October 11, Twenty-Eighth Sunday

Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!-- Psalm 90:14

Mass readings: Wisdom 7:7-11 / Hebrews 4:12-13 /Mark 10:17-30 or 10:17-27

The Could-Have-Been Apostle

Today's selection from Mark is a sad one. It's about what might have been. A man runs up to Jesus, kneels before Him and asks what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus explains he's so close . . . and invites him to take the next step: Go, sell what you have, give it to the poor, and then come and follow me. But that's too much. His face falls and he goes away sad ''because he had many possessions.''

It's easy to imagine he stayed sad as, over the years, he thought about what could have been. Yes, a hard life. Yes, most likely, martyrdom. But it would have been doing what God called him, created him, to do. What a difference accepting Our Lord's invitation makes in this life, and the next.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me always say ''yes'' to You.