Memorial
of Saint Pius X, pope
(Judges
2:11-19; Matthew 19:16-22)
Today’s
gospel gives the impression that one has to become a monk to inherit eternal
life. Indeed, St. Anthony of the desert,
the epitome of hermit monks, did precisely what Jesus prescribes here. But such a reading betrays the tradition of
Christian spirituality.
Christians
have always held that there are many ways to eternal life. Not only monks and nuns are on their way to
salvation. A political leader like St.
Louis of France became a saint as did the Italian doctor Gianna Beretta
Molla. Sanctity requires that one places
God first and foremost and always treats others with love.
The young
man of the gospel receives a literal calling from Jesus to sell everything and
follow him. He must respond to it or be
lost. He goes away sad because like the
seed among thorns, he is strangled by his wealth. However, he is not hopeless. Perhaps in time he will reconsider the call
and became a disciple.
