Episode Transcript  

One

Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

God is the true and lasting treasure. But while we may know this in our minds, our hearts have not always fully laid hold of it. We do not yet desire Him as our greatest good, and so we chase lesser treasures. What lesser treasures do you chase that distract you from God?

Two

What is my true treasure?

I bet you are like me. I know God is the real treasure, and part of me genuinely wants God more than anything else. But there is another part of me that still wants other good things more than God. My heart is divided. This divided heart becomes especially clear as soon as I sit alone and silence to pray.  I try to turn my attention to God, that lasts a little while and then I find I am a million miles away from Him. I am distracted. And my distractions almost always fall into three categories, revealing what I still love more than God.

The Catechism says, “ A distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve." (CCC 2729).

What distractions in prayer reveal your divided heart?

Three

Investment increases love

Where we invest our time, money, and desires shows what we love most. Jesus teaches exactly this, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). The more we invest in something, the more our love for it grows. If we want God to be our treasure, we must invest more in Him.

The Sermon on the Mount is not just a collection of good spiritual advice. It has a logic that many people miss. How do we make God our treasure? Jesus answers that question right in the middle of the Sermon: through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are the concrete practices by which God heals our divided hearts and trains us to desire Him above everything else. That is why we return to them now. They are not a side point. They are the path to making God our true treasure.

Prayer is how we invest time in God. We all know that if we want a close friendship with someone, there is no substitute for spending time together. Talking from the heart, listening, and simply being present, that’s how relationships grow. Prayer is the same. When we give God our time, we show Him that He matters to us. The more time we spend with God, the more our love grows, and the more He becomes our treasure.

People often say they are too busy to pray, but we always make time for what we love most. Busyness is not the real problem. Divided hearts are the real problem. And prayer is where that division gets healed.

If God is truly our treasure, then we must make time for Him every day. Whether through this Rosary podcast or another form of meditation, make daily meditation and one concrete resolution your nonnegotiable appointment with God, even on vacation. Don’t wait until you have time or feel inspired. Choose a specific time and place and make that your routine.

Four

Almsgiving — Investing money in God

Almsgiving is how we invest our money in God. Just as the way we use our time reveals what matters to us, so does the way we use our money. We naturally spend our money on what we value most. If God is truly our treasure, we will want to invest our money in Him. And Jesus has told us how: by giving to the Church, supporting organizations that carry out her mission, and caring for the poor.

Almsgiving teaches us that true security is not found in our money or our ability to make money, but in God our Father who will always take care of us. Everyone is afraid to outlive their money and we do not trust that if we do what is reasonably responsible, God will take care of us, so we put our trust in money. That is why Jesus immediately says, you cannot serve God and money and then he tells us to trust in God the Father.

Giving away our leftovers will never break our disordered trust in money. If we give only what remains, only what feels safe after we have taken care of ourselves, then money is still the god we trust. It is still our treasure. We must give beyond what feels completely safe and place our security in God. The more generously we give, the more we break free from the illusion that money can secure our lives and make us happy.

People often say they don’t have enough to give, but we always seem to find money for the things we truly want. Lack of money is not the real problem. Divided hearts are the real problem. Almsgiving heals that division and trains us to trust God as our true security. Today, decide on a specific amount of money that goes beyond your leftovers, an amount that requires real trust, and give it to the Church, or some organization that carries out the mission of Christ, or someone in need. Do it today, before fear persuades you to give less.

Five

Investing desire in God

Fasting trains us to say no to lesser and disordered desires so that our desire for God, our true treasure, may grow stronger. Prayer gives our time to God. Almsgiving gives our money to God. Fasting gives our desires to God. By fasting, we deliberately give up some earthly good so that we may hunger more deeply for God, our true treasure.

People often say they do not have the strength to fast. But usually, the real problem is not weakness, it is attachment. We resist fasting because we are afraid to surrender the pleasures we still rely on to make us happy. Fasting breaks that illusion. It heals the divided heart, teaches us that God is enough, and purifies our desires until God becomes our greatest delight.

What comfort or pleasure has too much power over you? Screens, news, entertainment, shorts, reels, eating when you are bored or anxious, or that second or third drink?

What earthly pleasure do you need to fast from so that God may become your true treasure?

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