HOMILY FOR MASS FOR MONDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME (1)
REDEMPTORIS MATER SEMINARY, CHESTER HILL, 20 OCTOBER 2025
The idea of a treasure hunt might seem a vestige of the old world—a throwback to childhood stories of pirates’ maps, secret codes, and lost chests of gold buried on remote islands or in caves. Yet in 2010, a former American fighter pilot turned art dealer and author, Forrest Fenn, claimed to have hidden a chest full of gold coins, jewels and rare artefacts worth more than $US1.3 million somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The only clue to the treasure’s whereabouts was a cryptic poem in a book, but soon the quest went viral. Thousands of people ventured into the wilderness, some risking—and even losing—their lives in search of “Fenn’s treasure”. Earlier this year, Netflix released a documentary series, aptly titled Gold and Greed, chronicling these relentless pursuits…
In Luke’s Gospel today (Lk 12:13-21), Jesus reminds us of the futility of hoarding earthly treasure, the danger of mistaking abundance for security, and the character effects of allowing our possessions to possess us. A man comes to Jesus asking Him to referee a family inheritance dispute. But Jesus isn’t interested in such matters. He looks beyond the legal and familial squabble to the deeper malady: “Attention! Watch! Beware! Guard against avarice of any kind.” Life is more than just a bank balance or asset portfolio, more than what we can accumulate and show off to others, more than the things money can buy…
Maybe our seminarians are thinking: “Well, at least I’m safe from that particular temptation. Perhaps I’m from a poor country or a poor family. I live in a seminary with few possessions of my own and we’re pretty good at sharing what we have. And there are not a lot of pearls and Mercedes Benzes at the events of the Way! So I’m safe…” Maybe. But beware! Seminarians and priests might not need bigger barns for their wealth, but they can become very attached to their creature comforts, be just as distracted by fine vestments, nice cars, latest gadgets, streaming services, overseas travel and the rest. They can be reluctant to go on mission to poorer countries, poorer parts of the country, even poorer parishes of Sydney with no water view or a very ordinary presbytery. Mammon is a powerful tempter, and just as good as the gods of Lust and Wilfulness at getting under our skin and messing with us spiritually! That’s why the evangelical counsels are chastity and obedience, but first poverty.
To drive the point home, Christ tells His parable of a self-congratulatory farmer who thinks he’s got it all worked out. His vast wealth will guarantee his security and comfort for years to come. “Eat, drink and me merry my soul.” Ἄφρων “Aphron! Fool!” says Christ, with a word as close to swearing as He ever gets. You’re as senseless as a beast! What good is a full barn if your soul is empty? A positive balance sheet if the one produced on Judgment Day is rather different?
Christ is, of course, calling hearts consumed by greed to conversion, but also warning better hearts of temptation by material things. He’d met a rich young man who would have kept all the commandments and was looking to do more for God and Jesus loved him; but the youth was enthralled by his own wealth (Mk 10:17-31). He’d seen how challenging it was for the rich to let go of their preoccupations, give alms, and follow Him (cf. Lk 12:33). “It’s as hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven as for a camel” laden with goods “to pass through the Eye of the Needle” gate in Jerusalem (Mk 10:24-25). “No one can serve both God and Mammon,” He observed, “for where your treasure is, there also is your heart” (Mt 6:24; Lk 12:32-34). The wealthy can end up with a kind of tunnel vision that is a curse, while the poor are often freer and so ironically the truly “blessed” ones (Lk 6:20). And because those with more than they need never think they have enough, they often neglect the needy (Mt 25:31-40; Lk 14:12-14; 16:19-31).
Two weeks ago, the Holy Father released his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te, on the love of the poor. It was already in draft under his predecessor and so after Leo’s revisions it might be said to speak for two popes. In it the popes lament how “the illusion of happiness from a comfortable life” can lead people to live a “life centred on the accumulation of wealth and social success,” deaf to the cry of the poor and resiling from the Father’s heart.[1] The popes remind us that in every age, “love for the Lord is one with love for the poor,” for in serving them we encounter Christ himself.[2]
So, the challenge posed by today’s Gospel is not just to guard against greed. Someone could be uninterested in worldly goods, or have conquered their avarice, and still not know what to pursue instead, what “pearl of great price”, what “treasure hidden in a field” (Mt 13:44-46). Heavenly treasure is what our hearts most deeply crave: the riches of grace, mercy, love. And these cannot be counted or hoarded in barns; they multiply only when shared with others. Discipleship is no less than becoming poor in what matters less to become rich in what matters more, being dispossessed in order to possess, indeed be possessed by, God’s own Spirit. And Pope Leo reminds us that “contact with the lowly and powerless” is a great way to disencumber ourselves of the illusions and encounter the true Lord of history.[3]
My beloved sons, Pablo and James, you will now be instituted as acolytes, one of the last steps on your journey to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. You both tell me you are more than ready after a decade of discernment and formation, of mission and service. You know well that your vocation is not to power, or prestige, but to giving your all to others, and to participating fully in Christ’s saving mysteries. As acolytes you will now draw closer to the altar, not to possess it or anything on it, but to offer your own souls with the gifts on the altar to God and for His people. You will now more regularly handle those sacred vessels that St Jerome taught we should treat with the same reverence with which we treat what they carry. Now you will attend more closely to the precious treasure within those vessels, the most precious in all the cosmos: the Body and Blood of Christ.[4] A treasure, not buried in a field or locked in a hard-to-find chest, but given freely on every altar for the life of the world. From tonight, give your heart and soul, your body and blood with Christ’s. Your hands will now carry the chalice and paten: consecrate them also to service of the poor and weak. In a world that chases after the wrong treasure, let your ministry witness to where true riches lie—in communion with Christ, and in a heart that gives itself entirely to Him.
[1] Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te: Apostolic Exhortation on the Love of the Poor (2025), 11-12.
[2] Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te, 5.
[3] Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi Te, 5.
[4] Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964), 11.
INTRODUCTION TO MASS FOR MONDAY OF THE 29TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME (1)
REDEMPTORIS MATER SEMINARY, CHESTER HILL, 20 OCTOBER 2025
On this rather warm day a warm welcome to our Mass which is part of my visitation of the seminary for 2025. I thank Fr Eric, Fr Marlon, Fr Gerry and Fr Moises, the other staff and supporters of the seminary, and all the seminary community for welcoming me once again. I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting with some of you individually today and look forward to speaking with the rest of you tomorrow.
I also have the great joy this evening of instituting Pablo Arosemena and James Timelty as Acolytes—a near-to-last step in their vocational journey before ‘scrutiny’, diaconate and priesthood. And while I pray for you, my sons, every day, tonight I offer the holy sacrifice for you in a very particular way. God bless you always.