TREASURES IN HEAVEN

June 20, 2025 Friday within the 11th week in Ordinary Time Year C Matthew 6:19-23 In a world that constantly urges us to accumulate, secure, and display our worth through possessions, Jesus offers a tender but radical invitation: to let go of earthly treasures and seek the eternal. He is not condemning wealth itself, but warning us—lovingly—that what we hold onto can end up holding us. Our hearts follow our treasure, and if our treasure is fleeting, so too will be the peace we hope to find. Christ, in His gentle voice, redirects our desires toward heaven, where nothing rusts, nothing rots, and no thief can ever reach. But this passage is not just about material things. It speaks deeply to where we place our hope, what we feed our souls with, and what we allow to become the light or the darkness within. Jesus knows how fragile our hearts can be, how easily they can be clouded by anxiety, envy, or greed. When our eyes are fixed only on the things of this world—status, success, approval—we risk losing sight of the One who alone can fill the ache within us. We become spiritually nearsighted, unable to see the deeper meaning of life that only grace can reveal. Christ is gently calling us to a freedom the world cannot give—a light that dispels all fear. He does not ask us to live with empty hands, but with open ones. When we choose Him as our treasure, we are no longer at the mercy of loss or change, because our hearts rest in something eternal. And in that resting, we begin to see clearly—with eyes that recognize beauty in the poor, purpose in suffering, and light even in the darkest night. Let us pray today for that kind of vision—the kind that sees as God sees, and treasures what is truly lasting. Blessings Fr. Jhack