of material possessions as an obstacle to the kingdom of heaven. Today’s Gospel is a continuation of this scene. His heart clung to what was earthly, rather than trusting in the Lord to pursue the heavenly. Yesterday, we read how when challenged by Jesus to give up his possessions to come and follow Jesus, the rich young many went away sad.
0 kommentar(er)
