What do you love the most? To get at the heart of this answer, we can ask ourselves what we spend the most time and money on. These are usually connected. If I love something, I spend most of my attention on it. If something is near and dear to me, I will give it the utmost care and attention. Whatever commands my time and resources, is usually on the highest pedestal of my love. Take for example a modern American city. Apply this principle to its landscape and ask, what buildings does this city spend its most time and resources on? If you drive past downtown Sacramento, the tallest building that dominates the city skyline is the Wells Fargo building. In the center of the city, the Sacramento Kings play in the new Golden One arena surrounded by a glistening new shopping and restaurant district, costing over 7 billion dollars. If you take a drive past downtown San Francisco, the tallest building that pierces the sky is the 61 story Salesforce Tower. Just south of there, along the shore of the Bay, sits the white Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors play in a palatial 1.4 billion dollar complex. What do we tend to love as a modern American culture? What do we spend our time and resources on? The answer is clear – we love money and entertainment. 

What do you love? In the famous story between Jesus and the rich young man, our Lord is attempting to answer this question. The young man comes up to him and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” What a fantastic question! At least this young man is beginning with the proper question. He is at a place in his life where he is pondering and reflecting on the bigger questions of life. He is not merely concerned about the traditional distractions we can all get distracted with, like money, power, honor and pleasure. He asks rightly, “How do I get saved?” Jesus quotes to him part of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.” He responds, “All of these I have observed from my youth.” He is earnestly striving to be holy. But Jesus knows he lacks one thing… love. When Jesus asked him to let go of his worldly possessions, he went “away sad”. He loved money more than God. 

What do you love? That is the question that Jesus forces us to grapple with this Sunday. What do I spend my most time and money on? In a few short weeks, we are launching a new short Bible Study on the Biblical roots of the Holy Mass. We will have it in both English and Spanish, to help accommodate our diverse parish family. In it, we will get to the heart of this question of love. The Holy Mass has been the center of our Christian civilization for the last 2,000 years. The Holy Mass has been at the heart of our time and resources of generations of Catholics over the centuries. Great cathedrals, musicians, and artists have given their time, talent and treasure to what we do each Sunday. If you want to understand more deeply about the Mass, the Bible Study is for you. If you find Mass boring, the Bible Study is for you. If you want to know why the Mass is the most important event of your life, the Bible Study is for you.