Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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 Kingdom of Heaven is the greatest treasure God can give to us. It is a place of rest, a place of joy, a place of love where we will be fulfilled. It is in heaven that we will experience God firsthand. We shall see His Divine Face and bask in the Beatific Vision. We shall see the Divine Image that is within each of us, but perfected beyond our wildest dreams. And this is why we should be willing to sell everything we have to buy Heaven. We must sell our attachments to worldly things, to other people, to everything that is holding us back from obtaining Paradise. We must be willing to sacrifice, to pray, to fast, to give alms, to give our entire lives over to God in hopes that He will open the Gates of Heaven for us.

Are we willing to sell everything we have to obtain Heaven? What are the worldly possessions, unhealthy attachments, and other things keeping us from being completely God’s children? How can we learn to let them go?

O Lord, help us to invest ourselves completely in you.

Amen.