"The Kingdom of Heaven as our treasure."

Spiritual wealth and eternal rewards over worldly possessions.

Actively seeking God's will and living in accordance with His principles. 

 

St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor

For he who touches the body of Christ unworthily, receives his damnation.

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

 Exodus 34:29-35

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai,

With the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands,

he was not aware that the skin of his face was radiant after speaking with the Lord.

Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw that Moses' face was radiant and they were afraid to go near him.

But Moses called them, and Aaron with all the leaders of the community drew near, and Moses spoke to them.

 

Afterwards all the Israelites came near and he told them all that the Lord had commanded him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

Whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he took off the veil until he came out again.

And when he came out and told them what he had been commanded, the Israelites saw that his face was radiant.

Moses would then replace the veil over his face until he went again to speak with the Lord.

 

Ps 99:5, 6, 7, 9 Holy is the Lord our God.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 13:44-46

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. The one who finds it buries it again; and so happy is he,

that he goes and sells everything he has in order to buy that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who is looking for fine pearls.

Once he has found a pearl of exceptional quality, he goes away, sells everything he has and buys it.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"The Kingdom of Heaven as our treasure."

If we approach today's parables with a certain business caution, we might say that the men are reckless in selling everything

they have to buy the field of treasure or to buy the pearl. Some might say you shouldn't place all your eggs in one basket.

Better to hedge your bets. These sayings are about protecting oneself from potential loss or failure of one's investments.

What if the pearl turned out to be a fake? What if the treasure wasn't worth as much as I had thought? What if?... What if?

 

This is a fear of loss, and this fear touches us when it comes to choosing the Kingdom of Heaven as our treasure.

We fear disappointment as doubt creeps into our minds and so our commitment to the Kingdom is compromised.

However, Christ has no doubt about the priceless value of the Kingdom of Heaven.

He is telling us to grab hold of the Kingdom and to turn our whole lives over to it, leaving nothing behind out of fear or caution.