YOU LACK ONE THING…

THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS.

Sirach 44:1,10-15

1 Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations.
10 And there are some who have no memorial, who have perished as though they had not lived; they have become as though they had not been born, and so have their children after them.
11 But these were men of mercy, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
12 their prosperity will remain with their descendants, and their inheritance to their children’s children.
13 Their descendants stand by the covenants; their children also, for their sake.14 Their posterity will continue for ever, and their glory will not be blotted out.15 Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name lives to all generations.

Mark 10:17-21

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'”
20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.”
21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  

MEDITATION

THE PROPHET SIRACH implore his community to memorialize and celebrate the life and death of the Father’s of their faith, who were well-known righteous men of valor who sacrificed their lives for the greater good of their descendents. 
The author posits that the sacrifices of these men were meritorious in that their works of mercy transcend time and benefits their childrens children.

St MARK RECORDS the story of a young man who hastily interrupted Christs journey to establish the necessary moral and religious requirements that a believer aught to comply with to attain eternal salvation.The young man recognized Jesus’ authority when he knelt before Him, however his flattering remark (v18) that preceded his question was immediately rebutted by Jesus. Our Lords seemingly negative response does not negate His divine sanctified state. Properly understood, Jesus exposed the ulterior motive of the man and defer the accolade to the Father who is the ultimate completion of perfection and holiness!

Disordered acts such as; murder, adultery, theft, false statements, fraud, disrespectful behavior towards ones parents, greed and selfishness are immoral actions that are indicative of a dysfunctional moral compass. This battery of disordered behaviors dispel the flattering protestant “once saved always saved” dogma that is devoid of a philosophical moral judgement! Since Christ Jesus is God incarnate, you and I cannot fool Him in any way shape or form. Unless we revisit; change our deficient selfish way of life and replace it with meritorious works of grace towards the poor that is currently lacking, our salvation will be  shipwrecked and any memory of us will be shortlived or be instantly forgotten.

LET US PRAY: Psalms 24:1-6The earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein; 2 for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Author. Henry R SYLVESTER 
Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.