spending everything for nothing?
"He went back and put up for sale all that he had and bought it." —Matthew 13:46
All of us are spending our lives on something. Like little children who spend all their money on candy, many of us spend our lives on pleasures. We work to make money to buy pleasures. We live to be entertained and to feel good. After years of doing this, we have nothing but very faded memories of feeling good and a few unsatisfying possessions, accompanied by a few compulsions. We have little to show for our lives of selfishness. Then, after being stuffed with emptiness, we have to face old age and death. We then look back on our lives and feel we are fools and worthy of being "damned fools."
How different it is for those who have "sold out" for Jesus by giving their lives totally to Him! (see Mt 13:44ff) These people have chosen to follow Jesus, deny themselves, and take up their crosses each day (Lk 9:23). They seem to have lost their lives but have actually saved them (Lk 9:24). They have not worked "for perishable food but for food that remains unto life eternal" (Jn 6:27). They are at peace with their past, rejoicing in the present, and hopeful about the future. They are free and unafraid of death (Heb 2:15). Their treasures are not lost but are secure in heaven (Mt 6:20). They love life, for Jesus is Life (Jn 14:6). They are the wise men and women who have joyfully sold everything to obtain God's kingdom. Wise up!
Prayer: Father, deliver me from the futile life handed on to me (1 Pt 1:18).
Promise: "If you repent, so that I restore you, in My presence you shall stand; if you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be My mouthpiece." —Jer 15:19
Praise: St. Ignatius, once a tough soldier trained in physical strength and warfare, had a deep conversion and became a priest. He is the patron of spiritual exercises and retreats.
Reference: (For information or to register for Presentation Ministries' fall retreats, call 937-587-5464 or e-mail retreats@presentationministries.com)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, December 4, 2001
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 10, 2001