Perhaps, for those of us who have lived in Utah for some
time, just the words “the Pearl of Great Price” may bring to mind our Mormon
brothers and sisters. For Mormons, these
words refer to a publication of Joseph Smith’s translations of scripture. For Catholics, we hear these words in the
context of a parable, one of the stories Jesus told to teach his followers
about the Kingdom of Heaven during his earthly ministry. These stories often begin “The Kingdom of
Heaven is like…” Jesus uses similes and
metaphors to describe something that is beyond our human comprehension.
The parable of the Pearl of Great Price is paired with that
of the Treasure in the Field. Both of
these are similar to the parable of The Good Shepherd, which we hear during the
Easter season. God is the Good Shepherd
who leaves his sheep to seek the one who has gone astray. God is the person who finds the Treasure in
the Field or the Merchant who finds the Pearl, and sells all He has so He may
purchase the field or the Pearl.
In his homily on this Gospel, Deacon Gerald Zukauckas of
EWTN pointed out that, in the metaphor of these parables, we are the “treasure”
or the “pearl.” God was willing to pay
the ultimate price so that He might possess us.
He was willing to send His Son to us.
Jesus literally gave His life for us.
Because of Jesus’ example and sacrifice, we have our faith, which is the
greatest treasure we can hope to possess.
How much are we willing to pay God for His boundless love for us? How much are we willing to give up for our
faith?
Haecceity, or “thisness”, is a term coined by Dun Scotus (an important theologian in the High Middle Ages) to describe the unique identity we all carry. It is a personal gift from God that makes us who we are. It cannot be cloned or replicated in any way. It is our “true self” -- the pearl of great price, the treasure in the field. It is what we are all searching for in order to be one with God. So, rather than “paying” God for His boundless love or “giving up something” for our faith, I suggest we try to live in the knowledge that we have a unique value and are wanted and loved by God. Our vocation is to find our haecceity or true self so that we can be in God’s presence and share his love wherever we go with whomever we touch. As St. Teresa of Avila said, Christ has no body now on earth but ours, no hands but ours, no feet but ours. I believe our “pay back” is to love everyone.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts. I like the concept of "haecceity". I hadn't heard of that before.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was trying to get at in this post. We repay God for his love for us when we strive to be the best Christians we can be.