Page:PracticalCommentaryOnHolyScripture.djvu/622

 The Necessity  of  Grace.  Man,  being  weak  and  sinful,  cannot  possibly keep  the  commandments  and  save  his  soul  of  himself. He requires the assistance  of  God’s  grace.

The Evangelical  Counsels.  The  young  man  had  kept  the  commandments from  his  youth  up;  and  yet  he  did  not  feel  satisfied. He wished to  do  even  more  than  was  commanded,  or  was  absolutely  necessary; in  other  words,  he  wished  to  reach  a higher  state  of  perfection. Our Lord,  seeing  this,  gave  him  this  counsel:  “If  thou  wishest  to  be perfect,  become  voluntarily  poor,  and  follow  Me.”  There  is  no  desire more noble,  or  more  pleasing  to  God  than  the  desire  for  perfection; and as  our  Lord  looked  at  the  young  man,  He  loved  him  for  this yearning of  his  soul.

Resistance of  grace.  The  rich  young  man  was  called  to  a state of perfection  by  the  longing  for  it  which  had  arisen  in  his  heart,  by the  impulse  of  divine  grace,  and  by  our  Lord’s  express  invitation. Had he corresponded  with  grace,  he  would  have  been  a Christian,  a Saint, and perhaps  even  an  apostle  in  the  place  of  Judas. We may  well ask ourselves  what  became  of  him  after  he  resisted  our  Lord’s  gracious invitation, because  of  his  too  great  attachment  to  the  things  of  this world. Does he  now  gaze  in  heaven  on  that  Divine  Face  from  which, on earth,  he  turned  away? The solemn  words  uttered  by  our  Lord as the  young  man  went  away:  “Amen  I say  to  you,  that  a rich  man shall hardly  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven”,  lead  us  to  fear  that, after his  rejection  of  the  invitation  of  Jesus,  he  may  have  lost  all  faith in Him,  and  therefore  all  hope  of  heaven.

Why riches  are  dangerous.  A rich  man  very  easily  grows  proud, and often  uses  his  wealth  as  a means  of  gratifying  his  evil  inclinations. He feels,  moreover,  so  comfortable  and  satisfied  with  his  possessions that he  has  no  desire  for  grace  and  the  treasures  of  heaven. Riches turn a man’s  heart  away  from  the  things  of  God  (see  chapter  XXI). Now the  rich  man  can  avoid  these  dangers  only  by  the  grace  of  God; he must  therefore  pray  fervently,  take  to  heart  the  truths  of  faith, frequent the  Sacraments,  and  use  his  riches  in  the  service  of  God,  in alms-giving  &amp;c.,  if  he  does  not  wish  to  lose  his  soul.

Could you  say  what  the  young  man  said: “All the  commandments  have  I kept  from  my  childhood?”  Against which of  the  commandments  have  you  most  sinned? What is wanting  to  you  now? (See chapter  XLVI.)