Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr
The Gospel reading today draws a delineation between the things of earth and the things of heaven. It’s important to understand that this distinction does not constitute a condemnation of the created, temporal things of the world. Rather, it is meant as a call to a higher way of seeing the world. It is a question of perspective.
A person who lives only for material riches and pleasures will have very different outlook on life from one who has their heart set on the things of heaven. For the person who has their heart set on the things of the earth, the position is infinitely hopeless because they will eventually die and lose all that they have chosen to cherish. No matter what they do, everything they are attached to will be taken from them.
For the person who has their heart set on heavenly things, however, the situation is entirely reversed. Their position is one of infinite hopefulness because God will not fail to give beyond what they could ever hope to receive. Moreover, the things of heaven have no end and will not be taken away. The beauty of the Christian life is that God loves us so incredibly that He has given His Only begotten Son so that we might share in the infinite hopefulness of eternal life in heaven with Him.