Today's Gospel is the story of the rich young man and his interactions with Jesus (Mt 19: 16-22). We all know the basic details. The young man comes up to Jesus and asks what he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus tells him to obey the commandments, and the young man asks which ones (there were 613 in Jewish law, after all). Jesus lists six which give the essence of the law-- don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself. The young man says he observed those, and asks what he still lacks. Jesus says that "if you wish to be perfect" the young man should sell everything, give the proceeds to the poor and follow Jesus, which the young man can't do. So, the young man goes away sad. OK, so the young man can't be "perfect." I guess that's enough reason to go away "sad." Like all young people, he is idealistic and wants to achieve perfection. Good for him. But note-- Jesus does not say that the young man's failure to be perfect will deprive him of eternal life. In fact, Jesus seems to say quite the opposite-- that by obeying the commandments the young man has enabled himself to enter eternal life. After all, when the young man asks what it takes to gain eternal life, what Jesus tells him is that he must obey the commandments, which the young man says he has done, and which Jesus does not dispute. We might keep that in mind when we have the temptation to get down on ourselves and to think we aren't good enough. Sure, Jesus holds out perfection as a goal ("Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect," He says). But He knows that perfection is beyond us, as it was beyond the rich young man (and I am guessing we'd all probably fail that the test Jesus posed. I don't see very many folks selling everything and following Jesus). We just need to love the Lord, which will play out in seeking to obey His commandments. That's good enough-- and good enough is really all we need.