MONDAY, AUGUST 19TH 2024.

TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B. FIRST READING

“Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign,’ according to all that he has done you shall do.”

EZEKIEL 24: 15 – 24

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man; behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of mourners.” So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded. And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do `as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of mourners. Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another. Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.”’_*The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM*__Deuteronomy 32: 18 – 19, 20, 21 (R.) 18b

R/. You forgot God who gave you birth.

You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.The Lord saw it, and spurned them, because of the provocation of hissons and his daughters. *R/.*And he said, “I will hide my face from them,I will see what their end will be,for they are a perverse generation,children in whom is no faithfulness.” *R/.*“They have stirred me to jealousy with what is no god;they have provoked me with their idols.So I will stir them to jealousy with those who are no people;I will provoke them with a foolish nation.” *R/.*_*GOSPEL ACCLAMATION*_ Matthew 5: 3Alleluia. _Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven._ Alleluia.GOSPEL        _“If you would be perfect, sell what you possess, and you will have treasure in heaven.”__*MATTHEW 19: 16 – 22*_At that time: Behold, one came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And he said to him “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honour your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions._*The Gospel of the Lord.

GOSPEL REFLECTION: Perfection

August 19, 2024__“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. (Matthew 19:21–22)_This is the conclusion to the conversation that Jesus had with a rich young man who came to Him and asked, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus went on to tell him to keep the commandments. The young man said he has done so from his youth and wanted to know what else he could do. So Jesus answered his question. But the answer was more than the young man could accept.“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Do you want to be perfect? If so, then Jesus has set a high bar for such a goal. It seems that many followers of Christ are okay with simply being okay. In other words, it seems that it is rare to find a person who is wholeheartedly committed to perfection. Many may have good intentions, but it seems that there are few who fully commit themselves to all it takes to truly obtain the perfection to which we are all called. It’s interesting to note that Jesus’ initial response to this rich young man explained the requirements for entering eternal life, that is, the minimal requirement for obtaining Heaven. Simply put, Jesus said that if you refrain from serious sin by keeping the commandments, then you will inherit eternal life. Of course, that also presumes that you have the gift of faith and are thus open to the gift of salvation. So is that what you are content with? Are you satisfied with doing the minimum it takes to get to Heaven?The idea of perfection can appear to be beyond us. Too often we can think, “I’m only human.” But as a human who is called by God, we are invited to work toward the obtainable goal of greater holiness. Though we will always fall short, we must strive to become as holy as we can, holding nothing back.Though the invitation given to this young man to “go, sell what you have and give to the poor” is not a requirement that our Lord places on everyone, He does call some to do this literally. But for everyone else, the invitation still remains—but in a spiritual sense rather than a literal sense. This is the spiritual call to interior poverty of spirit. Everyone of us is called to be interiorly detached from the things of this world in a complete way, even though we retain our possessions. We must have as our single possession the love of God and the service of His will. This depth of spiritual detachment means that God and His holy will is all we desire in life. And if He ever were to call us to literally give everything up, we would do it without hesitation. And though that may seem extreme, it is, in fact, exactly what will benefit us the most. It is the only way to become fully human and fully the person we were meant to be. And the end reward is not only the attainment of Heaven but an incomprehensible amount of glory in Heaven. The holier we become here on earth, the greater will our eternal reward be in Heaven. Do not hesitate to do all you can to build up that treasure that will be with you forever.https://youtu.be/rYo_mCi3MTQ?si=FknD2T6AMOZFDX2x*Reflect,* today, upon the high calling to perfection given to you by God. Ask yourself in a very sincere way whether or not you are simply okay with being okay or if you want so much more. Do you want the greatest riches in Heaven? Do you want your eternity to be one in which the spiritual treasures you build up now are with you forever? Do not hesitate to accept this high calling from Jesus. Allow His invitation to this rich young man to echo within your heart as His personal invitation to you, also. Say “Yes” to Him and know that you will be eternally grateful you did.*PRAYER:*_My loving Lord, You invited the rich young man to strive for perfection. You also invite me and all Your children to this holy and high calling. Give me the grace I need to detach from all that hinders this goal so that I can make You and Your holy will the central and only goal of my life. Jesus, I trust in You.