19 June, Friday — Where is your treasure?

Jun 19 – St Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs

St Philip Minh (1815-1853) is a Vietnamese martyr. Born in Vietnam, he studied at the College General in Penang, joined the Society for Foreign Missions of Paris and was ordained a priest in 1846 with the purpose of working for the Church in Vietnam. Seized by anti-Catholic forces, he was beheaded in 1853 after steadfastly refusing to trample the cross or betray fellow priests. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

Vietnamese Martyrs, also known as the Martyrs of Annam, Martyrs of Tonkin and Cochinchina, Martyrs of Indochina, are saints on the General Roman Calendar who were canonized by Pope John Paul II. On June 19, 1988, thousands of Overseas Vietnamese worldwide gathered at the Vatican for the Celebration of the Canonization of 117 Vietnamese Martyrs, an event chaired by Monsignor Tran Van Hoai. Their memorial is on November 24 (although several of these saints have another memorial, having been beatified and on the calendar prior to the canonization of the group).

2 Kgs 11:1-4,9-18,20
Mt 6:19-23

“Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth…But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”

To be honest, I find today’s Gospel reading really challenging — as with any scripture reading pertaining to attachments to worldly things. This reading always brings to mind the Beatitudes Jesus taught on the Sermon on the Mount. There are two versions – Luke’s and Matthew’s. They are both challenging as well, particularly in this secular world that we live in, where success is the usual guide to measure a person.

When I first read the today’s Gospel reading, I thought it made sense. Why would you want to store anything that can spoil, or rot? As to the threat of being stolen, well, if I hid the items out of sight of others, then it would be safe. But we all know that our Lord often has deeper meanings to His teachings. So, I don’t think Jesus is referring to actual moths, woodworms or thieves. 

Then the question becomes what are worldly goods or treasures? I think that differs for everyone. But the general idea that worldly goods consist of the pursuit of wealth, possessions, power, prestige, comfort and pleasure. The struggles that we have with detachment or, doing without, is because the material possessions or wealth provide us with a false sense of security. Also, in this day and age, we tend to favour the ‘haves’ and think less of the ‘have-nots’. Let’s face it, we all want to be comfortable, and don’t want to be destitute. As we have heard many times in homilies, podcasts, etc., that the goods themselves are not evil, but our attachment to them is evil; especially when we ‘worship’ them as false gods and derive our sense of security, safety and well-being from these dead things. We have only one God and from Him alone do we derive our peace, joy, security, and in Him alone, do we place our trust.

The reading goes further to say that ‘the eye is the lamp to the body, and if our eye is diseased, our body will be in darkness’. Again, there is so much truth behind what Jesus said. Our eyes do seek out what we covet, and if we let our eyes dictate our hearts, then it can, and will be infiltrated with so much filth and garbage that our hearts become dark. However, if we let our hearts align with God’s design and desire for us, our eyes become bright with light and life.

Again, I am not suggesting that we all need to give up everything and live a life of a hermit or in poverty. That may be the calling for some, and maybe for you too. I don’t know God’s plan for you — that is between God and you. But I do know that God is calling on us to trust in Him alone and to give our hearts to Him alone. In order to do that, we need to be detached from worldly things. It doesn’t mean to give up completely or stop trying, but it does mean that we are not attached to certain outcomes. Our peace is not disrupted because we didn’t get what we want, because our treasure, our peace and joy rests in God alone.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)

Prayer: My most loving Lord, please grant us the grace of wisdom to choose You above all else, to keep our eyes and hearts focused on You, and to follow You with our whole heart.

Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for Your infinite patience with us, with our weakness and brokenness. Despite it all, You still love us beyond our understanding. Help us to love You in return.