If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light.
My wife, Anna, loves the following quote from her grandfather:
“Dignity and Piety Make a man Look Great. Love and humility Make the man Great”
Thomas Dwyer, County Roscommon
Darkness cannot exist in light. We really cannot be in darkness if light is present. Looks can be so deceiving but if the Light of Christ is in us, it is impossible not to show that light to the world.
In our first reading today from the 2nd Book of Kings, Queen, Athaliah killed off almost all of the royal family except for one, Jehoash. Thanks to his aunt and nurse he survived by living in the temple for six years.
Athaliah’s problem is that she had no light in her. She was more interested in power and earthly treasurers. The true light of God was not in her. When she died, she was forgotten. None of the things she treasured survived.
Jesus says in today’s Gospel of Matthew Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…. But store up treasures in Heaven. It comes to mind the husband of my wife’s cousin in North Ireland. His name is Paul and was a Bank clerk during the time of the “troubles” in North Ireland. By accident, some of the Euros from his cash box fell to the floor. Of course he bent down to retrieve them. At that same moment a bomb went off and the blast embedded a huge piece of shrapnel into the wall right behind where Paul’s head was positioned before the blast . Paul was unhurt .
Paul took that piece of shrapnel and mounted on a board and displays it prominently in his house. Obviously a conversation piece, but to Paul it is a treasure. It is a treasure of God’s grace and mercy that he experienced on the day the bomb went off. Paul had a new lease on live and lives his life to glorify God.
With all the talk of the powerful of this political party or a wealthy person, you have to wonder where their treasure is. However, more importantly for me where are my treasures? Do I try to hold on things of this world and what type of investment in things that build real treasure in heaven.
Jesus knows we have to live in this world and have to provide for our families, but the real treasure of life can only be experienced if we have the Light of Christ that gives us the Love and Humility to be really great. It is part of the treasure we will experience in Paradise.
Blessed Fulton Sheen said, ” Evil may have its hour, but God will have His Day”.
God Love you Always
PS: Please pray for Paul and for my wife, Anna, who is having a lung biopsy today.
Picture credit: “Project 365 #74: 150309 The Eyes Have It” by comedy_nose is marked with CC PDM 1.0
