Dios está aquí.

"Dios está aquí." God is here.

Those were the among the first words we sang as Mass began today. By the time we reached Communion, we were singing, "Where You are, Lord, I am free."

Those two simple refrains tell the entire Christian life.

1. God is here.

2. And where He is, there is freedom.

Today's readings (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Matthew 13:44-52) invite us to ask a question that cuts beneath our surface desires: What do you treasure most? In 1 Kings, Solomon could have asked for financial security, power, success, or a longer life. Instead, he asked for an understanding heart. He asked for the wisdom to lead his people in a worthy way. God delighted in that request because Solomon wasn't asking for more. He was asking to see rightly.

Then, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives us the image of a man who discovers a treasure hidden in a field. Notice what changes. The treasure doesn't. The man does.

Once he recognizes the treasure, everything else in his life is reordered. He gladly sells what he has so that he can purchase that field. He sells it all not because those things are bad, but because they no longer occupy first place. His priorities shift around what is infinitely valuable.

Father Albert said something today that we all need to keep in focus:

"The treasure of the Gospel is hidden and continues to be hidden in the Eucharist. We all have treasure."

The greatest blessing isn't possessing more. It's recognizing what is already of immeasurable worth: the presence of Christ in our lives.

As I have pondered and meditated on today’s Gospel and homily, I realize how easy it is to spend my prayers asking God to rearrange my circumstances instead of asking Him for Solomon's wisdom so that I may handle it all rightly.

This season of life feels like one of constant transition. One of our young adults is leaving for college in a (breathtaking) ten days a (breathtaking) few states away. Another young adult is becoming more independent and forging her own path. Jack is going to walk the halls of the high school (what in the world). The two littles are also becoming much more independent; our time with them looks different now. Us parents have a difficult time with transition - don’t we all? Isn’t it much more comfortable when things just stay predictable?

I literally want to hold everyone's hand. I need to hold hands. No, really, I have this undeniable urge to hold hands. But I can't. It's not in my grasp. I can't physically be there for all of it. For any of it, really. They must go on their own.

One can't hold the hands of those who are soaring.

There is symbolism in all of that. We must all let go. What we are "left with" is our marriage as those around us take flight. Oh, how important it is to sow into that relationship. That's the hand that will be there to hold.

Our family is learning, once again, that parenting isn't about holding on forever; it's about faithfully preparing our children to walk where God is calling them. Every season seems to ask us to loosen our grip on something familiar.

That's exactly what today's Gospel is teaching me: When Christ becomes the treasure, sacrifice stops feeling like loss. It becomes the joyful rearranging of our lives around Someone infinitely greater.

Today is also traditionally the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. Although their memorial is in the shadow of the Sunday liturgy this year, their witness quietly echoes today's readings in my mind. Through ordinary faithfulness, they raised Mary to recognize the greatest Treasure long before she carried Him in her womb. Their hidden fidelity changed the course of salvation history. They prepared her heart for her greatest Yes.

As parents, that gives me tremendous hope. We cannot choose our children's paths. We cannot remove every obstacle. We cannot make every decision for them. But we can pray for them. We can model a life that treasures Christ above everything else. We can ask, like Solomon, for hearts that listen before they lead.

That work is important; if our children learn to recognize the true Treasure, they will never be poor. So today my prayer is simple:

Lord, give me eyes to recognize what You've already given. Give me a heart that listens. Help me treasure You above every success, every fear, every transition, every dream. Because where You are, Lord, I am free. And You are here in the middle of it all, so I am free.

Dios está aquí.