August 17, 2026
Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 419
Reading 1
The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, by a sudden blow
I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,
but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,
bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,
do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.
That evening my wife died,
and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things
that you are doing mean for us?”
I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Say to the house of Israel:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,
the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.
The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:
all that he did you shall do when it happens.
Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
You shall do as I have done,
not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.
You shall not mourn or weep,
but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave you
birth.
You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you.
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing
and anger toward his sons and daughters.
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
“I will hide my face from them,” he said,
“and see what will then become of them.
What a fickle race they are,
sons with no loyalty in them!”
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
“Since they have provoked me with their ‘no-god’
and angered me with their vain idols,
I will provoke them with a ‘no-people’;
with a foolish nation I will anger them.”
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081726.cfm
Commentary on
Ezekiel 24:15-24
In today’s reading, the death of the prophet’s wife becomes
a symbol of how the people are to respond to the loss of their Temple. God
warns Ezekiel that he is going to lose his wife, the “delight of [his] eyes”,
through sudden illness and death. She would be taken away in “one blow”, some
swiftly fatal disease, perhaps some form of plague.
However, when it happens, Ezekiel is to display none of the
traditional forms of mourning, but is to suffer his loss privately. He is not
to mourn or weep. He is to “groan quietly” in the silence of his own heart, not
to lament the dead. He is to keep his turban fastened (it was normal for the
mourner to uncover his head and put dust on it). He is to keep his sandals on
and not to cover his beard (a gesture of shame or uncleanness). Nor is he to
eat the customary bread, perhaps referring to a funeral meal in which
neighbours would take part as an expression of sympathy and commiseration.
That very evening his wife died and Ezekiel told the people
what he had been instructed to do. Not surprisingly, the people wanted to know
the meaning of this rather unusual and unfeeling behaviour. Ezekiel then passes
on the message that God had given him for the people.
The beloved sanctuary of God, the Temple: “the pride of your
power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart’s desire”, is about to be
desecrated, i.e. burnt down by Nebuchadnezzar. When it happens, the people are
to do what Ezekiel did after the death of his wife. This does not mean that the
citizens of Jerusalem are forbidden to lament their sins, but that there will
simply be no time for mourning; the catastrophe will be too sudden and
cataclysmic. Many, in fact, will simply be cut down by the Babylonian invaders.
It will be the punishment for the people’s immorality and idolatries.
Ezekiel and his behaviour over the death of his wife are to
be a sign for the people:
Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; you shall do just as
he has done. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.
It is not the Temple they are to mourn for, but for
themselves and their failure to recognise that Yahweh is Lord. The loss of a
building is something far less significant than the loss of their own integrity
and wholeness.
Obviously, there is no teaching here to discourage people
from mourning the loss of loved ones. Rather, the lesson is that we can become
so focused on these losses that we fail to see how much should be mourned in
our own lives because of our repeated failures in our relationships with God
and our living neighbours.
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Commentary on
Matthew 19:16-22
We have here a story of a young man who did not have that
simple trust of the child which Jesus spoke about in the immediately preceding
passage (note that only Matthew describes him as ‘young’).
He was apparently a good man—an unusually good man. He asks
Jesus what he needs to do in order to have eternal life. However, he seemed to
be operating out of a legalistic mindset with the emphasis on external actions.
For Jesus, what we are is more important than what we do. The man also asked
about “eternal life”. In Matthew (and in Mark and Luke) ‘eternal life’ is
really synonymous with ‘entering the Kingdom of Heaven [God]’ and ‘being
saved’. It is to be totally taken up into God’s world and sharing God’s
understanding of life.
Jesus asks him
Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one who is
good.
This seems to be a way of telling the man that goodness is
not something merely external. The real source of goodness is inside, although,
of course, it will flow out to the exterior. Is it also a way of asking the man
who he really thinks Jesus is?
In any case, Jesus tells the man:
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.
As we have just said, to “enter into life” is equivalent to
entering the Kingdom. And Jesus mentions just four of the commandments, all
touching on relationships with other people. And he adds:
Also, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The man is not satisfied:
I have kept all these; what do I still lack?
