I am so glad to be here with you all, to celebrate in anticipation of St. Gerard’s feast day, coming up this Wednesday.
In today’s Gospel, we encounter a rich man who approaches Jesus, asking how he can inherit eternal life. Jesus, looking at him with love, invites him to “go, sell what you have, give the money to the poor…and follow me.” (Mk 10:21). This “looking at him with love” is not unlike the calling of St. Matthew, the tax collector, which inspired Pope Francis to pick his motto: “Miserando atque eligendo.” This means that when Jesus gazes at us with mercy, he does not merely feel sorry for us, but rather he elevates us, dignifying us with the call to follow him and to participate in his own divine mission.
The man in the Gospel, however, walks away saddened, for he had many possessions. Jesus does not just ask the man to part with his wealth; He asks him to trust completely in God. His invitation is not about renunciation for the sake of it, but about gaining something far greater — eternal life, rooted in the wisdom of God.
This connects beautifully with the words of St. Teresa of Avila, “Let nothing trouble you, let nothing scare you. All things are passing; God alone is changeless, patience achieves everything, the one who has God lacks nothing, God alone suffices.” In our world, wealth, comfort, and success often seem to promise security, yet these things are fleeting. True security is found in the changelessness of God. To follow Jesus is to place our hope in the eternal, not the temporary.
The rich man’s sadness highlights a struggle many of us face — our attachment to material things, comfort, or even our achievements. But Jesus calls us to trust, to let go, and to be free from the burdens that distract us from true discipleship.
In this light, St. Gerard, your parish’s patron, serves as an inspiring model. He dedicated his life to Christ, forsaking personal ambitions and trusting in God’s providence. As the patron of expectant mothers, St. Gerard is known as an intercessor for life, embodying deep trust in God’s loving care, especially in moments of vulnerability and uncertainty.
For mothers, children, and the unborn, for those falsely accused, and for those seeking a good confession — St. Gerard teaches us that we need not fear when we entrust our lives to God. His life reflects the wisdom of heaven, not of earth — a wisdom that sees God as the ultimate source of all we need.
As we gather today in this parish dedicated to St. Gerard, let us ask ourselves: what holds us back from fully following Jesus? To what are we clinging, which keeps us from trusting completely in God’s providence?
May the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Gerard, and the wisdom of the saints, help us to see that with God alone, we truly lack nothing. Indeed, “God alone suffices.”
