“WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED?” JESUS LOOKED AT THEM AND SAID,“FOR MEN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT FOR GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.” MT 19:23-30
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” MT 19:23-30
Jesus reminds us that it is easy to get distracted by our possessions. We cannot take anything with us when we die. Jesus is saying it is difficult for one who has many possessions to enter the Kingdom of God unless they renounce their possessions. The main point is that possessions and human power can never come before Jesus and mean nothing in the next life. What matters in heaven is how much we loved because heaven is a place of love created by a God who is love.
Jesus teaches us to become poor in spirit. We are called to recognize God is big and we are small. We need God, He does not need us. Humility is the greatest weapon against Satan.
Jesus answers Peter by saying their is a reward for giving up possessions or not allowing them to control our lives, eternal life, the heart’s greatest desire. Jesus says it does not matter when we renounce our possessions, early in life or later, He is always waiting with open arms. This cannot be planned obviously. If we make a decision to renounce our possessions later in life and live how we want now, God knows all and He is the Just Judge. It is those who do not know about Jesus or find Him until later in life.
I believe today’s most difficult challenge is our cell phones and game systems. These possessions become time vampires and major distractions to our destination, heaven. Unless we are using them to help us reach heaven because there are many good apps and websites that direct us and inspire us to do good and be holy.
Finally, it is impossible for any human to enter heaven. We must have God’s grace (his very life in us) to make us holy. God’s grace has many avenues: the sacraments, works of mercy, intentional prayer, devotion to the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, Adoration, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, consecration to Jesus’s Sacred Heart through Mary, devotion to the rosary, being a missionary in your home, evangelizing, fiat-your complete yes to God like Mary, Stations of the Cross, stopping at 3PM on Fridays and spending time consoling Jesus’s suffering heart on the cross where His Divine Mercy flows abundantly, offering up your suffering, and many more. Seek out these avenues of grace so the impossible will become possible for your soul and your friendship with Jesus will become so strong that heaven and earth will meet in you.
Today’s challenge: Spend the entire day without your cell phone or playing video games. Can you take this with you when you die? God gave you the power to be in control of the possession not the possession to be in control of you. Take control of your possessions with discipline and self-control. Make Christ the center of your life.
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
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