- 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Anna and St Joachim
Readings:
1 Kings 3:5,7-12; Psalm 118(119):57,72,76-77,127-130; Lord, how I love your law! Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52.
Today’s liturgy teaches us that wisdom is the ability to recognize and choose what truly has lasting value. Solomon does not ask God for wealth or power, but for a wise and discerning heart capable of knowing God’s ways. The Psalm echoes this desire by proclaiming that God’s law is more precious than the greatest earthly treasures. Saint Paul then reveals the source of this wisdom: God's loving plan, through which He continually shapes us into the image of His Son. In the Gospel, Jesus presents the Kingdom of Heaven as a hidden treasure, a pearl of great price, and a fishing net that ultimately separates what is good from what is not. The disciple of the Kingdom is therefore not someone who rejects the past or blindly embraces novelty, but one who knows how to bring "out of his treasure what is new and what is old." Rooted in the eternal truth of God's Word, the disciple remains open to the ever-new action of the Holy Spirit. Christian wisdom is precisely this discernment: preserving what is timeless while welcoming the new ways in which God continues to speak and act. On the memorial of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, we remember how faith is handed on from one generation to the next. The old becomes the foundation on which the new can flourish. A heart formed by God's wisdom recognizes the true treasure, allows itself to be conformed to Christ, and learns to discern wisely between what should be preserved and what should be embraced as God's new gift. Let’s reflect: Do I seek the wisdom that comes from God, enabling me to recognize the true treasure of His Kingdom and to discern faithfully between what must be preserved and what God is calling me to embrace anew?
Don Giorgio