Monday August 19, 2024 - Good News Ministries

Good News Reflections:
Making scripture meaningful to your daily life
by Terry Modica

Perfection means being just like our Creator, living in a state of total and complete unconditional love.

Good News Reflection for:

Monday of the 20th Week of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint John Eudes, priest
August 19, 2024

Today’s Prayer:

Lord, may I not miss Your blessings because I’m clinging to my own plans and preferences. Amen.

IMPROVE YOUR DAY!
Powerful Catholic prayers are available on our YouTube channel.

Today’s Readings:

Ezekiel 24:15-23
Deuteronomy 32:18-21
Matthew 19:16-22
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081924.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-august-19-2024

For the sake of Love

What are you willing to give up for the sake of Love? Or, to put it another way, what are you willing to give up for the sake of Jesus? Since God is Love, it’s the same question.

In today’s Gospel reading, the rich young man walked away from Jesus, unwilling to give to others what God had given to him in abundance. He didn’t really want to be perfected spiritually.

In scripture, “perfection” doesn’t mean doing everything perfectly right all the time. It means being just like our Creator, i.e., living in a state of total and complete unconditional love. Jesus is saying, “If you want to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, love him with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your gifts, all your talents, all your skills, all your time, and all your possessions.”

He is not asking us to take everything we own and sell it in a yard sale, then donate the proceeds to charity. What he is telling us to do is to honor God with all we’ve got and get rid of everything that interferes with Love. The most powerful, successful way to do this is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where we get rid of everything that interferes in our union with God. The Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass and the Sacrament of the Eucharist further unites us to Love.

What are you attached to that prevents greater intimacy with God? Which of the following apply to you?

friendships that slow or reverse your spiritual growth
a job that contributes to your sinful weaknesses
bad attitudes, negative mindsets
a fascination with violence, the occult, or immoral entertainment
the “I’ve got to be right” mentality that puts others down
clinging to money (do you give God 10% of your income as scriptures command?)
possessions you’re not even using that others need
business methods that contradict God’s ways
addictions you have not yet turned over to God the Higher Power
disobeying a Church teaching because you don’t like it
society’s consensus that approves of same-sex marriages and claims that the Bible is wrong about it
(fill in the blank)

Look at what Jesus gave up for the sake of loving you:

a carpentry business (or whatever employment he had)
a safe, familiar home in Nazareth
family and friends in Nazareth
his own preferences for how to spend his time
his freedom
his perfect health
his desire to avoid pain and suffering
his life

For more on this see our WordByte “Financial Detachment – Flying High in the Spirit” @ wordbytes.org/finances/detachment/.

Access more in our new Calendar of Reflections.

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