What Holds Me Back?

Br. Patrick McNulty entered eternal life yesterday afternoon after 61 years of Marist religious life. Always the optimist, a lover of good humor, jokes, even pranks, and a biking enthusiast, Pat always seemed healthy and happy.  He thrived during his years at Pine Ridge where he would bicycle for thirteen miles each way to Loneman School, or when he weather was really bad, drive our Toyota Jeep like a military adjutant. His fierce but swift battle with lung cancer, itself a surprise for one so in love with the outdoors, gives me pause as a stark reminder of our fragile mortality.  Our time on this planet is limited for sure, as even the healthiest of us eventually succumb to "Sister Death."  Thanks be to God there is the fuller life beyond.
How best, then, to live the short time we have here?  As Jesus invited the rich young man to sell all his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor and follow him, so too does he invite us to relinquish what holds us back for a deeper and fuller relationship with him.  It may not always be possessions, but attitudes, fears, anxieties, and worries that in a sense paralyze us.  Pat's joyful, boyish glee at having biked his thirteen miles in 20 degree weather sticks in my mind  as the kind of joy we can find when we plunge ourselves fully into the gift of life which finds its fullness in Jesus.  Thanks, Pat, for not holding back.
Bro. Rene