“It is foolish to hold tightly to material possessions. We do not own them, but they can own us.”

“Our possessions are not ours - God has given them to us to cultivate, that we may make them fruitful and profitable in His Service, and so doing we shall please Him.” St Francis de Sales

Gospel Text: (MT 19:16-22)
A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.

Now, what if the man had not walked away sad but instead admitted that he couldn’t do this on his own? Surely Jesus would have embraced him and rejoiced that he was opening his heart to God.

Perhaps you have wondered what acceptable thing you can do to gain salvation. Maybe you are trying to be a better person, with varying degrees of success, and wondering whether you’re going to make it.

But Jesus is simply standing before you and asking you to do just one thing: “Follow me” (Matthew 19:21). Whatever it is that may be holding you back, let it go. The rich young man was too tied to his possessions. What are you too attached to?

Try your best to lay it before the Lord and ask him to help you let go of it. Then just follow him. Don’t look back. Just keep looking forward. Take the next step. And the next step. And the one after that. Soon enough, you’ll find yourself running after him, free and clear.