Once you let go of the world (Sr. Joan Chittister / Bishop Robert Barron)

Life is a journey whose endpoint
is always a stretch away.
The more we have, the more we grasp.
And then the realization dawns:
Even if we have gained
everything worth having in life,
none of those things will ever
satisfy the emptiness within.

 --Sr. Joan Chittister 

    [In Sunday’s] Gospel, the Lord explains why it’s hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Don’t think in terms of some specific measurement of wealth. Think in terms of a frame of mind. A rich person is convinced that joy will come from filling up the ego. 

    So Peter asked: "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?" And Jesus replied, "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." It’s so important to note that this is not a sort of capitalist calculation: just make a good investment and you’ll get a spectacular return; you’ll have all the houses and money you want. 

    Once you let go of the world in a spirit of detachment, once you remove the things of this world from your grasp and see them without distortion, you will really have them. They will appear as they are, as God intended them. They will no longer be objects for your manipulation or possession but beautiful realities in themselves. 

--Bishop Robert Barron,
 Gospel Reflection, August 17, 2021 

Image source: School of G. Hoffman, Jesus Christ with a Rich Man, https://asanefaith.com/what-must-i-do-to-inherit-eternal-life/
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