Jesus tells him that if he wants to be perfect, he should
sell off everything he has, give it to the poor and then become a disciple of
Jesus.
Obviously, the man was not expecting this. He was very rich
and, although he wanted to serve God, he was not prepared to separate himself
from the security of his wealth. And he walked away from Jesus full of sadness.
It is an example of Jesus’ words earlier on that we cannot at the same time
serve God and wealth.
In this context, to be ‘rich’ is not just to have a lot of
money. It is to have a lot more money than others and especially to have more
money than one needs in a world where there are people who do not have enough
for a life of dignity. And wealth is very relative: a person close to the
poverty line in some western countries could be seen as very rich in a remote
village elsewhere in the world.
So, as long as the man had to cling to his money, he could
not—as he claimed—be loving his neighbour as his own self. Clearly he was not
yet ready for an unconditional following of Jesus. He was not able to follow
the example of Peter and Andrew and James and John, who left their boats, nets
and family to go and put all their security with Jesus.
Before we think that this Gospel does not particularly
concern us because we do not see ourselves as numbered among the rich, we
should listen to what Jesus is really saying. He touched on the one thing that
the man was not ready to give up—his money and all that it brought. But if we
are honest, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to
let go of. Things we would not like God to ask us to give up.
It might be a good exercise today for us to ask ourselves
what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up if Jesus asked us to
do so. It might be some thing we own like our house, or it might be a
relationship, or our job, or our health. Whatever it is, could it be coming
between us and our total following of Jesus? Do the things we own really own
us? Why not ask for the strength to be ready, if called on, to give it up? Only
then do we know that we are truly free and truly followers of Jesus.
One final point—this story has been used in the past as an
example of someone’s getting a special ‘vocation’. According to this view, all
are expected to keep the commandments, but only some are invited to follow a
‘counsel’, such as living a life of ‘poverty’, as members of religious
institutes do. It would be quite wrong to see Jesus here suggesting two levels
of living the Christian life. What is said here applies to every person who
wants to follow Christ. All the baptised are called to the same level of
service, although there are different ways of doing this.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2202
Monday,
August 17, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God our Father, may we love you in all
things and above all things and reach the joy you have prepared for us beyond
all our imagining.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 19: 16-22
A man came to
Jesus and asked, 'Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?'
Jesus said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone
who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.' He
said, 'Which ones?' Jesus replied, 'These: You shall not kill. You shall not
commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false witness. Honor
your father and your mother. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' The
young man said to him, 'I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?'
Jesus said, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give
the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow
me.'
But when the young man heard these words, he went away sad,
for he was a man of great wealth.
Reflection
The Gospel
today speaks to us about a young man who asks Jesus which is the way to eternal
life. Jesus indicates to him the way of poverty. The young man does not accept
the proposal of Jesus because he is very rich. A rich person is protected by
the security of the riches which he possesses. He has difficulty to open the
hand of his security. Attached to the advantages of his goods, he lives
concerned to defend his own interests. A poor person does not have this
concern. But there are some poor people who have the mentality of the rich.
Many times, the desire for riches creates in them a great dependence and
renders the poor, slaves of consumerism, because they seek riches everywhere.
They no longer have time to dedicate themselves to the service of neighbor.
•
Matthew 19: 16-19: The commandments and eternal
life. A person approaches Jesus and asks him: “Master, what good deed should I
do to possess eternal life?” Some manuscripts say that it was a young man.
Jesus responds abruptly: “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone
who is good!” Then he responds to the question and says: “If you wish to enter
into life keep the commandments”. The young rich man reacts and asks: “Which
commandments?” Jesus very kindly enumerates the commandments which the young
man already knew: “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall
not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor father and mother, love your
neighbor as yourself.” The response of Jesus is very significant. The young man
had asked what to do to obtain eternal life. He wanted to live close to God!
