Where Your Treasure Is

The three kings brought treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh to honor the King of kings. Later in his life the King would teach, " Don't store up treasures here on earth where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will be." (Matt. 6:19-21) This nugget of wisdom has spawned many a saint, perhaps the most notable, St. Francis of Assisi.
Today we honor another man, St. John Neumann, an immigrant from Bohemia who came to the United States in the 1830's and was eventually consecrated Bishop of Philadelphia. He lived simply, giving of whatever material treasure he had, and more importantly, the treasure of his heart, to the building of parishes and schools for the waves of immigrants then flooding the shores of the United States. His understanding of this passage from St. Matthew enabled him to do great things.
A contemporary example: A young teenage penpal in Rostock, Germany, Peter, does not send Christmas cards and uses the money thus saved to give to the needy. As he observes the nonchalance with which people buy expensive clothes and then dispose of them year after year, he wishes he could "rescue" these items and give them to the poor. Peter's treasure is not in THINGS, but in a young heart sensitive to the needs of others. Where is my treasure? What can I do TODAY to put it where it belongs?
Bro. Rene