A pearl is begotten from suffering. It originates from the suffering of a oyster which gets sand stuck inside and thus it's body begins to fight off this agitation by creating a pearl to rid the intruder from its midst.
And so this pearl of great price is making an illusion to the Kingdom of Heaven. So many profess the joys of Heaven, but they forget about the work that must be done in order to get there.
Like the pearl we must be willing to undergo suffering for the sake of the Heavenly Kingdom. Thus we must work each day at being faithful disciples of the Lord. If we know Heaven to be the pearl of great price then we would allow nothing to get in the way of achieving such a goal.
Let us therefore consider this pearl of great price and in return ask ourself the many things within this world which we place before this pearl be it relationships, job, sports, whatever it may be. May we thus come to value this pearl and pursue it always through the confines of the Church.
Our Gospel gives us the imagery of a net. This net represents to us the Church and thus found within this net is both the just and sinners. Despite this reality we cannot say that the Church is not holy, but rather we can say that it those who make up the Church who fall short of the mark.
Thankfully within the confines of the Church we find the safety of the sacraments which sustain and nourish us and pour out God’s grace upon us. The good fish are thrown into vessels and thus they have allowed themselves to be caught up in the reception of God’s grace while on the other hand the bad fish are discarded for they came to reject God’s grace.
Thus collected within this net, which is the Church, we find all those who have forever been marked by the Sacrament of Baptism. Now we must stay on guard that we continue to live out faithfully what was begun here at this sacrament. Thus we must frequent the sacrament of confession, receive the Most Holy Eucharist in the state of grace, and find other ways to create a continual relationship with God.
If we know the pearl of great price to be our goal for it is the Kingdom of Heaven we will not get caught up in the ways of the world thus allowing ourselves to chase after false gods. Rather we will remain in the net of the Church and will be found good in nature for we have done everything in our power to follow after this pearl of great price.
As the pearl is begotten from suffering may we too enter into this reality in order that we may strive for the Kingdom of Heaven above all things.
