Sirach 17:20-24, Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7, Mark 10:17:27
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Sirach 17:20-24
It is impossible to hide our sins from You my Beloved. You see everything, You know all things.
If we truly understood how You look upon our sharing of the good things that You have bestowed upon us, if we shared with a glad and generous spirit - we would see how precious and lovable we become in Your sight. Your reward is eternal and You will bless those who have been liberal with the gifts You have given them.
Those who repent and are contrite, those who come home with hearts rend in shame and sorrow for sin, You will forgive and fill once more with grace and hope.
Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7
My Beloved every time we approach the confessional and confess our sins, You will wash away our guilt and wipe away our iniquity. Once forgiven our sins are removed as far away from us as east from west and all that we experience is the ocean of Your tenderness and mercy.
Sin hidden and unconfessed festers like a sore and its effects pollute our entire spiritual, mental and physical life. But when I say to You, "Lord I have sinned, pity me, forgive me, help me overcome my weakness, You hasten to help me, forgive me and take away my guilt and shame. Thank You my Beloved.
Mark 10:17:27
My Beloved, the rich man had heard of You, he knew You were at a certain place, he made arrangements to travel so he could see you. Having heard that You were about to leave he made haste in case You left before he got there and having found You, he ran up to You eagerly and paid homage and respect by kneeling before You. Then he asked the all important question that everyone ought to ask at some point in their lives, "Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?" Of course You are good because You are God but the rich man had to make that discovery for himself and not call You good on hearsay. This declaration had to come from conviction and faith. That is why You spoke to him as You did concerning Yourself - none but God is good.
After telling him the obvious that he had to keep the commandments, the man replied, that he had kept them all since his childhood. You know he spoke the truth because You held his gaze lovingly in Your own and were ready to take him a step further in discipleship. "You lack one thing, the only thing that weighs you, possesses you, chains you enslaves you. If you desire true liberation in order to serve God with the freedom that comes from not being possessed by anything or anyone, go sell all You have, give the money to the poor and you will gain for yourself an eternal reward. Finally after setting yourself free you can set yourself on the path to perfection. If you heed my invitation and come follow Me - it will then be with a truly undivided heart.
Poor, poor, rich man. He lost the opportunity to be Your disciple because he refused the challenge. Mediocrity was his lot and although it brought him no joy, since we are told that he went away sad for he was a man of great wealth, his attachment to his possessions was such that he was a slave to it. He was never to know the joy that comes from being a true disciple.
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