St. Maria Goretti

Somewhere along the way, we learn to keep wanting more. We desire something, we go after it, we get it, and then we want something else. I think that for many of us, where we learned that, that someplace, was the cereal aisle of the local grocery store when we were kids. Can you remember what it was like? Kellogg’s Fruit Loops has a special offer, for a limited time of course, of genuine Scooby Doo iron-on patches of all six of your favorite Scooby Doo characters, one free in every box of Kellogg’s Fruit Loops Cereal. And when many of us were kids, that commercial was all we needed to hear. We had to have a box of Kellogg’s Fruit Loops and get our free iron-on patch. Now, first of all, what exactly was a “genuine” Scooby Doo iron-on patch? We’re there “fake” Scooby Doo Iron-on patches? That word, “genuine” made us want them even more. So you’d go to the store with your mom, against your mother’s best judgment. And you’d get to the cereal aisle, and all of us sudden you’d go from a nice, mild-mannered kid, to being one of the most high-powered salespersons that anybody could imagine. And you’d do this because you knew, you knew, you had the length of one grocery store aisle, to convince your mother that she had to buy some Fruit Loops. Remember this? Every five-year-old here knows exactly how to do this. I did it this past Thursday with my mom. Oh, mom, it sure would be nice to get some Vitamin C with my cereal, why don’t we get some Fruit Loops this week? Oh, mom, I bet if we’d just get some great-tasting Fruit Loops, (blank – insert name of little brother or sister here) would eat their cereal faster in the morning, and wouldn’t that make your life easier? Oh, mom, can’t we get some Fruit Loops this week? They’re just like the Cheerios except they come in color! “Please, mom.” “I’ll be good, mom.” “I’ll do the dishes, mom.” “Mom, it’s a limited time offer!” And then, if you were nearing the end of the aisle, and there still wasn’t a box of Kellogg’s Fruit Loops with the free genuine, iron-on Scooby Doo patch in YOUR mother’s cart, then you had to come out with the extreme versions – “What if I died tomorrow, mom?” “Don’t I mean more to you than a box of cereal, mom?” “Don’t you understand how important this is to me, mom?

Is it any wonder that a couple of generations of us now, have grown up to become the perfect little consumers that they wanted us to be? It’s all because the next week, it was rub-on Batman tattoos, and then Hot Wheel magnets, and then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle wristbands. And we just kept wanting more! And it was all Kellogg and General Mill’s fault! They made us this way.

The truth is, we know now, that materialism doesn’t work. We’ve all been to funerals. There really never is a U-Haul trailer behind the hearse. If all we’re seeking in this life is things, it’s a losing goal to have. We hunger for something much bigger, much deeper. And today we see it in the story of the rich young man. The Gospel makes clear that this young man is very wealthy. He has everything. He has nice robes. He probably has several fast horses. I’m sure he lives in a beautiful house surrounded by nice, beautiful, comfortable things. And yet, this young man comes to Jesus for a reason. He’s looking for something that he knows is missing in his life, and it’s not any material thing. He asks Jesus about eternal life. And we know Jesus answer, there’s no real big surprise here. You want to go to Heaven, obey the commandments, love God and love your neighbor. And the rich young man tells Jesus that he’s doing that. And Jesus agrees. That would be very nice to know, wouldn’t it? And then Jesus, and the Gospel says “with love”, tells the young man to go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and come and follow me. And that’s what the rich, young man CAN’T do. He’s too attached to his things. Is that our problem too?

My brothers and sisters, we live in one of the wealthiest, most materialist society that has ever existed. Do not think that this Gospel isn’t meant for us! We all can still get caught up in the game of having more, and more, and more. Maybe its not the little toys and surprises in cereal boxes anymore, but we still do it with clothes, and electronics, and cars, and houses, and money itself. When our things start controlling us, God can’t be in charge of our lives. No man or woman can serve two masters. It’s really true. We were meant for something more. We hunger and desire in the deepest part of our souls, for something more. We need God. We are starving for God. We don’t need any more fake gods like the ones that the world offers. If they were enough, the rich young man never would have sought Jesus out. No, we’re looking, searching, hungering for the “real” thing. We want the “genuine” God. There is no substitute. I bet the rich, young man found that out. Will we?

May God bless us today, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti … Pray for us !!!