From the responsorial psalm: “Praise the LORD, O my soul; I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (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.”
In this parable, Jesus speaks to each person in an quiet yet urgent voice to stir a desire to seek him. The kingdom of heaven is already here, and it is yet to come. Pope Francis describes this in two ways, searching and sacrifice. The kingdom of God must be sought out, and the essential attitude to acquire it is “searching, journeying, working hard.” When the treasure is found—the very person of Jesus—a great sacrifice is called for so that the discovery produces spiritual fruit. “It is not a question of disdaining the rest,” Pope Francis says, “but of subordinating them to Jesus, putting him in first place; grace in first place.”
God, with the help of your grace and through the intercession of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, help me see you everywhere throughout the course of the day. When I imagine that the buried treasure and the pearl lay just ahead of me today to seek out and find, I am joyful in knowing you are near. Help me renounce and detach from all that is not you. Give me the wisdom and courage to make the necessary sacrifices to put Christ your Son in first place, eager to serve you in hearing and doing your will. Saint Ignatius, pray for us!
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.