By Fr. Frederick Edlefsen

“There are two ways, the one of life, the other of death; But between the two, there is a great difference.” (Didache – Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, 60AD)

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16: 24)

A man wanted to know the Way. “Good master, what good work shall I do to have eternal life?” Christ gives only one answer to such questions: “Follow me.” The Gospel does not say what came of the man. It just says he went away sad because he had many possessions. So, we are left to wonder if he later changed his mind and put aside everything to follow Christ or if he clung to his “possessions.” We are not told. Yet, this Gospel passage raises question for us: What are the “possessions” that make us “go away sad?” They might be material possessions, or they might be something else: attitudes, opinions, lifestyles, attachments, etc.

Referring to the rich young man (Matthew 19:16-22), Pope St. John Paul II said, “The question which the rich young man puts to Jesus of Nazareth is one which rises from the depths of his heart. It is an essential and unavoidable question for the life of every man, for it is about the moral good which must be done, and about eternal life. The young man senses that there is a connection between moral good and the fulfillment of his own destiny” (The Splendor of Truth, 8).

The Catechism teaches, “Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God. The promise [of seeing God] surpasses all beatitude.... In Scripture, to see is to possess.... Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.”

Finally, Luke’s Gospel sums it up: “As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (Luke 9:57-62). What is the earthly cost of following Christ?