Treasure Found

August 1, 2018

Today’s gospel can be broken down into four bullet points:

• Seek 
• Find
• Give
• Receive  

We are on a journey toward wholeness. The elixir of life beacons us from deep within. We crave fulfillment. We are heirs to the Kingdom, but the secret to finding our inheritance seems to be an unsolvable mystery until we realize that the mystery is a person: Jesus. Once we discover this not so buried, not so hard to find treasure, we begin changing our lives in order to possess it. The gospel says, “out of JOY (he/she) goes and sells all that he/she has and buys that field.” Joy is the first fruit of knowing Jesus and we must change everything in order to have Him at the center of our lives. It says when the treasure was found, the person hid it again, then sold all to buy the new hiding place. Our relationship with Christ is our own buried treasure in the field of our souls. This field has been purchased at the highest price by the very treasure itself and in order to receive its riches, we must give all to its keeping. 

There are many moments in our lives when we know that we know that we know: Our closest moments to Christ, our epiphanies, our “ah ha” moments, our times of awe and wonder, our witness of miracles, our breath taking experiences, our surges of the heart, our falling in love, our answered prayers, our it is well with our soul moments…these are the pearl of great price and these are the spoils of our treasure found. I hope that we can all find time to ponder our spoils with joy, thanksgiving, and sheer wonder. 

We have the elixir of true life, the living water of eternity, the answer to all if we take the time to open it buried deep within the field of our soul. It has been purchased for us and now we must give all that we have to enjoy it. I pray that today you celebrate your inheritance with great joy and it is well with my soul. 

Saint Alphonsus Liguouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 403

Reading 1 JER 15:10, 16-21

Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth!
a man of strife and contention to all the land!
I neither borrow nor lend,
yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.
I did not sit celebrating
in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain continuous,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook,
whose waters do not abide!
Thus the LORD answered me:
If you repent, so that I restore you,
in my presence you shall stand;
If you bring forth the precious without the vile,
you shall be my mouthpiece.
Then it shall be they who turn to you,
and you shall not turn to them;
And I will make you toward this people
a solid wall of brass.
Though they fight against you,
they shall not prevail,
For I am with you,
to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.
I will free you from the hand of the wicked,
and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.

Responsorial Psalm PS 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18

R. (17d) God is my refuge on the day of distress.
Rescue me from my enemies, O my God;
from my adversaries defend me.
Rescue me from evildoers;
from bloodthirsty men save me.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
mighty men come together against me,
Not for any offense or sin of mine, O LORD.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! for you I watch;
for you, O God, are my stronghold, 
As for my God, may his mercy go before me;
may he show me the fall of my foes.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
But I will sing of your strength
and revel at dawn in your mercy;
You have been my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of distress.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! your praise will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
my merciful God!
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.

Alleluia JN 15:15B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 13:44-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."