Homily for Tuesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time - St. Pius X

Our Gospel for today shows us how seductive is the craving to ‘have it all'. So seductive is the craving, that Jesus teaches that without the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we would never through our own willpower prefer the riches of the kingdom of heaven to the riches of this world. In other words, without the Holy Spirit, we would always choose the riches that are most immediate to us, rather than saving our human freedom to purchase those things for which that freedom has been given.
For man, it is impossible, for no one can approach the Father unless the Spirit draw Him. But if the Spirit draw him, we will come to Him and make our dwelling with Him. Jesus says repeatedly to his disciples - It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you. We see in today’s Gospel that allowing God to choose us is the key to unlocking the kingdom of heaven. It is impossible for us to choose our way to God. But it is possible for Him to choose us, and indeed the good news of the Gospel is that He has chosen each one of us, and called us by name.
For those who allow themselves to be chosen by God by accepting a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, a great reward awaits. This is not the same as prosperity theology sometimes preached – that if you give up something, God will bless you with more than you originally gave. This is not God’s promise, at least not to receive those riches in this lifetime. No, his promise is that He will choose for us a bigger life than we would ever choose for ourselves, and especially in and through the gift of celibacy religious will receive the opportunity to contemplate the kingdom of heaven and to live in that kingdom more immediately – that is his gift. And of course, we receive the gift of spiritual children as we become living witnesses to the truth of the resurrection and the love of the Holy Spirit. We receive the promise that the family of God in heaven will be bigger and more beautiful than any household we could build on this earth, and we get the joy of building it now!