Dearest Friends,
I was thinking the other day, of how excited I would be should I hear I had suddenly come into money. Money that is free of strings, not the kind full of headaches and arguments and intense work. Should I suddenly inherit such a fortune, I imagined I would be quite delighted, and I would cancel all of my previous engagements, no matter what they might be, in order to be where I had to be to claim it.
Then I asked myself why would I experience so much pleasure over a few pieces of paper? Because of what the paper represents of course… especially its ability to relieve me of the stress of paying my bills. Once those were paid, then I could make those badly needed improvements, and hire the help needed to make them. I could purchase those things so desperately desired, yet unattainable without pinching every penny and budgeting for years. So in the end, money to me, equaled a life of ease, without all of its intense worry and labor and fatigue.
After enjoying this scenario for a brief moment in my imagination… I could not help but turn and gaze upon the Holy Family. This most blessed of families, the model for all families to emulate. I could not help but blush, as I did not resemble them very well, in wishing to be freed of the very things they embraced. Trials in which they glorified God, covering them with a fragrant Fiat, so that they gleamed as the sun, the true gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh...
Were they free from labor? No! The life of a carpenter is full of hard work and little pay. Why did I desire to have what the Holy Family, the Family of families, did not have?
Were they free from worry? No! Aside from the everyday worries we all share, imagine being the Parents of the Son of God! This pierced their Hearts with intense joy and sorrow from the beginning. Imagine wondering where to give birth to your child in the dead of winter? Then having to flee to Egypt for your lives? Then to lose Him in Jerusalem… Imagine losing the Son of God! I am sure the worries that came with such a job are mostly untold, and there are many more we can only wonder about. I would love someday to sit down with Our Lady and St. Joseph and hear all of the details. I cannot help but wonder if St. Joseph died an early death from carrying such a heavy responsibility.
Were they wealthy? Yes and no. Rich in the things of God and poor in the things of the world… and yet, because they found their security, their pleasure, their happiness solely in God, they had everything they desired, and were happy. Our treasure is where our heart is. They had their treasure, didn’t they? Our Lord was in their very midst in spirit and in flesh. Unlike me, they had no vague and empty desire for something they did not have… they had Him, and so they had everything.
So then I had to stop and examine my heart. Obviously, I needed some work on my priorities. With the help of God, through His Sacraments and mercy, through prayer, I hope to get my treasures sorted out. With Our Lady and St. Joseph, to find my heart centered in Christ with theirs. There is no reason why we cannot imitate them. Jesus is still here in our midst, physically and spiritually, just as He was with them, through the Holy Eucharist. I do not have to hope for that sudden inheritance in order to gain my treasure, He is free for the asking, and available to everyone!
Dear God! You are the ultimate treasure, yet do I have that same intoxicating desire for You as I would a monetary prize? Do I cancel all of my appointments to be with You? Good Jesus, how can You look upon me, upon this poor world, with so much patience? We are hungry and naked, and why? Why? You wait for us, to give us all that we desire… yet, do we come? I fear not, otherwise there would be a waiting line outside of every Church to be with You! How can this be? How can it be we have in our midst what we so desire, yet we mostly fail to get it?
Dear Lord, forgive me for my misplaced heart. Yearning for vain and empty treasures, while You, the one treasure that can satisfy, is forgotten and abandoned. Dearest Mother Mary and St. Joseph, obtain for me and the world, your burning LOVE and DESIRE for Jesus, obtain for us the love possessed by the Holy Family!
Amen.