The Pearl of Great Price
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. (Mt 13:45-46)
Most of us think of Heaven as somewhere in the clouds with the angels singing and where everyone is happy, but a closer look informs us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not just a place to go when we die. It is an experience, a state of being beyond human understanding that exists in the present moment and in the eternal now. Jesus knows our limitations – we cannot understand what cannot be conceived even in our imagination, so He speaks in similes, giving us concrete images we do understand.
He wants us to truly seek Heaven because He desires our highest good and wants us to experience unending joy. We have the tendency to keep ourselves very busy, preoccupied with the small details of going to school, raising families, performing well at work, saving for a house — or a bigger house. Pursuing these things is not wrong as long as we keep them in the right perspective. Are we serving God in the fulfilling of our duties, or are we merely serving our own egos? There is a simple test we can give ourselves to see if we are on the right track. When we obtain the object that we seek, whether it be a new pair of shoes or a promotion, how do we act two weeks later when the thrill of the new thing wears off? Do we appreciate what we have and express gratitude, or do we fill ourselves with dissatisfaction over what we do not yet have and focus on acquiring the next bright, shiny object? The first mindset leads to joy and the second mindset leads to depression; the first mindset focuses our thoughts on our Creator and the second mindset focuses only on ourselves. We can turn this around with one simple change – The Morning Offering. It’s a very short prayer we can place in front of the coffee pot, on the bathroom mirror, or the refrigerator. It’s twenty five seconds a day that can change our entire perspective.
Every one of us needs this change in perspective, even the saints. St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote of wanting new shoes for Christmas in spite of her family’s poverty, St Francis of Assisi was busy enjoying the pleasures of extraordinary wealth and position, and St. Catherine of Genoa used her wealth to distract herself from a miserable marriage. Each of them had an encounter with Love, however, that made them want to change course –Thérèse going to a cloistered convent, Francis abandoning his worldly goods for a life of poverty, prayer, and preaching, and Catherine caring for the sick at the hospital in Genoa, while making a life habit of frequent confession and offering penances. They became saints because they encountered God’s love and spent their lives searching for the depths of it. As they fell further into the endless depths of His Love for them, so too their hearts increased their capacity to love Him more. Their good deeds sprang not from a desire for a reward, but from their desire to serve Love Himself.
Whatever our temporary position is in the world, there is so much more waiting for us. Heaven is the “pearl of great price;” it is worth more than the treasures of this world and sacrificing our will and our wants to obtain it leads to our ultimate happiness. Take a closer look again — there is something else there too. Love Himself is calling us. Hidden in this parable, Jesus is the merchant. He is searching for us – we are His pearl of great price. He came to earth to pursue our salvation and He offers us His entire kingdom, hoping we will fall in love with Him as He has fallen in love with us. He delights in the beauty of our souls, created by Our Father and each created to love Him in a way that is unique and unrepeatable. We are His pearl and we are worth so much to Him that He has given everything for us.
The Morning Offering
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day
For all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart
In union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered throughout the world
In reparation for my sins, for the salvation of souls, for the reunion of all Christians,
and for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.
