Seeking And Teaching

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Bede, Priest, Monk of Jarrow, Historian and Educator, 735 - Commemoration

Today's Readings:
[ Mal 3:16-18; Ps 78:1-4; Mt 13:44-46, 51-52 ]

St. Bede is remembered as a scholar, teacher, and faithful keeper of memory. Yet in today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that wisdom is not merely gathered — it is treasured.

In Matthew, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to “treasure hidden in a field” and to “a merchant in search of fine pearls” who, upon finding one of great value, sells everything to obtain it. The kingdom is not an accessory to life, something added on when convenient. It is the great treasure itself, worthy of everything.

St. Francis of Assisi understood that once one has glimpsed the beauty of God, worldly wealth loses its grip. Poverty was not deprivation for Francis, but freedom — the joyful emptying of hands so they could receive something infinitely greater. The merchant sells all because he has found what truly matters.

Today’s reading from Malachi adds another dimension. God remembers those “who revered the Lord and thought on his name.” Their faithfulness is written “in a book of remembrance” before God. Hidden treasures are not only found; they are also seen. Even quiet acts of devotion, unnoticed by the world, are held lovingly in God’s memory.

And the psalmist reminds us that faith should be passed on: “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord”. Bede spent his life doing precisely this... preserving wisdom so others might discover the treasure of faith.

Today, we are invited us to ask: What treasure am I truly seeking? And what might I need to loosen my grip on so tat I can hold the kingdom more fully?

May we, like Bede, become both seekers and storytellers of the treasure we have found.

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