Chapter XLVII.
THE DANGER OF RICHES AND THE REWARD OF VOLUNTARY POVERTY.— A PARABLE.
[Mat. 19, 16—30. Luke 18, 18—30; 12, 13 — 34.]
ON one occasion a young man came to Jesus, and, kneeling before Him, said: “Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?” Jesus answered: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked: “Which commandments?” [1] Jesus said to him: “Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness; honour thy father and thy mother; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
The youth replied: “All these I have kept[2] from my youth.” Jesus, knowing that this was true, looked tenderly[3] upon him, and said: “If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven [4]; then come and follow Me.” Hearing these words, the young man went away sorrowful[5], for he was very rich.
Then Peter said: “Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. What therefore shall we have?” And Jesus said to them: “Amen I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the seat of His
- ↑ “Which commandments The young man asked this, because he really wished to know to which of the commandments our Lord’s answer chiefly applied. Our Lord enumerated the last half of the commandments, which treat of our duty to our neighbour, because these were the commandments most frequently transgressed by the Jews.
- ↑ I have kept. “What is yet wanting to me?” he added. He put this question, because his soul had not found full satisfaction in the mere observance of the law, and he felt inwardly drawn by grace to serve God more perfectly.
- ↑ Looked tenderly. Scripture tells us that “Jesus, looking on him, loved him”. It gave Him joy to see this young man’s yearning after a higher perfection, and He sought to encourage him to follow the secret movements of grace.
- ↑ Treasure in heaven. “If you renounce your fortune you will, indeed, be poor in this life, , but you will lay up in heaven a rich treasure of merits."
- ↑ Sorrowful. His heart was too set on his riches to give them up and obey the call of grace, and become a poor disciple of Jesus Christ. Had the young man despised his wealth and followed Jesus, he would now be a Saint in heaven, and even renowned on earth; as it is, we cannot tell whether he died in the grace of God or not.
