A Lenten Treasure Hunt: Fifth Clue
The Unveiling of the Treasure
Photo by Ashin K Suresh on Unsplash
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:20–21
When this Lent began, we received an invitation to go on a Lenten Treasure Hunt. For the last seven weeks, we have been on a journey to search for the most important thing… the only Treasure worth seeking. We received seven clues that will lead us to find the most important Treasure of all:
1. Replace anger with meekness.
2. Replace envy with kindness.
3. Replace lust with chastity.
4. Replace pride with humility.
5. Replace gluttony with temperance.
6. Replace sloth with diligence.
7. Replace greed with generosity.
It’s possible that many of us may have been searching for the Treasure in all the wrong places. We may have attempted to find it in the supernatural. Extraordinary signs, wonders and miracles may give us a glimpse of treasures, but they are not the Treasure.
Perhaps we tried to find the Treasure in nature. Sunrises, sunsets, the ocean, the mountains, the moon, the stars, flowers… those are certainly treasures, but they are not the Treasure.
Another attempt may have been to look for the Treasure in religious objects. In my house, I have a cross above the door that leads into my house. I have a few statues representing the Blessed Mother, the Holy Family, and the saints in my bedroom. I have a painting of the Virgin Mary carrying the baby Jesus in her arms. There are many symbols throughout my house that clearly indicate a devotion to God, but these symbols are not the Treasure.
The Treasure is not a place, a thing or an event. The Treasure is a Person that is fully alive. His name is Jesus, and we can find Him in every tabernacle inside every Catholic Church around the world. This is the only Treasure worth seeking. Jesus Christ is fully alive, Body, Blood, Soul and Spirit. He is in the Blessed Sacrament.
We need to spend time getting to know this Treasure. We need to spend time with Jesus, but not by chasing after miracles or by worshipping the symbols that we keep in our homes. The first step is to search for the Treasure in the right place, in order to get to know Him better. We need to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, where we can spend some time in silence listening to Him speak to us.
Even though the Treasure is kept in the tabernacle, Jesus doesn’t want to stay there. He wants to reside in our hearts, but for Him to do so, we must prepare our hearts to receive Him. The seven clues that we received during our Lenten Treasure Hunt are the seven capital sins and the seven capital virtues. We need to replace the sins with the virtues in order to make room in our hearts for the Treasure.
Jesus, the only Treasure worth seeking, doesn’t want to stay in the tabernacle. He is inviting us to make our hearts a walking tabernacle where He can reside. He is offering us the shield that will protect us from the cruelty of the world. St. Teresa of Avila said: “Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone is enough.” If we have Jesus within our hearts, we will find true happiness, the kind that remains in our hearts forever. We will have discovered the ultimate Treasure.
We have been searching for the Treasure on the outside, when all this time, the Treasure has been within our hearts. It may have been hidden because of our sins, but if we were able to conquer the seven capital sins during Lent, and replace them with the seven capital virtues, we are now ready to share the Treasure with others. St. Alphonsus Liguori said it best: "Act as if every day were the last of your life, and each action the last you perform."
Jesus resurrected. He is alive. He needs us to be open tabernacles so others can see the Treasure that resides within our hearts. Every day, we need to begin with this prayer: “Lord, let others see You in me.”
I pray that as we conclude our Lenten Treasure Hunt on this Easter Sunday, we never forget that Jesus is the only treasure worth seeking, because HE IS RISEN!
Copyright © 2025 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
My name is Christy Romero and I am a cradle Catholic. I met my husband, Rafael, 45 years ago on a Youth Encounter, and we got married four years later. We have three young adult children who are all happily married, and two grandsons that have stolen our hearts. Even though I have always loved writing, God took me on a different career path. I graduated with a degree in Accounting in 1986, and thirty years ago, I established my practice to help small businesses and individuals with their tax filings. Last year, I decided to retire to spend more time with my growing family, and to dedicate more time to writing. I created a blog to share my meditations ten years ago, and I have a faithful following of family and friends. Now, I feel God urging me to share the Good News of the Church that He established over 2,000 years ago with a larger audience. In the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta: “I am just a little pencil in the hand of a writing God sending a love letter to the world.” You can find my writings at https://christysmeditations.blogspot.com/
