Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 31, 2019 - Wednesday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 34:29-35 and Matt 13:44-46]"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 fins a pearly of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." [Matthew]
JULY 31 ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, SJ [founder of the Society of Jesus, the "Jesuits.]
One could easily get the impression that the people in these two images were on a quest to find a treasure or a particular pearl. However, they were both engaged in normal pursuits when they come upon the particular "treasure" or "pearl of great price." The treasure and the pearl were there all along. The emphasis is on what happens when they are found! To have them means giving up everything else!
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, whose feast we celebrate today, is known, among many other things, for urging his followers to "find God in all things." He was inspired by the example of Sts. Dominic and Francis to found the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. His reaction to finding the Kingdom of heaven has had, and continues to have, a tremendous impact on the world.
Finding God in all things is not a game like "Where's Waldo?" It means opening one's heart and mind to God's possibilities, being attentive in faith. But Jesus challenges those who do find "the Kingdom" to place it above anything else. How valuable is our faith? What does knowledge of the Kingdom of heaven inspire us to do? AMEN