Word to the Wise
Friday, June 21, 2019 - Friday in the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Cor 11:18, 21-30 and Matt 6:19-23]"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." [Matthew]
JUNE 21 ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA S.J.
Jesus challenges us to a "treasure hunt!" Where is/are our treasure(s)? When a Roman judge ordered St. Justin Martyr to hand over the treasures of the Church, St. Justin gathered the community and said, "Here is the treasure of the Church!" I have often spoken here of the retreat exercise that challenged students to identify the five most important people, possessions and activities in their lives, then prioritize them in the order in which they would give them up, starting with the least important. It was a very sobering and emotional exercise.
How much of our "stuff" is treasure? How many of the many activities we give time and effort to are treasure? How many people in our life do we treasure? The saint of this date, the Jesuit brother, Aloysius Gonzaga, gave up power and wealth to join the Jesuits and found a treasure in caring for plague victims. Such heroism may not be possible for all of us, but the same questions that motivated him are those which arise out of Jesus' challenge to us. What is in our personal "storage" bin? Where is our heart? AMEN