Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever. In the first reading, St. Paul defends himself against the so-called super-apostles who boast of being more qualified than he. They are Jews brought up in strict observance of the Law of Moses. So is he. Evidently, they boast of having suffered for Christ, of serving Christ more. St. Paul thinks that it is madness to boast of this, but if that were what counted, he would be more than qualified. In reality, the fundamental qualification of a prophet, an apostle, or any other representative of God is having been sent by him. Christ personally sent the twelve apostles and St. Paul. Through the Church, he sends bishops, priests, and deacons. But who sent those who preach another gospel, like the so-called super-apostles in the heretics of every age? Not God, for he does not contradict himself. From what St. Paul went through to fulfill his mission, we can clearly see that he was storing up his treasure in heaven, as our Lord teaches in today's Gospel. Most people seem to be storing up their treasure on earth, where there are more immediate concerns, and perhaps they don't see past the needs of today for what they will need tomorrow, especially if they believe there's nothing after death. They used to say, he who dies with the most toys wins, and many people still live that way. Others want lots of clothes, or to travel to exotic places, or just to hoard money, as if it could make them happy on its own without being spent. But no treasure on earth is safe. The stock market can crash, thieves can steal, and disaster can destroy everything in your home. If you want your treasure to be safe, store it in heaven. Use your goods to do good. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. If you want to go to heaven, start by putting your heart there. As proof of our Lord's words, there's the well-known episode in the life of St. Anthony of Padua. The funeral of a very rich miser was being solemnly celebrated, and St. Anthony was also present at the funeral. He was moved by a sudden inspiration and declared that the dead man should not be buried in a consecrated place, but rather along the city walls. Why? Because his soul was in hell, and his corpse had no heart, according to our Lord's words. Where your treasure is, there will your heart also be. In these words, everyone was naturally shocked. Eventually, surgeons were called. They opened the chest of the dead man, and they found that it had no heart. As the saint had predicted, the heart was found in a strong box where the miser kept his money. Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Where is your heart? Where is your treasure, that which is most precious to you? Is it in a bank? Is it in a closet? Is it in heaven? Jesus adds a sort of parable about the eye. We see with the eye, and we look at what we want to have or where we want to go. So the eye represents our aim, our intention. In this way, the parable is a logical continuation of what he said about storing up in heaven. He talks about a contrast between two kinds of eyes, which our translation calls sound and bad. More literally, the sound eye is a simple eye, an adjective which doesn't make quite as much sense if we're talking about a physical eye. But since the eye represents an intention, translating simply gives us a clearer idea of what Jesus is saying. A simple eye is a simple intention. A simple intention is one that is not a double intention or triple intention. A double intention would be like trying to serve two masters. A simple intention is a pure intention, which makes serving God the ultimate aim of life. Everything else that we do in life must be for this purpose, in order to serve God. To serve God, we must serve our neighbor. We must love our neighbor, and so many things we must do for love of our neighbor. But God is the ultimate aim of everything, or must be. With an intention like this, the whole body is filled with light. That is, every part of us, every part of our life, is enlightened by the simplicity of our intention to put God first. In light of this intention, everything appears for what it is. By seeing the value of everything in relation to God, we see things for what they are. Because everything is, by nature, what the Creator wanted it to be. By directing everything to God's service, we use everything for its intended purpose. When, on the other hand, the I, that is, the intention, is bad, because it is not directed to God, then your whole body will be in darkness. With the intention wrong, you see everything wrong, because you see everything in the light of a wrong end. You want to use things for a purpose different from that for which they were created, and typically for your pleasure, or in order to gain power, or some other such thing. And so the light which enlightens your life is really not light at all, but darkness. And as often happens in the dark, things seem to be something entirely different from what they really are, or perhaps they're just unidentifiable. They seem to be useless, when in fact, they would be very useful, if only you would put God first. So make your aim right, loving God above all else, and store up your treasure in heaven, as Our Lady and all the Saints did. Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever. If you would like to grow in love and knowledge of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, consider a subscription to the Missio Immacalatae magazine. The Missio is a bi-monthly magazine published by the Franciscans of the Immaculate for over 15 years. Every issue of the Missio features articles about Our Lady's privileges and her mission in the Church and world for the sanctification and conversion of souls. The Missio takes to heart the ancient saying of the Church, De Maria Numquam Satis, of Mary, you can never say enough. You can subscribe online at missiomagazine.com, that's m-i-s-s-i-o-magazine.com, or go to the homepage of airmaria.com. Back issues of the Missio are also available upon request. The Missio is a practical way to behold your mother and take her into your home. Ave Maria.