What does it mean to have a good and perfect life? Fr Dean reflects on today’s readings from Mass.
Readings for Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time can be found here
In the novel and TV adaptation of ‘The Darling Buds of May,’ Pop and Ma Larkin and their many children take joy in nature and each other’s company. They enjoy many feasts although their only income is through selling scrap, picking strawberries, and selling farm animals while liberally spending money on horses, cars, and holidays abroad. To coin Pop Larkin’s catchphrase, their life is “perfick.”
In the gospel reading, the man who comes to Jesus is portrayed as a good person. He religiously keeps the commandments, but he is striving for more goodness. He wants to be perfect. Jesus responds to this desire and tells him to sell all he owns and give the money to the poor. This is something he is unwilling to do for, it appears, he has many possessions and he isn’t ready to part from any of them. When put to the test, he realises that the good life he leads is a comfortable one. A comfort provided by money. He goes away sad and, we imagine, with a lot to think about.
Perhaps each of us will have a different concept of what it means to be perfect or to enjoy the perfect life. More to the point, God will ask different things of each of us. We may not be challenged to sell all we own, but we can reflect on what it means for us to live according to God’s designs for us.
Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson at 6.30pm
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