Wed of 17th Week of OT Homily

1st Reading: Jer 15:10,16-21

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 59:2-4,10,11,17,18

Gospel: Mt 13:44-46

What do we define as being successful? For the many stages of life people will give different examples to this question. For some it is simply getting an A on a test from school. For others it is finally get independence from your parents thanks to getting your driver license. Others define success as getting accepted to college and getting the chance to better your life through education. Some feel that their success is found in the fact that they have entered into the Sacrament of Marriage and thus have found a partner to walk with as the attempt to achieve holiness in their everyday life. Others realize their success when they look to their family and see that they have someone who loves them and is willing to take care of them in their time of need. No matter where we place the value of success we must be united in all that we do with the Father.

Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori who was a very successful man. Before becoming a priest he was a successful lawyer who went undefeated for eight years in the court room. That is the guy that I would want defending me inside of the court room. Towards the end of his time as a lawyer he felt that he was pulled to leave everything behind to follow after Christ. Eventually he lost that first case and then decided it was his time to let go and to begin to follow after the path that Christ was calling him to. This radical decision did not correspond to his father's definition of success, but he still followed where he was called.

In today Gospel we were told: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has to buy that field." We each have many successes inside of our lives, but no matter what we call a success we must unite it to the will of the Father. When we are united to the will of the Father we have taken all that we have and have achieved great success in our journey of faith.