The Catholic Calendar for Sunday, October 15, 2006
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30 or 10:17-27

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

How often you have shopped for hours in store after store for something you really wanted, only to find it in some local shop you should have tried in the first place!

Searching for fulfillment in life is something like that. It’s to be found in the least likely places! Most young people think they’ll find happiness in a job or career that makes “big bucks.” Then, we read about some fabulously wealthy multimillionaire who in despair of finding happiness, ends up attempting suicide. Far happier are the parents who, trusting Providence, raise children in an atmosphere of love and sacrifice. Their carpets may be worn at the edges, but not their hearts. Rather than riches, they have sought and found wisdom (first reading), and so have entered into “the Lord’s rest” (second reading).

One of the characters in the Gospels, with whom we moderns can easily identify, is the “rich young man” who goes away sad. Jesus made him an amazing offer—eternal life—and he turned it down! Why? Because he just couldn’t give up his fancy sports car and his bulging bank account in exchange for a less comfortable life of discipleship. Like so many young and not-so-young people in our society, he couldn’t make a commitment to spiritual wealth—God’s wisdom. It would involve living for others, serving people without power or status. Because he couldn’t make the leap of faith, he chose to remain bound to a life of anxious seeking for what he could see and feel. You can’t take it with you!

If we had to give up something we cherish in order to grow closer to Christ, would we be strong enough to let go? This Sunday’s Word of God is challenging us to seek and accept the gift of Wisdom, and so enter into the joy of living with peace of mind and heart.

Msgr. Paul Whitmore
(pwhitmore29 at yahoo dot com)