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.
“The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” MT 6: 19-23
Jesus teaches us two profound things today: the intention of your heart is what is most important to you and the most important part of the body is your eyes (spiritually). St. Katharine Drexel lost her mother when she was an infant. Her father remarried and they opened their doors to the poor each week. Her father was a wealthy banker who came home and prayed each day for one hour. She loved them both very much. She lost her father and step-mother within 6 months of each other. She inherited millions. What she found out was that there wasn’t enough money to bring back those near and dear to heart. She spent every penny of her inheritance to help Native Americans and African Americans in our country. On our death bed the last thing we will care about is our money, how big our house is, our car, our trophies and awards, it will be whether we loved enough. Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel that we have an allotted amount of time this is to be spent loving and serving, especially those He placed closest to us. Money and material things have their place in our lives, but they should not control us. We must be careful not to fall into this trap that is very easy to do and which I have done. It’s easy, love is hard. It likes to suffer and requires sacrifice and unselfishness. Jesus gave up all to save us, we must look to Him as our model. Second, if we want to have the right intention in our hearts we must keep a sound eye. Our eyes must constantly be fixed on the things of heaven which are spiritual. This follows the “Our Father” from yesterday that Jesus taught us. The basis of Stewardship is recognizing that all we have is a gift and we are to thank God for all we have daily and share our gifts with others. It does not matter if we are rich or poor, but it what we do with our gifts and whether we recognize God as the source of all gifts. We are nothing without God, everything we have and are is a gift. What we put our eyes on physically or spiritually will have everything to do with the intention of our hearts. May we ask for God’s grace to avoid distractions and temptations that lead us away from our spiritual home.
Today’s challenge: Ask yourself what really is the most important things in your life. If today was your last day on earth, would everyone know the intention of your heart was set on heavenly things. If not, thank God for time to change and repent, start over, persevere, and love.
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
Recent Comments