02/08/2023

What is this "Kingdom of God" that Jesus always presents to us in parables, metaphors and similies.? Today we have the metal detectorist of his era who when looking around in the vicinity of one of the ancient ruins/burial places, of which there were plenty in Palestine, even at the time of Our Lord, comes across a buried hoard. He doesn't reveal his find to the owner of the field. It must be his! So he raises capital from his present possessions and buys the field without revealing its hidden value.

The acquisition of hidden value is still one of the main activities of the Trading Companies of today. Jesus neither condones nor condemns the basic dishonesty of this practice, acquiring goods at less than their true value, but tells us that we should  emulate the persistence  of the wheelers and dealers seen on Wall Street, the City of London and other bourses and exchanges throughout the world in their search for wealth. Our persistence, however,  should be directed to  the " Kingdom of God" an unshakeable adherence to the revelations of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Why does Jesus make no condemnation of the literal "gold-digger"? Jesus' other parables using wealth as their theme also reflect the complexity of the way worldly wealth continues to grow and provides us with many of our moral conundrums. The present day Vatican is  paralysed by the "Patrimony of St Peter."The Church knows that the worldly riches that have been acquired over centuries, two Millenia, should not  be wasted but caring for them takes the time that should be devoted to "The Kingdom of God". 

Prayer is the primary purpose of each soul here on Earth. The Word, the Incarnate Son of the Father became the ultimate prayer on the Cross of Calvary. His mystical body, the Church could offer herself to become a sacrifice pleasing to God in the only way possible when stuck in the "Eye of the Needle". Divest.Divest.Divest. Give everything away and return to prayer.

Dear Lord, I know that I am responsible for myself. Let me never lose sight of the Angel who has brought to me the Holy Spirit and let the sincerity of these moments remain with me until I face death. May Mary and all the Saints support my words and the prayers of the heart that are a truthful raising of my being to God. Lord have mercy on me.