Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch
Theme: Where is your treasure?
Today the church celebrates the memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred in Rome. He showed the depth of his faith in God and paid the supreme price with his blood. In our own time, you don’t necessarily have to shed your blood to show the depth of your faith in God. There are so many other ways through which we can show that we have faith in God. For instance, if we belong to those who believe that it is better to build our treasure in heaven, it will reflect in our words and deeds; and it will go a long way in helping us to pull down walls and build bridges that will impact positively in our world. However, if we make the mistake of the man in Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel reading, we would be making a fundamental mistake that will end up in building treasure here on earth that will not stand the test of time. In view of this, we are all encouraged today to be mindful of the kind of treasure that we are building for ourselves, conscious of the fact that the world in which we live is not a permanent place for us. Let us all strive to build our treasure in heaven, by so doing preparing for a better place after our earthly pilgrimage. Our plan to make heaven begins with the choices we make daily in our lives.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the choices we make will determine where we have chosen to build our treasure on. However, as children of God and Christians, it is expected that our focus is heaven, and so we will be working to build our treasure in heaven. Not like the man in today’s gospel reading who was planning to build his treasure here on earth and ended up losing everything. One thing that is very clear from today’s gospel reading is the fact that it is better to align with God and build our treasure in heaven. This is very important, because at the end of the day, it is God that has the final say and not you and I; just like we see in the gospel reading of today.
The assertion of St. Paul in the 1st reading, reminds us of the fact that God loves us so much and has given us the opportunity to make the right choices and build our treasure in heaven. It is left for us to do the needful and embrace the invitation to work for eternal life. May almighty God bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.