Pearl of Great Price
Gospel Reflection for Wednesday July 30, 2025
“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." Matthew 13:44-46
Today, Our Lord reminds us of the worth of Heaven. That worth far exceeds any earthly good. The lesson for today is simply this:
What are we willing to give up for eternity in Heaven?
The life of the Christian is one of self-denial. Our Lord cautions us against the allure of worldly treasure. The gold of this life will quickly fade, and we cannot take it with us. Each of us will encounter many opportunities in this world in which we are given the choice between the kingdom of Earth and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Wealth, fame, the pleasures of the flesh, etc., are constantly being held up as the height of human achievement in this world. The reality is, though, these things are a sure path to the loss of our souls. We must be willing to deny ourselves these things in order to orient ourselves to God and journey toward Him. Our Lord tells us that we cannot serve two masters.1 Either the worldly goods attract our affections, and we move away from God, or we deny ourselves the comforts of these things and orient our hearts to God.
The journey of the interior life to God is one of successive purging of the love of the world. Either we get to the point where our love for God is perfected and we can move into perfect union with Him, or we refuse to let go of earthly affections and we remain outside of union with God. We cannot have both.
We must ask ourselves what we are willing to give up for the Kingdom of Heaven daily. Will we deny ourselves the goods of this world in order to obtain something far greater? Are we willing to sacrifice the pleasures of this world and love of earthly things and unite to Christ so that we can walk His path to union with God?
Heaven is the pearl of great price. We must give everything for it. We cannot be perfectly united to God while still being attached to the things of the world. Will you pay the price to obtain all that God has planned for you?
Cf. Matthew 6:24.
Beautiful as always.