This Sunday’s Gospel passage begins with a man eagerly seeking Jesus in his sincere pursuit of eternal life. A man who outwardly had an abundance of wealth and privilege. In the eyes of many a perfect recipe for human happiness – “a man of great wealth” who faithfully observed the commandments from his youth. What starts to unravel is that we see a man that acquired a magnitude of fortune and achieved almost everything, recognising his material attachment that had consumingly possessed his life has hollowness from within. A life full but empty. Discontented and in sheer desperation to see Jesus he “ran up and knelt before him” and asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He acknowledges to extend his prosperity into eternity the only person that can offer him this life is Jesus.
When he encounters Jesus, Jesus looks at him out of a profound love that penetrates the inmost of hearts, observed what he lacked; to leave everything and empty himself to become a true follower of Jesus “sell everything you own; you will have treasure in heaven then come follow me.” Aggrieved of not being able to let go of the comforts of his possessions he walked away abandoning the eternal inheritance that he was desperately searching for.
We ask God to grant us the sanctifying grace to free us of the bondage that is holding us back on our spiritual journey to eternity, emptying ourselves by allowing Him to fill us with the life that is beyond material control, the life that matters most and not the life that will give us temporal and ephemeral fulfilment.
Since Thursday the 5th August 2021, the Parish Community of Darra and Jindalee has been mourning the extraordinary loss of our beloved Shepherd Fr. Dan Carroll; Parish Priest for over 50 years and a Priest of 61 years who left everything in order to give our faith family and humanity everything. As a young girl I grew up witnessing the response to Fr Dan’s Baptismal and Priestly calling that he faithfully served by emptying himself for others meriting life that is totally dependent and only possible with God’s mercy and grace alone. We pray in thanksgiving for all the blessings that came to so many people through the life and ministry of Fr Dan. May he now receive the supernatural treasure and peace that he so richly deserves.