Once again for this Sunday’s Eucharist we have very rich readings. In the gospel (Mt 14:22-33), Jesus leaves his disciples after the feeding of the multitudes and goes off to pray. The disciples, meanwhile, get in the boat and head for the opposite shore, without Jesus. Very quickly a storm erupts with strong winds. Jesus later starts out towards them walking on the water and they become fearful before this sight. Seeing their fear, Jesus says: ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’

God’s gifts of love and grace are abundant….To put it stronger: they never stop flowing…and most often they come gratis, that is without us doing anything…but do we ‘have eyes to see and ears to hear’

“The kingdom of heaven is like 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” (Mt 13: 44). What is it that we have found and are ready, without much deliberation, to go and sell all we have for the treasure lying within the field of our lives? The next terse parable holds a similar dynamic: “A merchant in search of fine pearls finds one of great price, goes and sells all he has and buys that pearl” (Mt 13:45). Is this not how a vocation is born? Or, minimally, a life dedicated to giving one’s self totally for the ‘treasure’ or the ‘pearl’. We have all bought the field containing the treasure…We took the leap of faith…it was led by joy in the finding and followed by joy in ‘selling all’ for the treasure, the gift. But, how do we keep this dynamic alive?

To honor St. Benedict, I like to focus this talk on Chapter 72 of the Rule. The title of this chapter is “Of the Good Zeal Which Monks Ought To Have”. My reason for choosing this chapter is that no scholar of the Rule of St. Benedict debates the fact that St. Benedict penned this chapter. It is unique to him and offers us a window into his heart and soul as well as the horizon through which he viewed monastic life.

“You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and have revealed them to the little ones,” says Jesus (Mt 11:25). Jesus is praising his abba for revealing the mysteries of God to the little ones, that is to children. If we look at the posture of children and compare it with the posture of the so-called ‘wise and learned’, what is Jesus praising in this text?

(Above - recently discovered Salvator Mundi, by Leonardo Da Vinci)