If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give the proceeds to the poor. Today the Church celebrates St. Anthony of the desert (also known as St. Anthony of Egypt or St. Anthony the Great or St. Anthony the Abbot). Known as the Patriarch of Monks, he is an early founder of religious life and was the first abbot to form a stable rule for his family of monks dedicated to the Divine Service. His talents at spiritual direction were famous, and many people traveled to the desert from far and wide to seek his advice.  
At 18 years old, St. Anthony disposed of his inheritance and left home for the desert to lead an ascetic life. The prevalent understanding at the time was that the world was evil and corrupt so much so that living one’s Christian call to perfection in the “world” was almost impossible. The only solution was to ‘leave’ the world. While monastic life is still practiced today, the motivation has nonetheless changed. Men and women enter monastic life not to flee the world but rather to bear witness to the generous love and providence of God, as the Gospel reading for today indicates.
In his response to the young man who wanted to ascertain his attainment of eternal life, Jesus proposes a total abandonment into the hands of God. It was a proposal about which the young man was not overly enthusiastic. The wealth of which Jesus wanted him to dispose was his source of security, something that gave him status and purpose. He was not ready to throw himself unto the mercy of uncertainty and unknowing. It was a strange proposal from Jesus, a proposal that many would have turned down as well (wealth was considered a blessing from God). Jesus was proposing letting God be the sole preoccupation of one’s thought. 
A successful attainment of the goal of creation (eternal life/happiness) is dependent upon the willingness to abandon oneself at the hands of God. God provides us with things that are supposed to help us in the attainment eternal life. However, because of the effects of original sin, these things oftentimes become obstacles in our pursuit of happiness. Rather than helping us to appreciate God’s providential love for creation, most of the time they end up separating us from God, who is the source and origin of our life. Jesus proposes that we direct all our energies into maintaining our relationship with God since apart from him we can never attain the goal of our lives.