Lest You Remain

T OPICS FOR V IGIL R EFLECTION FOR E VERY D AY OF THE M ONTH Topic I — EVANGELICAL VOCATION The Word of the Lord (Mk 10:17-22) As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?” No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’ ” He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Church’s Documents (RD= Redemptionis donum , No. 3) “And Jesus, Looking Upon Him, Loved Him” 3.“Jesus, looking upon him, loved him,”(6) and said to him, “If you would be per- fect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heav- en; and come, follow me.”(7) Even though we know that those words, addressed to the rich young man, were not accepted by the one being called, their content deserves to be carefully reflected upon, for they present the interior structure of a vocation. “And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him.” This is the love of the Redeemer: a love that flows from all the human and divine depths of the Redemption. This love reflects the eternal love of the Father, who “so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”(8) The Son, invested with that love, accepted the mission from the Father in the Holy Spirit and became the Redeemer of the world. The Father’s love was revealed in the Son as redeeming love. It is precisely this love that constitutes the true price of the Redemption of man and the world. Christ’s Apostles speak of the price of the Redemption with profound emotion: “You were ransomed...not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot,”(9) writes St. Peter And St. Paul states: “You were bought with a price.”(10) Program of Vigils 29