Homily: Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time - Heavenly Treasures

A few years ago, the Arts & Entertainment channel began airing a show called, “Hoarders”.  The show chronicles people whose accumulation and hoarding of material stuff has become so excessive that it is has become difficult to move through the house; sometimes whole rooms are inaccessible becomes they are filled with material stuff that has begun to decay.  In many cases the houses become so unsanitary that children are forced into foster care, or the house is condemned. 

There are no doubt many psychological factors involved in compulsive hoarding, but often the show challenges the viewer to examine his own life.  For we can all develop a disordered attachment to material things.

St. Thomas Aquinas would say that concern for earthly things can become sinful if we treat material things as ends in themselves; meaning, if we fall into sin when we become so preoccupied with material things that we neglect our duties toward God and our neighbor.

Our Blessed Lord teaches us in the Gospel today, “do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”  Instead, the Christian disciple is to store up treasures in heaven. 

Most of us are not compulsive hoarders.  However, each of us are at risk of allowing preoccupation with earthly concerns  to lead us to our concern for spiritual matters, that is the worship we owe to God and we neglect the almsgiving we are called to towards the poor.

Additionally, Christians are also at risk of obsessive worrying about earthly matters: Worry about the future, our job, our finances, our reputation.  While being concerned about these basic human matters is important, we can become preoccupied with them in a way that is unhealthy for our spiritual lives.

When our lives are focused merely on the material, the earthly, we become unhappy and exhausted.  Rather, the spiritual life brings us into right relationship with God which brings a peace and joy that the world cannot give.  The Christian engaging in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving not just during Lent, but throughout the year, stores up treasure in heaven and becomes a blessing in the world.

The Lord Jesus is challenging us to examine our external behaviors, yes.  But also the Lord always seeks the transformation of our hearts.  He calls us to a greater trust in our Heavenly Father, a greater generosity with our time, talent, and treasure, a greater freedom from the things of this world, in order to be of greater service for the glory of God and salvation of souls.