Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 30, 2025
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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 and buys that field.
Again, 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.”
There was a time in my life when I felt stuck in a low place. I kept waiting for God to rescue me from this place without making any effort to be rescued. Nothing was changing. One morning, I happened to wake up early before my alarm. Anxiety kept me from falling back asleep, and thank goodness it did. I ended up witnessing the most beautiful sunrise out my window. The view filled me with a renewed sense of hope and sparked me to seek God through prayer, Scripture reading, and Mass. In these places, I gradually found healing, consolation, and joy that became increasingly lasting over time, until they ultimately dominated my life.
Both the person in the field and the merchant in today’s Gospel find the kingdom of God in a posture of searching. Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus reveals that it is the desire of the Father to reward our searching when he teaches, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Mt 7:7-8)
Let us not delay our searching efforts any longer! Today, we hear the Good News that the Father desires our everlasting joy and so allows himself to be found! Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, for whom this great university is named, and run to Scripture and the sacraments with eagerness and confidence that we will find the joy that we are seeking. Praise be to God!
Prayer
Lord God, we desire to be wholehearted in following you, but find that we are often too hesitant. And at times, our striving for the kingdom can feel more like a burden than a treasure. When those times come, we ask that you give us the eyes to see that faith is one of your most precious gifts, and that it is worth giving up everything to find. We ask this through Jesus, your Son and our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Peter Chrysologus was a pivotal bishop who preserved the faith in his region of Italy in the fifth century. He was an adult convert to Christianity, then was ordained a deacon and priest before being raised to bishop of Ravenna in 433.
Many people were still practicing paganism in Ravenna when he began his work there, and this caused other Christians to fall away from the faith. He reformed and solidified the church there by encouraging frequent reception of Communion and with his preaching. Many of his homilies are still intact—most are brief because he did not want to exhaust the attention of his listeners. “Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil cannot rejoice with Christ,” he told his people.
The witness of his life also converted many back to the faith—he was known to have offered many works of mercy, and he attended to the people under his care with diligence.
His title, “Chrysologus,” means “golden-tongued,” so we know that he had a great impact on those who heard him. During his homilies, he would become so excited and animated that he would find himself at a loss for words. His simple and straightforward explanations of what we believe led the Church to declare him a Doctor of the Faith. He joins 37 other saints who are also known as doctors for the way their words or example taught the faith to others. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
This is an excerpt from one of his homilies:
Listen to the Lord’s appeal: … You may run away from me as the Lord, but why not run to me as your father? Perhaps you are filled with shame ... Do not be afraid. This cross inflicts a mortal injury, not on me, but on death. These nails no longer pain me, but only deepen your love for me. I do not cry out because of these wounds, but through them I draw you into my heart. My body was stretched on the cross as a symbol, not of how much I suffered, but of my all-embracing love. I count it no less to shed my blood: it is the price I have paid for your ransom. Come, then, return to me and learn to know me as your father, who repays good for evil, love for injury, and boundless charity for piercing wounds.
St. Peter Chrysologus, the doctor of the Church who preached with golden words, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Peter Chrysologus is in the public domain. Last accessed March 20, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
