Daily Gospel Reflection for August 18, 2025

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

What good must I do to gain eternal life?

It’s a loaded question, and suggestive of a quid pro quo approach to faith. If I do this, then I get that. It doesn’t work that way.

The young man in today’s Gospel was probably earnest when he asked Jesus what he had to do to attain eternal life. But Jesus, as usual, asks a probing question to get the young man to think about his request. The exchange doesn’t go well for the young man, who learns that to be a follower of Christ requires sacrifice. When Jesus tells the young man that more than obeying the commandments, he should also sell everything he owns to follow Him, the stark reality of the commitment, and the sacrifice that entails, ends the man's hope.

Perhaps the young man wasn’t ready in that moment. I don’t think I am ready to hear that, either. To sell everything, literally, flies against those things I strive for as a mother. I want to provide a safe and comfortable home for my family, feed them well, provide basic necessities like healthcare and educational opportunities. How could Jesus be asking me to give up all these things? It seems at odds with my vocation as wife and mother.

We, like the young man, are caught up in what Jesus says at the end: “if you wish to be perfect.”

Oh.

Jesus does answer the young man that to attain eternal life he must keep the commandments. However, to do so perfectly, he must sell everything and give to the poor. I think I understand. Jesus has already given us the means of eternal life. In order to follow him more perfectly, we need to be detached from earthly things, and that requires sacrifice.

Ponder:

We live in a society with many creature comforts. What can you do to live a life of detachment from things that may stand in the way of living more perfectly for Christ?