Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time, July 30, 2025

Gospel

Matthew 13:44-46

Jesus said to his disciples:

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,

which a person finds and hides again,

and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant

searching for fine pearls.

When he finds a pearl of great price,

he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."

Reflection

Today’s Gospel Reading is from a set of parables from Jesus, and the two in our Gospel are very similar. They give us a foreshadowing of the joy of heaven. Even with this understanding, I find myself being stumped as I reflect. I can’t imagine being so elated upon a discovery that I sell everything I have to possess that discovered thing. How superficial. And how frustrating that I can’t pinpoint what in my life is holding me back from possessing such joy. Would I sell everything I own for the joy of Heaven? And if not, how do I get to a place where I would? What is it that I need to let go of, and how do I know? The latter question is what I will go about trying to answer in this reflection.

Jesus spoke to the people in ways they could relate and understand. There were those who were already blessed with understanding and those who needed a parable. Jesus speaks to us too, and He uses the people and situations in our lives to reveal things about ourselves to us. Something else He can use is our guardian angels. In a talk by Fr. Ripperger, he explains how God allows for angels to help us and how we can ask them to reveal to us things about ourselves (God willing). You can find a link to the video in the citation below. It is an extremely interesting talk, and what better way to learn about Heaven and ourselves than from the some of the most intelligent creatures created! 

I don’t have an answer for the question posed. I am not aware of the things I am holding onto too tightly. I do think I know how I can go about figuring that out though, and that is by praying to my angel. If you have time, give the talk a listen and if you don’t have time, I encourage you to pray to your angel today. 

SensusFidelium. (2019, October 16). Guardian Angels~ Fr Ripperger [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WMjnJmgpn4