The story in the Old Testament reading today of Solomon’s petition to God for an understanding heart (wisdom), for discernment in right and wrong—right judgment—demonstrates just what is real treasure. Real treasure is the wisdom that will help us choose to always seek first the kingdom of heaven and the way that leads to everlasting life before all other things. The Gospel refers to this wisdom, this attitude, as “a pearl of great price”─true and lasting treasure! And after all this time we still speak of the Wisdom of Solomon and pearls of wisdom. With good reason!

So, what would you give to attain this pearl of great price? Would you give your all? That is the point of the Gospel parables. What do you give in order to gain a place in the kingdom? (Fr. Kevin has spoken of sacrifice for doing the right thing!) We work so hard for so many things that we will not take with us into the next world. In the third parable we hear how the net will be cast to collect fish of every kind. The good fish will be separated from the bad fish—like last week’s story of the wheat and the weeds.

Now is the time for you to pray for the Wisdom of Solomon, for discernment and right judgment in determining your priorities for your time, talent and treasure. What will you give for the pearl of great price, for your place at the table? Would you give a few hours to serve your Community? Would you be willing give up a couple of hours of television, change or rearrange your schedule, take a chance for eternity?

The incredible thing about any ministry in God is how it leads you on to more ministries and more gifts from God. It is true that so many times in the very midst of giving, you will find yourself receiving. So, take a chance on true treasure, on this pearl, because where your treasure is, there your heart will be.

Keep singing!

​Elizabeth Dyc

Today’s readings are all about the power of God’s Word to take root in our hearts, minds and spirits. The Prophet Isaiah assures us that God’s Word will produce results, “…my word shall not return to me void…” He uses the imagery of watering the earth, “making it fertile and fruitful…” We see an image of a garden, an appropriate image this time of year, as we work to water, weed and feed our own personal garden patches. God, the Great Gardener of our spirits, gives us this same care and attention.

​St. Paul today speaks of how all of creation, and we, “who have the first fruits of the Spirit” wait to be harvested by God. This is our redemption of which he speaks, the reward of the eternal for those who believe.

Jesus tells us the familiar parable in St. Matthew’s Gospel of the seeds and the sower, and He quotes Isaiah’s warning against closing our eyes and ears in allowing the Word of God to take root in us. The question is: What kind of ground are we for God’s word? “The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” These are very clear words today from Jesus. Today the Psalm refrain is: “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.” So, how do we become fertile soil for the Word?

We must always first begin with God, in all we say and all we do. Understanding is a grace, and if we are open to the Word, it will be given. His Word, then, must take root in love, and more importantly, in action: we must feed the poor (your families, too), comfort the sick (children and relatives), visit the imprisoned (homebound elderly), etc. You get the picture. That kind of action in our lives is a sign of true and fertile ground. We also attend Mass and other Church related activities as priorities in our lives. The liturgy (mass) is the summit of our worship, and then we must go home and have households of active faith.

There is a hymn text (refrain) that says: “So the Word came to the world, so the Word came to stretch His arms and die for the world. As He loved, so we live─to sow the Word.” Conversion and then action will make us fertile ground.

Keep singing!

​Elizabeth Dyc

I was reading and praying through our scripture for this weekend in our Missalette (The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time), and I saw that the verse for the Gospel Acclamation today is: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation…” Maybe your first reaction (mine was) is probably that we Christians have a special place of honor with all the perks implied by power. But the implication here is huge for us true believers—and it is not about the privileges of power—but about the responsibility, the mission, the inheritance and accountability we are called to as Catholic Christians.

​This “entitlement” as named Christians is one that demands deep commitment and fierce self-reflection. Our integrity as true believers must constantly be held to a Gospel standard and examined: are we doing the right thing in the moment, the hard thing, and waiting for a later and better reward? That is what each and every one of us is called to do. And we also have a collective responsibility in that all of us are responsible to these core ideals—no “passing the buck.”

St. Paul tells us that by our Baptism we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ: if we die with Christ, we shall live with Him in “newness of life.” We are called to live for God in Jesus, announcing His praises, called out of darkness into light—doing the hard work. A new life is what we will find: an energized best version we are called to be in order to work in this field of souls. That is the life we are chosen for and that we choose: acceptance that bestows responsibility for others, accountability for our actions, and the joy of the cross. Is it worth the sacrifice and hard work, eschewing the easy way out? Only you can say for you.

Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc