Daily Gospel Reflection for June 23, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Kerri Baunach

Today's Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23

What are our “treasures in heaven” that we should be storing up? Obviously we can’t store up material things from our lives on earth. As Jesus says, those material possessions wear out, get broken, or are stolen. We know we can’t take anything with us. So what can we store up in heaven?

When I reflect on these questions, the one thing I know is that heaven is where souls go to live for eternity with God and the angels. The treasure I want to store up in heaven are those of the souls I know and encounter here on earth. For this reason I pray for my family members who are no longer practicing their Catholic faith. I pray daily for their return so that their souls can one day be in heaven. I pray for my husband and children, for my godchildren and friends. These souls are God’s treasures, every single one. God wants them in heaven, and so I pray for them.

I also need to work on myself. I think this is where the second part of today’s Gospel comes in. We need to follow God’s commandments and the teachings of Jesus. When we do so we fill ourselves with the light of God’s goodness and, hopefully, others are attracted to that light. However, it can be easy to fall into the darkness, into the snares of the devil. We must be on our guard against this or we can bring others down with us.

God’s treasures are His creatures, the human souls He created. If we are trying to align our will with God’s, then we, too, will want the souls of our loved ones in heaven. We need to pray for them and be the light of Christ to all we encounter.

Ponder:

How are you becoming full of the light of God and bringing that light to others?

Pray:

Fill me with light, O Lord, and help me to be a witness of Your goodness to others. May those away from Your Church be brought back into the fold.

Click to tweet:
If we are trying to align our will with God’s, then we, too, will want the souls of our loved ones in heaven. We need to pray for them and be the light of Christ to all we encounter. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2023 Kerri Baunach

Kerri Baunach lives in Lexington, KY, with her husband and three boys. She’s a Benedictine Oblate with the Archabbey of St. Meinrad in Indiana, attends the Traditional Latin Mass, and has been participating in Catholic Mom Gospel Reflections for several years.