Memorial of Saint
Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church
(Ezekiel 24:15-23; Matthew 19:16-22)
In today’s gospel Jesus calls the rich young man to a rich
spiritual life. He invites him to go
beyond the basics of keeping the commandments.
He wants him to be “’perfect as (his) heavenly father is perfect.’” The young man must dispossess himself of his
riches and walk with the poor man Jesus.
It may seem like a hard row to hoe, but the man has asked for the
formula for eternal life!
St. Bernard not only lived this “body and soul”
spirituality but, like Jesus, called others to it. As abbot he regularly warned monks about
satiating the palate with delicacies and pampering the flesh with fur. But he also recognized that holiness is more
a matter of sacrifice of spiritual excess than of material excess. Pride can be a greater temptation than gold. Sloth may prove a larger pitfall than “surf
and turf.”
Jesus does not call all of us to religious observance but
he does invite everyone to sanctity. We
must deny ourselves in order to love God and neighbor. We cannot live for power, pleasure, or
prestige. Rather we must sacrifice these
ego-gratifying glories to serve others. Doing
so, we will be beneficiaries of God’s eternal glory.
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