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Reflection by Maria Heiden,
St.Padre Pio said, "In our spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backward. It happens as with a boat which always must go ahead. If it stands still, the wind will blow it back."
Have you ever been challenged? I know I love being challenged! And I'm sure we all love to win a challenge too! When I read this gospel, it reminded me of a life changing challenge that I had to face 13years ago, when my husband was diagnosed with cancer, and I was expecting our third child. My husband would go for his operation, two weeks before the delivery of our baby. Like the rich young man in today's Gospel, I was truly challenged with the situation. I felt the Lord asking me to love Him and trust Him, even to the point of letting go of the one person I loved the most in this world. It was not easy! How do we know that we love God with all our hearts and all our minds and all our strength? I think only when we are tested. Like Abraham, are we willing to give up the one thing that we love the most? Or are we, like the rich man, who will go away from the presence of God sorrowful?
We live in a culture today where God must fit into our schedule, to suit our convenience. The concept of how God suits our convenience often manifests in several ways. We tend to personalise our belief or interpret religious teachings in a way that supports our desires, while disregarding or reinterpreting aspects that may challenge our comfort or convenience. Some of us prefer convenient worship! After Covid, we are still struggling to get back to being physically present at church. Online services seem more accessible. Just like the rich young man, we are struggling to make the sacrifice.
So, what is Jesus asking of us?
To put Him FIRST, above everything, and everyone to who we are attached to in this world. Like St.Padre Pio said, we need to advance, or we go backwards. When we surrender to Jesus, when we put Him first, everything else will be added (Mathew 6:33). He will provide the lamb for the sacrifice, just as He brought my husband back to good health. As Jesus said to Peter, every gesture of sacrifice will not go unnoticed, “for the sake of the gospel, who will not be repaid a hundred times over”.
Let us pray for the grace today that the word of God, as in the first reading, which is active and alive, will cut through hearts and reveal to us the areas in our lives today where we have failed to put the Lord FIRST.
