Monday - February 28, 2022
“Fasting is most intimately connected with prayer. For the mind of one who is filled with food and drink is so borne down as not to be able to raise itself to the contemplation of God, or even to understand what prayer means.”
-Catechism of the Council of Trent
TODAY'S READINGS
MONDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Lectionary: 347
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,
to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet you believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of faith, the salvation of your souls.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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 men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”
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Are you prepared for eternal life?
Is the message in our Gospel reading today a commandment to get rid of our possessions? No. It's the same message we heard earlier in the Gospel when Jesus said: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off." Now Jesus puts it this way: "If your money causes you to sin, get rid of it by giving it to the poor."
The sin that Jesus is addressing is apathy, i.e., the lack of caring. Apathy is when we see a need that we can do something about but choose not to help.
Jesus is responding to the question about how to receive eternal life. Since God is love, heaven is a place of love, and if we die with unrepented apathy, we are disconnected from God and cannot enter heaven. This is why God in his mercy allows us to experience purgatory, which is the state of being purged of all unlovingness.
Notice that when Jesus answers the man's question, he names only the commandments that deal with loving others. In essence, he's asking: Which do you love more: your possessions or people? Let's look more closely at these commandments and put ourselves in that man's sandals.
"You shall not kill" -- Am I harming others by saying no to their needs because I am not willing to be generous with my money or possessions?
"You shall not commit adultery" -- Am I cheating on those who need my attention by working more hours than necessary for the sake of getting more money?
"You shall not steal" -- Am I robbing others of justice by unfairly taking advantage of them to achieve the gains I want? (This includes reproducing copyrighted music and materials and buying goods produced by slave labor conditions.)
"You shall not bear false witness" -- Am I deceiving others by claiming to care about them while really focusing more on my needs, my desires, my financial goals, etc.?
"You shall not defraud" -- Am I disguising myself as a loving person by saying all the right words and doing all the right things for the sake of manipulating others and securing my own comfortable lifestyle at the cost of another person's comfort?
"Honor your father and your mother" -- Am I ignoring the needs of my parents and others who have nurtured me by being too self-centered and unwilling to care for them in their old age?
For us, it is impossible to love at all times, but not for God. All things are possible with God. If we ask the Father for forgiveness and lean on Jesus and seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit, we become more loving. We become more heavenly.
Today's Prayer
Beloved Jesus: Thank You for the trials You permit in my path. They remind me that everything I have is nothing without You. Help me to live in Your Spirit's freedom. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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