Today Jesus tells us a story to explain that the kingdom of heaven is like a priceless treasure that we would swap our most precious possessions for.
Source: THE COMPLETE CHILDREN'S LITURGY BOOK (THOMPSON, 1996)
Lord, help me to store up my riches in heaven, not on earth.
To know what is important and not to waste my time on worthless things.
To always speak the truth and do what you ask,
because of the love I have for you.
Source: Psalm 119:36-37, 43-44
Jesus said to the crowds, "one day a man was digging in a field when his spade struck a box which was buried there. When he opened the box he was amazed to find it was full of treasure. He quickly buried the treasure again, went away, and sold his house and all that he owned. With the money he made, he bought the field from the farmer, and then ran back and dug up the treasure."
"There was another man who was a merchant who bought and sold pearls to earn a living. One day he happened to find the most perfect, beautiful pearl he had ever seen. He, too went away and sold everything so that he would have enough money to buy that pearl for himself"
Jesus said, "God's kingdom is the real treasure, as perfect and precious as the pearl; you would give up everything you have for it, because it is worth more than anything else in the whole world."
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMTw0yY3jjQ (credit to Catholic Kids Media)
Say: Today’s Gospel talks about what we value. But before we hear what Jesus teaches about this, let us take some time to think about the things that we value in our lives. Make a list of the 10 most important in your life.
Say: What you wrote might tell you a lot about what you value. Jesus told two parables about the kingdom of heaven, which taught us about values.
Ask: What did the person in the first parable do in order to gain the treasure buried in the field? (He sold everything he had to buy the field so that he could have the treasure.) What did the merchant do so that he could purchase the pearl of great price? (He sold everything he had so that he could buy this pearl.)
Say: I am sure that each of these people valued their possessions highly. However, they used these important, valuable things in order to get something they believed to be of even greater value. God wants us to place everything that we value in the service of the kingdom of heaven.
