Pearl of Great Price August 2

Piety

Let us pray: God, Source of all life, we seek to build your Kingdom here on earth. But to take up that project, we must empty our minds and hands from the idle thoughts and trivial pursuits that occupy us now. Jesus, allow us to put our distractions and lamentations at your feet and into your hands. In return, we await you showing us that pearl of great price – peace on earth. Lord, deliver us from evil and grant us peace today. Amen.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/080206.shtml

Is it time for you to have a little heart to heart talk with Jesus?
Do you have time for it?
Do you need time for it?
Can you make time for it?
What would you say?
What would Jesus offer you in return?

Would your plea be one of lament like we hear from the prophet Jeremiah? “Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook, whose waters do not abide!”

Can it be that Jeremiah picked up today’s Washington Post? Or this week’s National Catholic Reporter?

Israel Moves Thousands Of Troops Into Lebanon
Police Say 2 Teens Fired Into Homes; Shootings Linked to Gang Ouster
The Toll of an Unsolved Murder; A Family Torn Asunder Yearns for Answers
Mo. Execution Doctor Had History of Errors
Multiple Charges Filed In Seattle Shootings; Six Were Attacked at Jewish Center
Experts Say Verdict May Not Lead to Demise of Prison Gang; Aryan Brotherhood Convicted
Economic crisis harms Zimbabwe's environment
Sisters struggle to recover from Katrina losses
Australian man accuses priest of ritual abuse

When we lay our troubles in the hands of the Lord, he props us up with Palanca so we can rejoice in what is truly of value. “If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them; And I will make you toward this people a solid wall of brass.”

Strength and value come from this close moment with God. But we need to take time to have the discussion. If not, we’ll never hear His answer.

If we do not make God our refuge in times of distress, we may never know the value of the treasure God offers to us. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

What do you do with something of value – like relationships with good old friends, time to spend with relatives visiting from far away, family heirlooms handed down from grandparents, photo albums that preserve memories, special songs that evoke fond memories? We try to preserve these things of value. The material things we lock up and the perishable items we handle with extreme care.

Jesus offers to us the same restoration, strength and support – He is our pearl of great price – that he provides to Jeremiah. It’s up to us to accept.

Action

For a pearl of wisdom worth riches, read this letter from a Palestinian woman that was published by Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB in the National Catholic Reporter last week.
http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/fwis/fw072106.htm

Sr. Joan writes, “Think of it as a letter from someone in your family caught in such a travesty, unable to save themselves and reaching out to you. Now how do you feel about it?”

The letter writer, like Jeremiah, laments the worldly conditions that breed war and wars that breed more wars. She calls us to action by urging individuals and groups to:

Call upon Israeli embassy and demand to stop the war. Call upon U.S. embassy and demand to stop the support for this war. Send letters to Hezbollah to stop the war. Call upon every one and tell them war do not solve problems; it creates new ones. In order to reach peace, justice and security we need to demand to:
Stop the war.
Stop the destruction.
End the occupation.
Recognize the right of the Palestinian people for their independent state alongside Israel.
Negotiate for peace.