A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Jesus said to his disciples: “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.”
Having taught the disciples about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, Jesus teaches them about the activity of the heart. Rather than seeking and storing up treasures on earth, Jesus commands the disciples not to seek and store up the goods of this life, subject to decay and theft. Instead, he instructs them to store up treasures in heaven. The goods of the earth are not evil in themselves, but Jesus calls the disciples to invest their hearts in what begins on earth and leads to heaven. Jesus compares this in another way to sound sight. “If your eye is sound,” Jesus says, “your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.”
God, I often turn my heart to the material things of this world that sustain me for a while but need continual replenishing. Help me see where I place my heart. In choosing treasures, give me the grace today of prudence in storing up the treasures that endure eternally in heaven. In the light of your grace, help me see with a sound eye and mind all the good gifts you give me.
Lord, help me be mindful of you throughout the day. Stay with me as I become aware of the freedom to choose where my treasure is.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.