As I ponder today’s Gospel (Mark 10,17-27), my heart is drawn to “the rich man”, being rich in attachments to the things that keep him  from attaining full acceptance to what our Lord is calling him to do, and be.

Where is your “wealth”? “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other, or you and despise the other. You can not serve God and wealth.” Is it the amount of prestige we receive from others? Is it in our attachments to that prestige we receive? Is it in the friends and colleges we have attachments to, so to build up these “treasures” for ourselves in this life? As one addresses what they consider to be “wealth”, it also becomes clear, that we do not see very clearly, that our Lord should be our desire. “But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.”

Listen to this statement: “I’ve been a Roman Catholic my entire life”.

Now this from today’s Gospel: “And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.’

What a common chant of mine from my youth, without having any serious understanding of what it actually meant to be Roman Catholic, and to live the faith, daily as our Lord was calling me to do.

It becomes obvious, hearing it today, that just because one processes to be one, it does not necessary mean, one knows what it means to be Roman Catholic nor does one seek to look deeper into understanding all one can of the faith they profess to be. Why? Because we are often so rich in worldly attachments that we make excuses not to seek the kingdom of God first. We place our Lord last on our list of “things to do”, when He should always come first. As we heard in yesterdays Gospel:“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other, or you and despise the other. You can not serve God and wealth.”

What are you “attached” to, that is keeping you from seeking Him first, placing Him first and keeping Him first?

Sell it. Meaning, get rid of everything you are attached to, pulling you away from our Lord..