But Jesus recalls only the commandments which refer to respect for the life
close to others! He does not mention the first three commandments which define
the relationship with God. According to Jesus, we will be well with God only if
we are well with our neighbor. It is not worth it to deceive oneself. The door
to reach God is our neighbor.
•
In Mark, the question of the young man is
different: “Good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answers:
“Why do you call me good? No one is good, but God alone.” (Mk 10: 17-18). Jesus
deviates the attention from himself toward God, because what is important is to
do God’s will, to reveal the project of the Father.
•
Matthew 19, 20: What does it serve to observe the
commandments? The young man responds: “I have always observed all these things.
What more do I need to do?” What follows is strange. The young man wanted to
know the way which leads to eternal life. Now, the way of eternal life was and
continues to be: to do God’s will, expressed in the commandments. In other
words, the young man observed the commandments without knowing for what
purpose. If he had known it he would not have asked the question. It is like
for many Catholics who do not know why they are Catholics. “I was born a
Catholic and this is why I am Catholic!” It is as if was a custom!
•
Matthew 19: 21-22: The proposal of Jesus and the
response of the young man. Jesus answers: “If you wish to be perfect, go and
sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have a
treasure in heaven; then come follow me”. But on hearing these words the young
man went away very sad because he was very rich. The observance of the
commandments is only the first degree of a stairway that goes beyond, much
farther and much higher. Jesus asks more! The observance of the commandments
prepares the persons to be able to reach the point of giving oneself completely
to the neighbor. Mark says that Jesus looked at the young man with love (Mk 10;
21). Jesus asks for very much, but he asks for it with much love. The young man
did not accept the proposal of Jesus and goes away, “because he was very rich”.
•
Jesus and the option for the poor. A two-fold
slavery marked the situation of the people at the time of Jesus: the slavery of
the politics of Herod, supported by the Roman Empire and maintained by a whole
system which was well organized for exploitation and repression, and the
slavery of the official religion, maintained by the religious authority of the
time. For this reason, the clan, the families, the community, were
disintegrating and the majority of the people were excluded, marginalized,
homeless, without either a religion or a society. So, for this reason, there
were diverse movements which, like Jesus, tried to build up life in the
communities: Essens, Pharisees and later, the Zelots. But in the community of
Jesus, there was something new which made it different from the other groups.
There was the attitude concerning the poor and the excluded. The communities of
the Pharisees lived separated. The word “Pharisee” meant “separated”. This was
the attitude concerning the poor and the excluded. The communities of the
Pharisees lived separated from the impure people. Some Pharisees considered the
people, ignorant and damned (Jn 7: 49), in sin (Jn 9: 34). They could learn
nothing from the people (Jn 9: 34). On the contrary, Jesus and his community
lived in the midst
of persons who were excluded, considered impure; tax
collectors, sinners, prostitutes, lepers (Ml 2: 16; 1: 41; Lk 7: 37). Jesus
recognizes the richness and the values which the poor possess (Mt 11: 25-26; Lk
21: 1-4). He proclaims them blessed, because the Kingdom is theirs, of the poor
(Lk 6: 20; Mt 5: 3). He defines his mission in this way: “To announce the Good
News to the poor” (Lk 4: 18). He himself lives poorly. He possesses nothing for
himself, not even a stone where to recline his head (Lk 9: 58). And to anyone
who wants to follow him, who wants to live like him, he orders that he choose
either God or money! (Mt 6: 24). He orders to choose the poor, as he proposed
it to the rich young man! (Mk 10: 21). This different way of accepting the poor
and of living with them is a sign of the Kingdom of God.
Personal questions
•
Can a person who lives concerned about his
wealth or with acquiring the goods which the propaganda of consumerism offers,
free himself from all this in order to follow Jesus and live in peace in a
Christian community? Is this possible? What do you think?
•
What does it mean for us today: “Go, sell all
you possess and give it to the poor?” Is it possible to do this concretely? Do
you know anybody who has succeeded to do this for the Kingdom?
Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my
shepherd, I lack nothing. In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams
he leads me to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as
befits his name. (Ps 23: 1-3)
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