Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, August 18, 2025

Gospel

Matthew 19:16-22

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.

Reflection

This Gospel reminded me of the saying “the path to hell is paved with good intentions”. Now I'm not sure how literally this phrase was originally intended, and while it might sound extreme to some, I find it to be eerily accurate. Most people would agree that they don’t want to end up in hell. Many would also agree that small sins or mistakes probably won’t lead them there. However, I think it’s equally true that they won’t lead us to heaven either. Good intentions are not enough, and it is a slow descent into immorality. That is the human condition: to fall short and get back up again. It is why we have the gift of confession, but we can't allow ourselves to use this as an excuse not to strive for holiness.

When someone says, 'I didn’t mean it,' or 'I didn't mean to', yet repeats the same offense, time and time again their words eventually lose value. Words without change become empty promises, because even if no harm was intended, the damage is still done and in the end, intentions mean nothing if they are not followed by action. Bad habits don’t form overnight, and families don’t crumble in a single day it’s often a slow, subtle progression. In the same way, our spiritual lives can gradually drift away from God if we simply rely on good intentions without real conversion.

The young man in today’s Gospel was “good” by most standards. He kept the commandments and even sought Jesus out, eager to know what else he needed to do to receive eternal life. But when Jesus revealed the cost, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor…then come, follow me”, the man went away sad for he had many things. I think many of us can relate to that man. Our intentions are good, we want to follow Jesus, but only up to the point where it doesn’t cost us too much. Yet, heaven isn’t reached by checking a few boxes or by living with good intentions, it’s a continuous journey. We are all called to follow Jesus; we are all called to be saints, and this path requires more than just good intentions.