In the first teaching, the message is abundantly clear. The only treasure of any ultimate worth is Christ Himself. Everything else of the created order is meant to be a means to facilitate our love of God and neighbor and the attainment of Heaven. If the substances, behaviors, people, and objects in our lives become divorced from this purpose, then they become worthless dross, idols, in fact, and actual barriers to God and Heaven. They become unnatural attachments that twist and disfigure us. They become sources of merciless suffering, evil, and death “where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). We are reduced to anxious hoarders of counterfeit treasures. We become addicts.

In the second teaching, the lamp of our bodies refers to the “eye” of our spiritual vision and the purity of our hearts’ intentions. If our daily motivation is to love God and neighbor with an undivided heart, to live our lives as a perpetual Step Three prayer, then we will be filled with Christ’s light and become in turn His light to others. But if our intent and focus are transfixed solely on the self for the sake of the self, then we become self-obsessed, enslaved, and darkened. The light of the Holy Spirit is snuffed out in our carnality and narcissism. As Saint John the Apostle wrote, “God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. If we claim that we have fellowship with him while we continue to live in darkness, we are lying and do not live in the truth. However, if we live in the light as he himself is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ said, “It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world.” Indeed! On the memorial of this great disciple of Christ who is a patron saint of purity of mind and body, let us rejoice in our dignity and worthiness as beloved children of God, as adopted sons and daughters of the Father through Christ Jesus. Let us covet the only treasure worthy of our entire lives, Our Lord and Savior who treasures us beyond our wildest imagination. And let us be rich in Christ’s light to our families, friends, and fellow sinners and addicts in recovery.

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ, pray for us!

Reflection Questions

• How were you “crooked iron” before recovery? How have you experienced mortification and penance in recovery?
• What do you treasure today? How are you a lamp of Christ’s light and hope to others?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18
Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23

Reflection by Pete S.