Junior School Reflection | Matthew 13: 45 - 46 (a selected reading), 5th Tuesday in Ordinary time, 2026, Year B

Story: Looking in the right place

[text to story to be uploaded]

There is this great teacher by the name of Augustine of Hippo, who lived around the

4th century; what he taught then is still important today. He taught that in the depths

of the human heart lies hidden treasure which can change our lives. “How much

treasure we have within us,” he declared, “but we do not dig for it.”

Instead, we look outside ourselves, like the story of the thief, it might be for a diamond jewel, it might

be in the enjoyment of an activity like marbles, maybe collecting some of the best

Pokémon cards, or winning at sport and hand ball in the school ground, but looking

for that treasure buried in the field of our lives, a treasure that is worth more, we

sometimes overlook.

What is this “field of our lives” I just mentioned? Well, its within ourselves, it’s in our

hearts.

I’m sure the very reason why we do not search for that treasure within our hearts is

because we do not know how to start looking for it, and if we did we probably would

spend time searching.

In the Gospel, Matthew tells us that the pearl of great price isn’t going to the cinema

experience, or winning a competition and collecting a medal, or being the most

popular person. He tells us that the greatest treasure comes from spending time with God, and he can be discovered in the quiet place of our hearts.

Going back to the story of the diamond thief, the story tell tells us that the man who

bought the pearl hid it in the pocket of the thief, the place where he failed to look.

Now, this pocket is no ordinary pocket, it’s the pocket of your heart, and like the

story, Jesus is telling us to look within yourself and isn’t that exactly what Matthew ‘s

Gospel says.

THE CATHOLIC PITSTOP