Gospel Commentary for August 19, 2025

August 19, 2025

Dear friends,

To live free or to live attached — that is the question. And it remains a question throughout our whole life. A person may show signs of freedom early in life, only to later settle into a comfort zone they don’t want to leave.

That’s the echo of yesterday’s Gospel: the rich young man walked away sad because he was too attached to his possessions. His desire for a full life seemed real. But his need for security outweighed his freedom.

From this, Jesus invites us to live His same way of life: absolute freedom, detachment from everything and everyone, living from the Father and for others. He left behind His house, His mother, His land. And He received a hundred times more in all the faces and situations He encountered each day — all the way to eternity, through the cross.

In today’s world, we still need people who are free from possessions and attachments, who live rooted in the Father and serve others. This is something every Christian is called to in the Church, no matter what their vocation. At the same time, this is a daily lifestyle especially for consecrated men and women, missionaries, priests — for all who try to live as Jesus lived.

It’s not an easy lifestyle — but is any genuine way of life really easy? It needs constant prayer and the support of others, especially when the cross appears. And it also includes that “hundredfold return,” in whatever form God chooses to give it.

Make us, Lord, free from possessions
and unattached to people.
And keep giving your Church, Lord,
people who live your same way of life,
leaving behind house, family, and land for you and your Kingdom.

Your brother in faith,

Luis Manuel Suárez, CMF @luismanuel_cmf