Author: admin

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Gospel: Matthew 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.”

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Fields are ordinary places; people walk across them all the time without ever wondering what might be buried beneath their feet.

Who knows, they could be standing on top of buried treasure! But they’ll only find out if they pause, and take time to dig.

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In a similar way, human beings can walk through the fields of life rarely seeing the deeper dimensions of reality.

Sometimes we can be satisfied with surface-level interactions, taking the people and places around us for granted.

But if we took the time to dig deeper, then we might discover a hidden treasure: Christ around us, Christ within us.

As someone once said, “Whenever the Christ in me discovers the Christ in you, we’re standing on holy ground.”

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May we see the fields around us as holy ground.

Buried deep within is the “pearl of great price,” the presence of the Divine.

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Image credits: (1) Twitter (2) R. Joseph Owles, WordPress (3) Hike It Baby Family Trail Guide

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 36-43

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The Sistine Chapel is one of the most iconic works of art ever created. Strewn across the wall where the altar stands is a depiction of the final judgment.

Angels fight for the souls of the just, while demons pull the evil ones down into the netherworld. It’s a jarring but beautiful piece, drawing its inspiration from today’s Gospel.

“Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,” Jesus says, “so it will be at the end of the age.” 

Michelangelo reminds us that everyone must stand before the judgment seat of God. But why does God wait until the end of our lives to judge us? Or, using the imagery from today’s Gospel, why must the weeds co-exist with the wheat? 

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When they first sprout, weeds and wheat look quite similar. 

Any seasoned farmer knows that it’s best to wait until the weeds and wheat become fully mature before separating them; otherwise, one may be mistaken for the other.

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In a similar way, Jesus waits until the end of our lives to judge what we’ve become, either a weed or wheat. It’s his prayer that every soul becomes wheat. Shouldn’t we hope for the same?

Doing so means three things: 

First, that we are patient with ourselves; faith is a life-long journey. Secondly, that we’re patient with others. And, third, that we withhold our judgment of others, never seeing another person as incapable of change.

Rather, like Jesus, we do everything we can to reveal the goodness of God.

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Sometimes it feels like a distant and difficult truth, but the Lord’s judgment does come. So, “whoever has ears ought to hear,” Jesus says.

What does this mean for me today?

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Image credits: (1) Michelangelo, Divine Judgment, Sistine Chapel, SmartHistory (2) Undefined (3) Sistine Chapel, Ibid.

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 31-35

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”

He spoke to them another parable.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables, 
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:

I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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What are the two most important – and, at times, difficult – words we can say?

“Yes, Jesus.”

In Latin, Iesu ita. 

It’s from these two words, Iesu ita, that we get the word, “Jesuit.”

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit religious order. 

Currently, there are over 17,000 Jesuit priests serving across six different continents. Even Pope Francis is a Jesuit!

But it all started 500 years ago when Ignatius said, Iesu ita, “Yes, Jesus.”

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Those were not easy words for him to speak. 

Ignatius was once a soldier in the Spanish army who sought human glory in war. However, his life changed after he suffered a terrible leg injury, landing him bedridden in the hospital for months on end.

Dying of boredom, Ignatius began reading biographies of different Saints (because there was nothing else to read)! But this sparked his conversion, inspiring him to begin fighting the greatest battle of all: the battle against evil itself.

Some years later, Ignatius was ordained a Catholic priest and started the Jesuit religious order.

Again, now there are over 17,000 Jesuit priests serving across six different continents! And it all started – using today’s Gospel imagery – with a “mustard seed.” 

One man said “Yes, Jesus.” Those words changed his life, and 500 years later, they are still changing the world for good.

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Imagine what might happen if you follow Ignatius’ example and say, “Yes, Jesus,” today.

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Image credits: (1) Ask Harriette (2) Jesuits.org (3) Bible.com