"Where our treasure lies, there our heart will be,"

The quote is a profound reflection on human priorities,

Earthly vs. Heavenly Treasures:

The surrounding verses contrast storing up perishable things (like wealth and status)

with eternal investments (such as faith, love, and service).

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20*

When Athaliah,

Tthe mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died,

she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king.

But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew,

and brought him away from among the king's sons who were about to be killed,

and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom. Thus she hid him from Athaliah,

so that the boy was saved....In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest,

summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the house of Yahweh.

After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king's son. (...)

 

Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king's son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him,

then proclaimed and consecrated him king. (...)

When Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the house of Yahweh.

The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him.

The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this,

Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, "Treason, treason!"

 

Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, "Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard,

and kill anyone who tries to defend her." (...) They brought her out,

and when they reached the palace of the king, by the horses' entrance, there, they killed her.

Jehoiada made a Covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people so they would be the people of Yahweh.

All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. (...) Then Jehoiada, the priest,

posted guards over the house of Yahweh. All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace.

Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king's palace.

 

Ps 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18

The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 6:19-23

Do not store up treasures for yourself here, on earth, where moth and rust destroy it;

and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God,

where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.

For where your treasure is, there, also, will your heart be. The lamp of the body is the eye.

If your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light. If your eyes are diseased,

your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 

Gospel Reflection ：

Wealth is a gift from God, meant to be shared.

Where is our treasure? What do we value most? Where do we focus our energy?

"Where our treasure lies, there our heart will be," says Jesus. Unfortunately,

if our treasure consists solely of a bank account or profit, and our relationship

with money is unbalanced or dysfunctional, our hearts may become tied to our wallets.

Wealth is a gift from God, meant to be shared.

However, wealth can mislead us because it promises what it cannot truly deliver.

 

We struggle to acknowledge our limits, see our lives from God's perspective,

and evaluate our actions in light of the Word of God. We recognize that we all carry shadows,

but if we view them through dark lenses, we may fail to see them.

The world teaches us to judge others harshly while being overly lenient with ourselves.

 

Engaging with the Word of God, practicing daily prayer, and choosing saints

or spiritually mature individuals as role models provide the clarity necessary for sincere self-reflection,

enabling us to lead faithful lives as disciples of Christ.