Laying Down Our Lives

Jesus said to his disciples:

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” // Matthew 13:44

I can still imagine the scene perfectly. A row of men dressed in white, laying nose down on the cold marble floors of the cathedral. Every seat of every wooden pew was full, and all eyes were on the altar. I was witnessing over a dozen young men lay down their lives for the sake of their bride—the Church. 

It was the first Ordination Mass I had ever attended, and the memory still brings tears to my eyes. As I watched each man get down on his knees and stretch his body prostrate on the floor, I thought of his sacrifice. 

Every one of these men was willing to surrender all that he had—and joyfully. 

It was the kind of joy you see bursting forth on a wedding day, a total outpouring of grace. These men had found their treasure, and it was worth everything. 

While not all of us are called to receive Holy Orders and become priests, Christ calls each and every one of us to participate in the priesthood of all believers we entered at our Baptisms by laying down our lives for the Kingdom of Heaven—the greatest treasure our eyes will ever behold. 

Maybe that’s not selling everything you have, but maybe it’s risking rejection, sacrificing your time, or stepping out of your comfort zone. Maybe it’s writing that check to that missionary or getting up for the 1,085th time to feed your crying baby. Maybe it’s silently bearing your roommate’s annoying habit or making time in your schedule to visit someone who’s lonely. 

It won’t always look like a shiny ceremony in a marble Cathedral, but at the end of your life, all those moments will add up. Each and every sacrifice you have made will be a speck of gold in the Cathedral of Heaven. 

And when you behold the face of God, you will know that it was worth it.