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 &c., if he does not wish to lose his soul.
Application. 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.)
