Christ our only Treasure

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

“… he went away sad, for he had many possessions” – this sentence might cause us to wonder what the rich man could be sad about. After all, he had many possessions. Is this not the stuff that makes all of us happy? With many possessions, you can do anything…you can have everything you want. The world teaches us: “Money makes the world go round.” If this were so, then why did the rich man go away sad?

St. Catherine of Genoa says “God has created the soul, pure and simple…endowed with a beatific instinct towards God.” And it experiences joy insofar as the love of God flows into the soul. However, St. Catherine refers to a certain “rust” which covers the soul and impedes such a flowing in of God. This “rust” is sin…and perhaps, every attachment to the things of the world. St. Catherine said, “If an object is covered, being under the sun, it cannot receive the reflection of the sun – not because of defect of the sun which continually shines; but because of what is covering it.” The cover prevents the object from receiving whatever the sun has to offer. The thicker the cover is, the more it is shielded from the rays of the sun, the less it absorbs the reflection of the sun. The thicker the “rust” that covers the soul, the less the soul experiences joy because the love of God is not able to flow into it.

Because the man has many possessions, he could not appreciate the fact that Jesus was looking at him and loving him. His many possessions prevented him from doing so. Therefore, his possessions prevented him from experiencing the joy that only the love of the Lord can give. The responsorial psalm tells us: “Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!”

The possessions we value too much are “rust” in reality. In the Book of Wisdom spoke of Wisdom: “I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison to her, nor did I liken any precious gem to her; because all gold, in view of her (wisdom), is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness, I loved her, and I chose to her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.” And who is this Wisdom of God? It is Jesus. Jesus is the Wisdom of God. Jesus is our true treasure. Si Hesus ang ating tunay na yaman. Si Hesus ang ating tanging yaman.

Ikaw ang aking tanging yaman na di lubusang masumpungan. Ang nilikha mong kariktan, sulyap ng yong kagandahan. Jesus, you are my unique treasure. The beautiful things that you have created are but a glimpse of your beauty, Lord.

Jesus, I trust in you! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!