A Lenten Treasure Hunt: An Invitation

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?” Psalms 42:1-3

As I was driving on a rainy Monday morning, I looked up at the car in front of me. It was a white pickup truck: shiny, the latest model, probably brand new. On its rear was a bumper sticker. All I could make out was the word, “heaven.” I was not wearing my reading glasses, so I inched up as closely as I could to read the rest. The blurry words finally came into focus: “Don’t let the car fool you, my treasure is in heaven.” I felt butterflies in my stomach.

I had just spent the last four days at an Ignatian silent retreat. A silent retreat focuses on achieving a personal encounter with God through prayer and reflection. It is directed by a priest, following the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Each person can receive a completely different message, depending on their individual needs and spiritual relationship with God. During the retreat, I read many passages about Jesus’ life from the Bible, and the message that I kept receiving throughout the whole weekend was to not obsess about accumulating treasures on Earth, but to concentrate instead on accumulating treasures for Heaven.

A life spent acquiring material things, working harder to earn more power or money, attending parties, surrounding oneself with people that lead empty lives is no more than a chase after the wind, without meaning or direction. This chase leads nowhere. It is an endless race for more, because once we acquire what we are chasing, we feel empty again.

I heard a story once about a poor woman walking around with a baby in her arms. She came upon a cave and from within she heard a mysterious voice: “Come inside and take anything you want, but don’t forget the most important thing. Once you walk out, the door will be closed forever. You may take advantage of this opportunity, but do not forget the most important thing.” The woman walked inside the cave and saw that it was filled with treasures. She placed the baby on the floor and, fascinated with all the gold and jewels, she began to fill her apron and pockets with as much as she could. The voice spoke once again: “You have eight minutes.”

At the end of the eight minutes, the woman, carrying all the gold and precious stones that she could fit in her pockets, apron, and hands, ran out of the cave just as the door was closing. As soon as she stepped outside, she realized that she had forgotten her baby, but it was too late. The door was locked forever. The treasure did not last long, but her desolation lasted a lifetime.

We live in this world for only a short time, eighty, ninety, or one hundred years at the most. All throughout our lives, we might hear, if we care to listen, a little voice inside of us telling us: “Don’t forget the most important thing!” Our spiritual values, our prayers, our family, our friends: all will combine to help us truly cherish our life. Unfortunately, we become so fascinated by the riches of this world that we push the most important thing aside. We spend most of our time here on Earth trying to accumulate material things while forgetting about the treasures of the heart. We need to concentrate on accumulating spiritual treasures. These treasures are the ones that will open the doors to Heaven where we will finally find the most important treasure of all.

For our lives to be filled with meaning, we need to concentrate on accumulating treasures in our hearts. The first step is to search for God, in order to get to know Him better. Once we get to know Him, we will learn to love Him, and we will want to imitate Him. Once we learn to listen to His voice within our hearts, we will be able to understand what He wants from us, and we will be able to obey Him. The things of this world will lose importance in our lives because we will be so full of God that we will not have a need to fill our lives with frivolous possessions or shallow relationships. We will focus our entire lives on preparation for the moment when we will attain the kingdom of God forever. The spiritual treasures that we accumulate in the process will be the stepping stones that will lead us to that moment.

How right that bumper sticker was… In the end, the only things we take with us are the treasures of the heart. In the end, the only investment worth making is the time we invest acquiring treasures within our hearts: loving our neighbor, caring for the sick, helping the poor, sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the imprisoned. In the end, it will be between me and God.

Join me this Lent on a treasure hunt. We will go on a journey to search for the most important thing… the only treasure worth seeking. Will you join me? Every week we will receive a clue that will lead us to the treasure.