Paths of greater freedom should lead to greater love

Satiating our desire for a full and infinite life

“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, ‘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’” (Mark 10, 17-21).

Pope Francis, in one of his recent Wednesday audience’s, began his introduction to his catechesis on the Ten Commandments with these words of the Gospel passage:

“The encounter between Jesus and a man, he is a young man, who, on his knees, asks Jesus how he can inherit eternal life. And, in that question is the challenge of every life, ours too: the desire for a full, infinite life. What must we do to achieve it? What path must we take?

How many young people try to ‘live’ and destroy themselves by following things that are fleeting? … Some think that it would be better to extinguish this impulse, the impulse to live, because it is dangerous. I would like to say, especially to young people: our worst enemy is not practical problems, no matter how serious and dramatic: life’s greatest danger is a poor spirit of adaptation that is neither meekness nor humility, but mediocrity, cowardice.

Is a mediocre young person a youth with a future or not? No! He or she remains there; will not grow; will not have success. Mediocrity or cowardice. Those young people who are afraid of everything: ‘No, this is how I am.’ These young people will not move forward. Meekness, strength, and not cowardice, not mediocrity.”

The young man in the Gospel passage lived the Commandments faithfully. He was a good man. He was a man who followed the paths of greater freedom and love that we know as the Ten Commandments.

Then, he was hungry for more! He wanted to know “What’s next?” He loved God above all things and he wanted to know “What’s next?” He was faithful to God’s commands and he wanted to know “What’s next?” He was kneeling before the “Good Teacher,” hungry for the infinite, hungry for eternity, and he asked, “What’s next?”

Jesus looked at him. Jesus saw his hunger. Jesus loved him so, and he answered and showed him the “next step.” The only way to step toward eternity, the only way to step toward the infinite is by letting go of what is temporal and finite. This step only can be taken with a heart filled with love, a free heart, detached from everyone and everything but God himself.

This takes meekness and strength. A heart filled with cowardice and mediocrity cannot grow.

The Ten Commandments are a great starting point, but that is all. As we mature in love and freedom, God will ask more. The love and passion for God that grows as we faithfully obey these commands to love, free us to reach for the infinite and eternal. If we choose to grow.