Saint Antony, Abbot
Wednesday of week 2 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 19:16-26
“But when the young man heard these words, he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth”. Today we are celebrating the feast of St. Antony, the originator of the monastic life. Born in Egypt, he listened to the words of the Gospel and gave all his belongings to the poor. He went to the wilderness and began a life of penitence, living in absolute poverty, praying, meditating, and living by manual work. Why he sold everything and went to the desert? Because he understood the words of Jesus we read in the Gospel of today. ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ Giving up everything one has makes the disposition to welcome Jesus into his or her life The young man went away sad because he cannot think about something bigger than his wealth. More than that, he lacks faith because the greatest challenge in selling everything we have is our thought about after the sales. When I have nothing, how do I live? This fear can be overcome only in the total faith in the Lord. Because what we can gain from selling everything, we have will enable us to enter into a relationship with Jesus. This relationship relativizes everything. Let’s reflect: The faith in Jesus must help us to overcome our fear in selling everything to follow Him.
Wednesday 17 January
