July 26 th, 2026 (17 Sunday Ordinary A)

Dear brothers and sisters, the readings of today speak about discernment. God would like to give all of us the gift of discernment as he did to king Solomon. To know what is right and what is wrong, where there is death and where we can find life. That is why Christ in the Gospel speaks of the kingdom of heaven as being like a treasure buried and hidden in a field that one finds and sells everything he has to buy that field. We cannot in fact love God and the world at the same time. The love of this world takes away from us all of our discernment. The one instead who discovers God hidden and buried in the depths of his life has truly found the greatest treasure. God alone in fact is the one that gives us life and truly loves us. The kingdom of God , Jesus Christ says in another Gospel is within you. The world and all of its richness and idols promise a happiness that is only external and superficial. It is a happiness that cannot reach our interior and in the end only leave us dead and dissatisfied. The true wisdom is to discover the love of God for us in the depths of our being. This love has been hidden and buried in us from the beginning of the creation of the world. It has been revealed to us now in Jesus Christ and in his resurrection. Who discovers this love manifested in Jesus Christ for him discovers the kingdom of heaven. Christ is its treasure and the true internal happiness. Christ wants to live within us. His love is hidden within us; it is a treasure that awaits to be found. Like the wise scribe let us take out to the light what is old and what is new, that is the love of God revealed to us.

Peace, Fr. Nicholas Apollonio, Pastor