Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Matthew 6,19-23

'Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworm destroys them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be too. 'The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is clear, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkened, what darkness that will be!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Jesus warns us not to worry to gather earthly "treasures", goods and riches. And the motivation is also common sense: they are fleeting treasures at risk of corrosion by moths and theft by thieves. It is not good to place the purpose of life in the possession of earthly goods. The parable of the rich man comes to mind; he accumulates his abundant crops in his barns, convinced in this way to ensure his own life. But death comes and destroys his plans (see Lk 12:14-21). Jesus wisely exhorts us to store "treasures in heaven" because no one can take them away from us. Jesus, who knows well the thoughts of our hearts, calls us to a profound truth: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Hence the centrality of the heart and of what really counts in life. It is easy to think that the "treasure" to be acquired is linked to wealth, glory, success, career or in any case to self-fulfilment in the world. Jesus wants to open our hearts to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the treasure to choose decisively. Hence the exhortation to store treasures in heaven. That is, to live already on earth what will remain forever in heaven: fraternity, peace, solidarity, love for all and especially for the poor. These are treasures for heaven. And we can read in this horizon the following passage on the eye as a lamp of the body. In the language of the time it meant the integrity of man's life. It is like saying, in our language, that the heart is the light of the body. It is from the heart that good or even bad feelings are born. A heart that welcomes the Gospel is enlightened on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. A heart that is clouded or full of darkness will take the path of corruption. The image used by Benedict XVI to indicate the heart of disciples is beautiful: they have "a heart that sees." The disciple, illuminated by the light of the Gospel, knows how to discern the true treasure of life.