Sermon – Sell Everything You Have and Buy That Field – 26 July 2026

Saint Jerome (c. 342–30 September 420) was a biblical scholar, priest, Father of the Church, and the principal translator and compiler of the Latin Vulgate Bible.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field ” (…)

Saint Jerome interpreted this passage in the following way:

This treasure, in which all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden, is the Word of God , which appears to be concealed in the body of Christ (in his human nature; let us not forget that the Son of God is a divine being with two natures, divine and human) , or in the Holy Scriptures, in which the knowledge of the Savior is preserved . When one discovers it in these Holy Scriptures, one must despise all the gains of this world in order to possess it.

This is precisely what a Christian should do:

To have Christ, one must despise all the gains of this world.

Consider this: How many things that seem good should a Christian avoid? Many. Evil always disguises itself as good. A Christian renounces this apparent "goodness" for the sake of a higher GOODNESS, which is friendship with Christ.

Let us remember that only the friends of Christ go to heaven. All temptations contrary to the Ten Commandments are evils disguised as good, and a Christian rejects them all.

We can see that Christians renounce evils disguised as good, but also those good works that weaken us on the path to Christ. For example, Christians fast to master their own bodies. Christians avoid looking at those who do not dress modestly, so as not to fall into the sin of impure desire. We could give many examples for each of the Ten Commandments.

As we have seen, this involves a renunciation of everything that brings gain to the world; but this renunciation is because a GREATER GOOD awaits us as a reward: Christ, heaven, and immortal life.

A Christian forgoes a good deed for a greater good. Let us not forget this. Let us say to ourselves, "The salvation of my soul is more valuable than this pleasure or this thing..." The good that awaits us will never end; it is eternal.

As advice, I will give you a rule to orient our lives towards Christ: Let us ask ourselves the same question that the saints asked themselves:

Will this action, this thing, this friendship benefit me for eternal life?

If it helps me draw closer to Christ, I will do it, I will accept it. If it doesn't help me, I will leave it, I won't do it, I won't continue.

Let us ask Mary for the grace to be willing to lose everything except our communion with Christ.