From the standpoint of this present age, there is darkness; faith however is luminous, because it opens a window to a hidden world of light. … Once the hidden treasure is discovered (Mt 13:44), then there is a joyful movement of renunciation, since lesser things have lost their hold over us. Once having felt ourselves come alive through our participation in the life of God, we are gradually disenfranchised from this world. We have another source of identity: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). God is our homeland and even though we are at a great distance, we cannot avoid becoming “strangers and foreigners” in matters considered by many to be crucial to a successful and fulfilling life. Our treasure is not here, it is in heaven; and that is where our hearts find their home (see Mk 10:21; also Mt 6:21 = Lk 12:34). ~Michael Casey, OCSO; excerpt from Fully Human Fully Divine: An Interactive Christology
