My son, to which treasure have you given your heart? However poor your choice has been up to now, I am ready to help you embrace the path of wisdom.
Newsroom (19/10/2022 18:00, Gaudium Press) When God asks us for something, His desire is to give it to us a hundredfold. The story of St. Peter himself illustrates this perfectly: he left his family, his nets and all his belongings, and received the Primacy of the Church. What marvels flowed from his self-giving! And even at his death, crucified upside down, the first Pope saw the sentence of Our Lord fulfilled in him, He Who had promised him a hundredfold already on this earth, “with persecutions”.
He who forsakes all things for love of God becomes a scandal to the unfortunate ones, to those who cling to creatures, dominated by selfish passions. The latter hate them because they torment their conscience and… sooner or later, they will wish to take revenge by promoting persecutions upon the ones who choose God. However, no matter how violent they may be, in no way will they shake the happiness of those who have opted for wisdom, preferring instead to fix their hearts on the treasure of Heaven.
Which path to take?
At a certain moment in our spiritual life, a fork in the road appears: to the left is the treasure of earth; to the right, that of Heaven. The rich young man described in the Gospel desired to unite both and reach beatitude by carrying with him all of his possessions.
However, this possibility does not exist for those who are called to imitate Our Lord Jesus Christ; for the vocation of all the baptized demands a different path. Let us remember that He does not ask everyone to empty themselves of material goods, but for the emptying of their hearts for Him.
The siblings, Lazarus, Martha and Mary, faithful disciples of Jesus and members of one of the wealthiest families in Israel, were never told by Him to renounce their possessions. Using them wisely, they were not only able to provide comfort to the God-Man, but also to show Him their affection and veneration.
Thus, an examination of conscience does not focus on an economic or charitable problem, as might be suggested by Our Lord’s words of advice to the rich young man to give everything to the poor, but on a deeper question: do I not have some wealth hidden in my heart?
The well-known adage says: “good proceeds from an upright cause; evil from any defect“. If my heart loves God above all things, good, grace and wisdom dwell in it; if, on the contrary, I nourish some attachment, whether to money, to a friendship, or even to a simple object like a pen, I will not have the strength to remain virtuous, and disasters will follow.
Let us grow in the hope of acquiring the treasure of Heaven, an incorruptible inheritance, which neither tarnishes nor withers (cf. I Pt 1:4), whose summit is found in living with the Blessed Trinity, with our heavenly brethren and, in a very special way, with Our Lady. She, who is the Mother of Mercy, says to us in the depths of our soul:
“My son, to which treasure have you given your heart? However bad your choice has been up to now, I am ready to help you embrace the path of wisdom, beside which ‘all the gold in the world is a handful of sand’ (Wis 7:9). This is the wealth that will bring you true happiness and, according to the promise of my Son, will multiply even your temporal goods. Ask me! Pray to me with seriousness, trust and humility, in the certainty that the recognition of your own miseries opens the torrents of love of my Sacred and Immaculate Heart.
Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, EP
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm