Reading 1: Isaiah 55:1-3

Reading 2: Romans 8:35, 37-39

Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21

Catholic homilies and Mass readings from St. Anne Roman Catholic Parish in Gilbert, Arizona

Catholic homilies and Mass readings from St. Anne Roman Catholic Parish in Gilbert, Arizona

Summary: The long version of today's homily, is a reflection on the discoveries of the treasure and of the pearl that Jesus has just told us about in today's Gospel.

There is a saying in Latin: qui amat, non laborat. He who loves does not work. When we like something, when we love something, it is not difficult for us to make sacrifices for what we desire. The goal may require a great effort, but we are ready to work for it because it is worth doing. Climbing the mountain is always demanding, but in order to see the best views we know it is necessary to go to the top. Many examples of this could be given, and surely we all have some experience with this in our own lives.

Christ is the treasure in today's Gospel. Are we willing to embrace the sacrifices that are necessary to receive Him? Stay with this word: everything. "Sell everything you have and buy the field." In other words, Jesus tells us, in order to reach him, it is not enough to be very generous and give him many things, but we must be willing to renounce everything. "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. “(Mt 10:39)

The second teaching is that for Christ it is worth giving everything. That we should empty ourselves with joy because we know that there is no proportion between the little we can sacrifice and how much we are going to receive as a result of that denial.

So today we ask the Lord to give us love, courage, faith, trust, zeal, generosity - have I already said courage? - to gamble our lives on a single card, to jump from the plane without a parachute, knowing that for those who put all their trust in the Lord, Christ never fails them. He will fill your hearts with the most intense and purest joy that you can experience, and after the struggles and sacrifices of this life, he will open the door to eternal joys in paradise.

Reading 1: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12

Reading 2: Romans 8:28-30

Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52

Catholic homilies and Mass readings from St. Anne Roman Catholic Parish in Gilbert, Arizona

Catholic homilies and Mass readings from St. Anne Roman Catholic Parish in Gilbert, Arizona

Summary: We meditate on one of the many teachings of this 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: the infinite patience of God.

I remember that, in the first Spiritual Exercises that I carried out when I was a teenager in Catholics In Action in Cuenca, the priest who was directing us quoted these lines that I have never forgotten:

Oh, infinite patience in waiting for me!

Oh, hard heart in not loving you!

How can it be that I tire of offending you

And you tire not of forgiving me?

God never tires of forgiving us. He does not grow tired of waiting for us to bear the fruits of conversion and holiness. We grow more tired before loving God as we should than He does forgiving our many sins.

The first reading said that God gives the sinner time to repent. The psalm said that the Lord is slow to anger and rich in mercy. Jesus said in the parable that the owner of the field waits until harvest time to separate the grain and the tares. God gives us time, dear brothers and sisters: are we taking advantage of it? Are we producing good fruit as evidence of our repentance?

Every second of our lives is an opportunity. The Lord will give us as many opportunities as will fit in the time, long or short, of our life. But one day, the time will come to an end and then, when the harvest time comes, God will come looking for fruit.

Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, that beginning, today, without letting one more day pass, we won’t waste any more time and that we will begin to bear the fruit of holiness, which will make us happy in this life, and one day will make us shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our heavenly Father.

Reading 1 Wis 12:13, 16-19

Reading 2 Rom 8:26-27

Gospel Mt 13:24-43

Catholic homilies and Mass readings from St. Anne Roman Catholic Parish in Gilbert, Arizona