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| Sunday 27th July, 2008 - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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1 Kings 3:5, 7-12. Lord, I love your commands—Ps 118(119):57, 72, 76-77, 127-130. Romans 8:28-30. Matthew 13:44-52. Link to Readings
The hidden treasure. The pearl. The net. The kingdom of heaven is like this.
Do the parables make it easier for us to understand what heaven is like? Metaphors can help clarify a subject that we may know little or nothing about. The kingdom of heaven is a mystery to the crowds surrounding Jesus, but he tries to help them grasp its reality by explaining situations they, and we, can relate to.
We would ‘sell everything’ to claim the greater hidden treasure or the precious pearl. The net separates good from evil, who will be consumed by fire. This represents heaven as the most exquisite discovery, supreme wealth, profound joy, and absolute justice.
Jesus, you are the master teaching your children. No sophisticated mobile phones, texting or internet connections necessary—just simple stories about our eternal homeland. We may catch sporadic moments of heaven on earth, but every person—whether they acknowledge it or not—yearns for more. We want to become citizens of paradise! Lord, enlighten our minds and increase our faith until the day when we will see it for ourselves.
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| St Margaret of Scotland
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When the Normans conquered England, in 1066, members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family had to flee. That is how the princess Margaret (11th century) came to the court of Malcolm III, King of Scotland. She was intelligent, beautiful, and dressed well; they married and had eight children. Margaret of Scotland used her royal position to connect the country to European civilisation. She encouraged Church reform, especially the practice of Easter communion and Sunday observance; and she founded monasteries, Churches and pilgrim hostels. Although she favoured the Roman style of religion, she revived the Celtic sacred site, Iona. Himself illiterate, King Malcolm admired her literacy, decorating her prayer books with gold and silver. The Bodleian Library at Oxford has one of Margaret’s pocket Gospels, with fine portraits of the Evangelists and golden initials - a testimony of her personal spirituality. She died, aged 47, soon after learning that her husband had been killed in battle.
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