There is a feeling in today’s gospel, that the rich young man should have quit while he was ahead. He tells Jesus, “I have kept all these things”. Bingo. He should have said, “Thank you Lord, now I’m assured of my salvation.” But he doesn’t. I think he speaks for us all when we come to that realization that we are made for greatness, not just to get by. 

It is interesting to note that Pope John Paul II uses this story to begin his major Encyclical Veritatis Splendor. This is because PJPII knows that he needs to help us understand the Catholic moral teachings within the context of the “fulness of the faith”. He knows that there are some moral issues that keep people away from embracing the fulness of the faith. He knows there are circumstances when the easy answer isn’t the right answer. In Veritatis Splendor, he takes on some of the most popular Catholic moral theologians who have twisted Catholic morality. They have twisted what the Church has taught in an attempt to ease the consciences of people who are faced with difficult moral decisions. 

Let’s consider the rejection of Humanae Vitae. This obviously deals with birth control. Consider the couple that is financially struggling and believe they can’t afford another child. The world tells them, “Ignore the Catholic position on artificial contraception, those men in Rome are clueless about real life. Only those “fanatical Catholics” obey that stuff.” But PJPII was well aware that this advice was coming, not just from “worldly voices” but from theologians, bishops and priests. These theologians justified disobedience about this by simply stating that the Church got it wrong on this one. But PJPII was much more like Christ in this Encyclical. He knew people’s difficult situations and he knew people were weak when it came to making certain sacrifices in order to do the right thing. His approach was compassionate and yet consistent with the unchanging teachings about sexual morality. In short, he declared the dissenting theologians wrong because we cannot change the natural law that Humanae Vitae is based on. 

But his direct attack against “consequentialism” and “relativism” which the dissenting voices promoted, put such difficult moral issues in the context of being “great Catholics” not just Catholics who do the minimal to be saved. This is why both PJPII and Pope Benedict often included a teaching on martyrdom when they taught about morality. In other words, they knew that difficult circumstance at times put us in a very tight spot. Holding to the high ideals of following Christ will often put us in the shoes of that rich young man. It is always tempting to walk away from what Jesus asks of us. Both PJPII and B-16 understood Christ’s message. Sometimes, the only right answer to a very difficult choice is martyrdom. We often are asked to accept the negative consequences of not sinning, rather than taking the easy way out and offending God. Is our disobedience forgivable? Yes, of course it is, if you are sorry. But the dissenting theologians declare there is nothing to be sorry about. Thank God PJPII came along when he did. We need him now more than ever.