17A Sunday Homily, Matthew 13:44-46, July 26, 2026
By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM
1. STORY
Edward was single
and about 36 years old when he met a woman named Wallis. Though she had been married and divorced
twice, he continued to see her. Eventually they came to love each other
deeply. When he was 42 years old, his
father died. His father was not an
ordinary man as he was the King of England. In January 0f 1936, Edward became Edward VIII,
the King of England. He declared his
intention to marry Wallis, his pearl of great price. His family, the Church of England, and the
British Parliament opposed this. King
Edward VIII had to make a choice; either be king or marry Wallis. He could not have both. In December of 1936, Edward made his choice. He chose to marry Wallis and submitted his
abdication which was accepted by Parliament the next day. He became the only British monarch ever to
resign voluntarily. He chose his pearl,
Wallis, over everything else.
2. GOSPEL,
MATTHEW 13:44-46
A) THE PEARL OF
GREAT PRICE
There was a
merchant who loved pearls and searched high and low for fine pearls. To his great joy, he found one of great beauty
which was so beautiful that he decided that he must buy it no matter what the
cost.
B) HE SOLD ALL HE
HAD AND BOUGHT IT
He had to make a
great sacrifice. He sold all that he had
to have enough money to buy his precious pearl. He considered himself very fortunate in having
the opportunity to buy what he so desired. This purchase brought him great happiness.
3. APPLICATION TO
LIFE
A) MY PEARL OF
GREAT PRICE
For some, health
is the most important thing. They eat
carefully, exercise faithfully, and get enough sleep. For others, money is most important. They work hard, spend their money carefully,
and save faithfully. For others,
happiness is number one. Happiness for
themselves, their family, and friends. In
this parable, Jesus tells us that God should be number one in our lives, our
precious pearl. Why? The reason is that it is only God who can give
us health. He alone can give us strength
to make money. He alone can give us
happiness. So, in making God all
important, we gain health, wealth, and happiness.
B) WHAT MUST I DO
WITH THIS GREAT TREASURE?
First, we must
love God. We must pray each day, both in
the morning asking for help during the day and in the evening thanking him for
his blessings. We must be faithful in
attending Sunday Mass where we hear the word of God and are able to receive the
Eucharist. We must read the bible or
some spiritual book when time permits. Secondly, we must love our neighbor. We must be kind in our speech, patient in our
attitude, and helpful in our actions. We
cherish this great treasure by loving God and by loving our neighbor.
4. CONCLUSION
Edward VII, king
of England, discovered that his pearl of great price was his friend and future
wife, Wallis Warfield Simpson. The price
he had to pay was to give up the British throne and no longer be king. The merchant in the parable sold all he had to
purchase the pearl he wanted. The
parable teaches us that God should be our greatest desire and we show this by
loving Him and our neighbor. We pray for
the grace to discover that God is truly our pearl of great price.
