Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Today's Word
"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." - Matthew 13:44 Full readings at USCCB
Real Talk
God appears to Solomon and says: ask for anything. Solomon is a young king who just got handed a massive amount of responsibility he doesn't feel ready for. And his answer is basically: I'm in over my head. Give me the wisdom to know what I'm doing and to tell right from wrong.
God was more pleased with that than he would have been with any of the obvious requests.
The treasure in the field parable is interesting because of the joy. The guy doesn't sell everything and regret it later. He sells everything out of joy because he found the thing worth more than everything else. The selling isn't painful. Finding the treasure makes it easy.
Most people your age haven't yet found the thing that reorganizes everything else. Or they've found it and haven't fully realized what they have. The question isn't whether you'll ever want anything else. It's whether what you already have in the faith is real enough to be that thing.
Your Challenge
Intellectual: Solomon asked for wisdom specifically so he could serve the people entrusted to him - not to make his own life easier. Think about the people in your life who have been entrusted to you: friends, younger siblings, teammates, people at school who look up to you. What kind of wisdom do you actually need to serve them well? That's a real question worth bringing to God.
One Prayer
Lord, give me an understanding heart - the kind that knows right from wrong and can actually serve the people around me well. And let what I already have in you be enough to make everything else easy to let go. Amen.
You are not alone. Submit your intentions and they'll be carried to Holy Hour this Sunday.
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