The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls

31 JULY (Mt 13,44-46)

In the Old Testament nothing is considered more valuable than wisdom. Who possesses it possesses every other good, because it is the mother of true good. You enter into perennial communion with wisdom and the true life is in the hands of man, because he is freed from folly that is the mother of all falsehood, deceit and lie.

Happy the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding! For her profit is better than profit in silver, and better than gold is her revenue; She is more precious than corals, and none of your choice possessions can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left are riches and honor; Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace; She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, and he is happy who holds her fast. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, established the heavens by understanding; By his knowledge the depths break open, and the clouds drop down dew. My son, let not these slip out of your sight: keep advice and counsel in view; So will they be life to your soul, and an adornment for your neck. Then you may securely go your way; your foot will never stumble; When you lie down, you need not be afraid, when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. Honor is the possession of wise men, but fools inherit shame. Be not afraid of sudden terror, of the ruin of the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from the snare (Pr 3,13-26).

Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding raise her voice? On the top of the heights along the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand; By the gates at the approaches of the city, in the entryways she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call; my appeal is to the children of men. You simple ones, gain resource, you fools, gain sense. “Give heed! for noble things I speak; honesty opens my lips. Yes, the truth my mouth recounts, but the wickedness my lips abhor. Sincere are all the words of my mouth, no one of them is wily or crooked; All of them are plain to the man of intelligence, and right to those who attain knowledge. Receive my instruction in preference to silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. (For Wisdom is better than corals, and no choice possessions can compare with her.) “I, Wisdom, dwell with experience, and judicious knowledge I attain. (The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;) Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. Mine are counsel and advice; Mine is strength; I am understanding. By me kings reign, and lawgivers establish justice; By me princes govern, and nobles; all the rulers of earth. “Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than pure gold, and my revenue than choice silver. On the way of duty I walk, along the paths of justice, Granting wealth to those who love me, and filling their treasuries. “The Lord begot me, the first-born of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago; From of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains or springs of water; Before the mountains were settled into place, before the hills, I was brought forth; While as yet the earth and the fields were not made, nor the first clods of the world. “When he established the heavens I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep; When he made firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth; When he set for the sea its limit, so that the waters should not transgress his command; Then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, Playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the sons of men. “So now, O children, listen to me; instruction and wisdom do not reject! Happy the man who obeys me, and happy those who keep my ways, Happy the man watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts; For he who finds me finds life, and wins favor from the Lord; But he who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death” (Pr 8,1-36).
Christ is the eternal incarnate Wisdom, the most precious thing for a man. To have Christ it is a righteous thing even selling the personal body and delivering it to martyrdom.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a 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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
It’s sad, depressing to see many Christians today that sell this treasure for a nothingness.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints help us seek Christ Jesus.