17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A (2026) 

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 
1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 
Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 (97a)
Romans 8:28-30 
Matthew 13:44-52 
July 26, 2026 

Our Lord appeared to Solomon with an incredible offer, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”  

What would you ask for? What do you treasure most? What would you be willing to sell all that you have in order to receive this treasure? What is your “pearl of great price?” 

How does Solomon respond to God’s offer? 

Solomon begins his response by showing great humility. As he begins his kingship, he acknowledges that he is a mere youth. He admits he does not know everything that a king should to govern well.  

Solomon identifies himself as a servant of God. He knows his kingship is not for his own glory. 

With this in mind, Solomon does not ask for something selfish. He asks for “an understanding heart” so that he may judge and govern well. 

Solomon’s request pleases God. What do you ask of God? 

Do you ask for “a long life for yourself?” 

Do you ask for riches or “the life of your enemies”? 

Are these what you treasure most? 

When Jesus first speaks of treasure in today’s gospel, He does not identify what the treasure is. This opens the door for us to reflect on what our treasure is. 

When one thinks of treasure, I would guess that money and material wealth come to mind for many people but that is not our only possible treasure. 

Some people’s treasure is not found in physical things. It can be found in activities. For many young families today this means sports, plays, and other activities for their youth. These activities are not bad in and of themselves. It is the attachment we develop to them that becomes our treasure. There are people who let activities like these become their greatest treasure. Some do this to the extent that the activities become more important to them than God. 

In a very busy world, time can become a great treasure. When time becomes our greatest treasure, we find ourselves always in a hurry to get to the next activity. This can pull us away from what is most important. 

One example of this may be found in some people who want Mass to be short. When I joined our Men’s Spirituality group this week, I looked at the gospel reading and saw there is an option for a shorter version to be read at Mass. The whole gospel passage is half the length of the gospel for other recent Sundays. Yet, there is a short form.  

Sometimes people will say to me, “Keep the homily short Father.” Why? What is more important than sharing God’s Word? What could possibly be more worthy of our time than the Mass? 

So far, I have spoken of earthly things and activities as our treasure. Are there spiritual things you treasure? 

In our psalm response today we say, “Lord, I love your commands.” Do you see God’s commands as a treasure or as rules that keep you from what you find pleasure in? 

Is God’s Law precious to you? What about his kindness? How about his promise of eternal life? Do you treasure these spiritual things “more than gold”? 

We are all free to choose what we treasure. However, we must realize where we will spend eternity is based on the choices we make. At the “end of the age, the angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.”  

Heaven should be the treasure we seek for to be in Heaven is to be with God who loves us. We must not take Heaven for granted for as Jesus says, many will try to enter but few actually do (see my article, “Proof That Hell Exists”). 

Peace, 

Fr. Jeff