Pearl Hunting

I woke up this morning feeling much better than I have in a while. No aching back, no stiff neck, no lingering migraine. It actually felt good to wake up this morning. I'm not going to go bouncing around doing cartwheels and such - but I do feel better than I have for a while. This in no way ties in to what I'm about to write below, but I wanted to give y'all an update on how I am. Anyway, on to the post.

St. Paphnutius prayed to God to reveal to him, who it is that he [Paphnutius] resembled. He heard a voice which spoke to him, "You are similar to a merchant who seeks good pearls; arise and do not be idle!" But why would not God say to everyone of us that we are similar to a merchant who seeks good pearls? Because many of us do not seek pearls, rather we gorge ourselves with heavy layers of cheap dust. Not everything which the net raises up from the bottom of the sea is a pearl; sometimes, it is only mud and sand. The ignorant vie for that mud and sand as though it were a pearl. Only the merchant who recognizes a true pearl casts the net into the sea untold number of times. He hauls it up, sifts it of mud and sand, until he finds one seed of pearl! Why does God compare Paphnutius to a merchant? Because Paphnutius gave away all of his possessions, invested all of his effort and all of his time, in order to find that one seed of the true pearl. That true pearl is the heart cleansed of all passions and of evil thoughts and warmed by the flame of love toward God. Arise also, you man, and do not be lazy! Your marketing day is approaching its twilight. (Prologue - Reflection, March 23)

If St. Paphnutius is like a pearl merchant, then what are we? St. Paphnutius is the opposite of the Rich Young Ruler that we read about in the Gospels; where the Rich Young Ruler was told to get rid of all of his possessions and he walked away, St. Paphnutius gave away all of his possessions and spent his time searching for "that one seed of the true pearl."

Are we going to seek first the kingdom of God, or are we going to be delighted in the mud and the sand that we so often come across? Are we going to let the mud burden us and discourage us from seeking a pearl? Or are we going to realize that even though there is a lot of mud that a pearl is still waiting for us to find?

Living for God is not always easy. We are met with many difficulties and obstacles in our daily lives. We are met with so much mud - so much that distracts us and bogs us down - some days it seems that all we have is mud and we might get excited by a new type of mud. With all of the mud around us it can be hard to see the true beauty around us; it can be easy to forget about pearls.

But what do we get if all we do is wallow in mud? We get dirty and filthy. We become unclean.

While seeking pearls might at times seem rather hopeless in all of the mud we find, we should remember the reward we will receive for seeking and finding a pearl. There is no reward without some effort on our part, and we should not give up just because we fail at first. No, we should keep searching until we find our pearl.

Pray for me, a sinner.