Monday August 16, 2021 - Twentieth week of Ordinary Time - Blessed are the poor in heart, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 19, 16-22

A wealthy young man comes to Jesus to ask him for the key to eternal life. Jesus responds to him with the teaching which is already recommended by the Laws, namely, love for neighbors. Because love for neighbor reflects our love for God. And Saint John confirms this: "He who does not love his brother, whom he sees, is incapable of loving God, whom he does not see".

Loving his neighbor is nothing new for this young man, he even claims to have observed him since his childhood. But Jesus, adds to this, that to achieve perfection, he must sell all his goods and leave them to the poor, so that he has treasure in heaven. For the young rich, that's too much to ask of him. He preferred to keep his goods instead of conforming to the word of Jesus, which is nothing other than the expression of the will of God. So, in order to aspire to perfection, we must love God above all else and put his will above all else, although this can cost us all of our riches which often stand in the way of perfection.

Here one could say without question that the young man is in search only of eternal life and not of God. He keeps the commandments and the laws so as not to perish, but he forgets the essential: the observance must be done with love. It is imperative to give up the life of this world in order to access eternal life, that is to say to let go of all its fetters.

Jesus, may we follow you to perfection and thus deserve to inherit eternal life.