Give up all your possessions…this is a shocking directive from Jesus to a rich young man in the passage immediately preceding the Gospel of today. It is in this context that he points out that, “it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven…” (Matt 19: 23). In his encounter with Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector (Luke 19: 1-10), Jesus does not make the same demand; the call of Zacchaeus is different from the call of the rich young man. The Spiritual Exercises have helped me make some sense of these differences.

Throughout the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius follows the “roadmap” of the Scriptures. Salvation history provides the framework for the arrangement of the Exercises. They begin with Creation, just as in Genesis, and culminate in the Passion, and Resurrection of Jesus, just as in the New Testament. Before the retreatant arrives at Resurrection, St. Ignatius guides him or her through a number of meditations meant to encourage a closer following of Jesus in his ministry of preaching the Good News—God’s victory in Jesus over sin and death. While The Exercises offer many Scripture scenes—for example the Nativity and the Visitation—Ignatius also offers unique meditations for prayer and reflection. On reading today’s Gospel, one of these sprang immediately to mind…

The Meditation on the Three Classes of Person is given during the Second Week of the Exercises, “…to aid one toward embracing what is better.” (SE 149). All three “Classes” can see that they need to make an important decision to aid in doing what is “better”. The person typical of the First Class simply never makes the decision or change that is necessary. The person typical of the Second Class is willing to make a change, but according to what seems better to him or her. The person typical of the Third Class lives with a holy indifference that guides decision-making; this “Third Class” of person is a master of discernment, making decisions not by affect or reason or experience alone, but by cultivating a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. This Meditation has been very helpful for me as I work and pray to be a person of discernment, attending to the movements of the Good Spirit throughout the day. It has also helped me to understand why Jesus deals differently with different people. The way that each individual is called is unique. Just as the call for Zacchaeus was different from the call of the Apostles, so, too, each individual is called in a unique way. While it is important to work for a holy indifference to possessions, it is most important to follow the promptings of the Good Spirit in dealing with possessions…and in all we do.