Monthly Archives: July 2010

Buried Treasure

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Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21
Matthew 13:44-46

The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field . . .

These days, when we look at our world, when we look at our Church it seems like a big mess. It is easy to think that things are worse now than they have ever been and that things were better and the world a more decent place in the past.

But here is a question…. Have you ever wondered what a treasure was doing buried in a field?

In Jesus’ time people buried their valuables when they expected to be attacked by an enemy and hoped that they would survive to retrieve them. The original owners of the treasure in this parable obviously did not survive. Times weren’t so good then either.

Jesus compares the Kingdom of heaven to a treasure that was buried and lost during bad times.

During difficult times we can feel as if not just our treasure, but we ourselves, are overwhelmed. We put all our effort into keeping our heads above water and can lose sight of what is most important to us.

Summer can be a good time to take a step back, to think, to reflect and pray – to reconnect with ourselves and with our God.

If you are fortunate enough in the next few weeks to have a little time to yourself use it to recover your treasure. What is your pearl of great price? What is the treasure for which you would sell all you have?

Sister Mary Ann Strain, CP lives in Union City, NJ and helps represent the Passionists at the United Nations.

It’s a big world, Live in it

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Jeremiah 14:17-22
Matthew 13:36-43

In a Peanuts cartoon Charlie Brown approaches Lucy who sits behind her makeshift office where she offers Psychiatric Help for five cents. Charlie’s problem is simply put, “I don’t fit in…what can you do when life seems to be passing you by?” “Follow me,” she says, “…See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? Ever see any other worlds? No other worlds for you to live in…right?” And then Lucy delivers her sage advice, printed in large, bold letters that sends Charlie tumbling through the air, “Well, Live in it, then!” Lucy’s session concludes, “Five cents please.”

Chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel is exciting; it is full of familiar, entertaining and beautiful parables telling us about the Kingdom of God. If we have ‘Charlie Brown’ feelings about where we stand as disciples in our world, Matthew tells us, “Live the Kingdom of God.” Lucy patiently leads Charlie to see what seems the obvious, Matthew does the same for a disciple. He ends the chapter asking the disciples, “Do you understand?” “Yes”, they answer. In fact Matthew may say with a smile, you are in such good shape that you have in your storehouse old treasures and newly discovered gifts to draw upon to live this Kingdom of God.

What is this Kingdom of God that Matthew talks about? It is God’s gift, something in the future that we will reach; a goal. It is a wedding banquet where we will celebrate the fullness of God’s love. But it is also something present with us daily. The Kingdom of God is the active presence of our loving, forgiving God, present with us even as we seek and await the fullness of the Kingdom. We work to engage this divine presence, which is at times quite hidden and quiet. We work to make present the love and forgiveness of this Kingdom in our daily lives. This can give us a glimpse of what its fullness will be like.

As we enjoy the parables of the Kingdom, our Gospel today explains one of the longer parables, the parable of weeds sown by an enemy. Matthew adds a practical piece to the puzzle of the Kingdom present but also to come. He stresses patience. First we need to be patient with ourselves as we strive to make the Kingdom of God present. We don’t always work so well. Those weeds are tricky. They look like the wheat and so we have to be watchful, take time to examine what is in front of us. Patience is necessary to distinguish between what is worth cultivating and what only takes up room and returns nothing life giving. Weeds do not reflect among us the fullness of God’s Kingdom of love and forgiveness.

And we must also be patient with the mystery of God’s plan for the coming Kingdom. The pearl, the treasure, a big bag of seeds and a field that is the world, these are symbols for the Kingdom. It takes patience to find a valuable pearl, craftily burying a discovered treasure and then figuring out how to obtain the property demands patience, seeing the mysterious, slow growth of our garden to fullness these summer days is the reward given only to the patient. Patience is prerequisite as we each wait in our own way for the fullness of the Kingdom. If we get worried like Charlie Brown, and are disorientated disciples, Matthew gives us encouragement. We await the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. It is a gift. It of course comes as a surprise. Be patient. Lucy would say to us, ‘live it now’, even as we patiently wait.

Father Bill Murphy, C.P. is the pastor of St. Joseph Monastery  Passionist Parish in Baltimore, Maryland.

St. Ann

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Jeremiah 13:1-11
Matthew 13:31-35

Years ago I was in the cathedral in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and a old statue of St. Ann caught my eye. You can see it above. It’s like many of St. Ann, whose feast day we celebrate today. Mary, her beloved daughter is standing at her side. And Ann is holding a book in her hand, teaching her young child.

What’s interesting is what’s written on the book. Usually, Ann is pointing out to Mary some holy thoughts from the scriptures. But in this scene, she’s pointing out to Mary her ABC’s, 1,2,3,4…Like so many of the stories of the saints told centuries ago, this statue has a lesson to teach. In a time when illiteracy was common, especially among young girls, Ann reminds parents to teach their children how to read and write. It’s what a parent should do and doing it well makes you holy. Holiness is as simple as teaching your kids the ABC’s.

Of course, it means more than that. It means handing on good values right from the start, teaching children how to get along with others generously, what to believe and how to pray. It’s all so simple and such a daily task that parents have to be reminded how important it is.

Today at St.Ann’s Basilica in Scranton, Pa., the Passionists are ending a popular novena to St. Ann which thousands of people attend. Many are parents or grandparents with children in tow. Why do they come? I think they recognize instinctively in the saint some lessons that every parent and grandparent should remember. Bringing up kids is a holy task. It can make you a saint.

Good St. Ann, pray for us.

Fr. Victor Hoagland, CP is the Director of Passionist Press and a member of the Passionist Community in Union City, NJ.