GOSPEL
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 10, 17-27
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.”
The word of the Lord.
Hanging by a thread.
A dove cannot fly, whether tied by a thread or a thick cord. Conjugal love demands the entirety of the person, and the Lord wants my soul to soar, to be free in order to surrender. The rich young man couldn’t fly; he lacked one thing: giving up his riches. What is stopping me from being an authentic Christian spouse? What is hindering me from fully committing in my marriage? The Lord’s words will always echo in our ears: “You lack one thing.” Could it be my pride? My soul cannot fly because it hangs by a thread. I don’t fully surrender because I want to hold onto something of myself, as if it belongs to me, yet I must not forget that I was bought by the Blood of Christ.
Applied to married life:
Marriage Coach: What prevents or prevented you from fully surrendering to each other?
Laura: My husband lacks faith, making our relationship impossible.
Ramón: I come home late from work, and by the time I arrive, my wife is already asleep. But I can’t come home earlier as I might lose my job.
Lucía: He doesn’t understand me.
Jaime: We don’t have time to pray together and dedicate ourselves to our relationship.
Alicia: He’s too dependent on his mother, and she’s always meddling.
Andrés: He can’t forgive the wrong I did.
Paula: I can’t stand him lying to me.
Javier: She’s very aggressive and says hurtful things to me.
Marriage Coach: We are unable to love in each of those situations because “one thing is lacking” for us to be Christian spouses. Christian spouses are those who love like Christ in His Passion. Did His Wife have faith? Did she treat him well? Did she appreciate his sacrifice? Was she his priority?
Mother,
Show me the beauty and grandeur of love so that I desire nothing else. May my desire always be the will of God. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.