😇 Born in Dijon, France, St. Jane Frances de Chantal displayed a robust faith from an early age. She married the Baron de Chantal and, after the tragic death of her husband, dedicated herself to the education of her children and a life of deep prayer. Under the spiritual direction of St. Francis de Sales, she found her vocation to found the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, an institute that combined contemplative life with active service to the poor and sick, welcoming women of more fragile health. Her life was a testament to forgiveness, perseverance in faith amidst great suffering, and an ardent love for God, which led her to seek perfection in charity.📖 Introit (Ps 118:75, 120 | ib., 1)
Cognovi, Domine, quia aequitas judicia tua, et in veritate tua humiliasti me: confige timore tuo carnes meas, a mandates tuis timui. Ps. Beati immaculate in via: qui ambulant in lege Domini. ℣. Glória Patri… I have known, O Lord, that Your judgments are equity, and in Your truth You have humbled me. Pierce my flesh with Your fear; for I am afraid of Your judgments. Ps. Blessed are the undefiled in the way: who walk in the law of the Lord.
📜 Epistle (Prov 31:10-31)
Who shall find a valiant woman? Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her. The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils. She will render him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands. She is like the merchant's ship, she bringeth her bread from afar. And she hath risen in the night, and given a prey to her household, and victuals to her maidens. She hath considered a field, and bought it: with the fruit of her hands she hath planted a vineyard. She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm. She hath tasted and seen that her traffic is good: her lamp shall not be put out in the night. She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle. She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor. She shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments. She hath made for herself clothing of tapestry: fine linen, and purple is her covering. Her husband is honourable in the gates, when he sitteth among the senators of the land. She made fine linen, and sold it, and delivered a girdle to the Chanaanite. Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the latter day. She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue. She hath looked well to the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her bread in idleness. Her children rose up, and called her blessed: her husband, and he praised her. Many daughters have gathered together riches: thou hast surpassed them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands: and let her works praise her in the gates.
✨ Gospel (Mt 13:44-52)
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to His disciples: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man finds it, hides it again, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net cast into the sea, which gathers in fish of every kind. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore, sit down, and collect the good in baskets, but throw away the bad. So will it be at the end of the age: the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous, and they will cast them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." Then He said to them, "Therefore, every scribe who has been trained for the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
🤔 Reflections
💡 The precious pearl is charity, without which whatever you may have is of no profit; if you possess it alone, it is enough for you. He who finds it, like the merchant in the Gospel, sells all that he has, because he understands that all temporal substance is nothing in comparison with the possession of eternity (St. Augustine, Sermon 36). The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a treasure because, upon finding it, the soul despises all earthly things as if they were dung, in order to possess it. The man who finds it hides it, to preserve it, for the zeal and intention of guarding the heavenly treasure must be protected from vainglory (St. Gregory the Great, Homily 11 on the Gospels). The valiant woman of the epistle is she who has found this treasure and this pearl, for 'the law of clemency is on her tongue' and 'strength and beauty are her clothing,' virtues that are born from the possession of the true good (St. Jerome, Commentary on Proverbs).
⚖️ The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price are exclusive to the Gospel of Matthew, underscoring the radical and joyful decision that the Kingdom demands. While Luke presents parables with a theme of searching and joy for what was lost, such as the sheep and the drachma (Lk 15:4-9), Matthew's focus is on the total renunciation of all one possesses to acquire a good of incomparable value. The parable of the net, although it echoes the theme of the final judgment present in other gospels, such as the separation of the sheep and the goats (Mt 25:32), offers the unique image of sorting the fish, detailing the separation between "good" and "bad" at the consummation of the age, an image not found in Mark or Luke.
✉️ The act of selling everything for the treasure or the pearl finds a powerful echo in the theology of St. Paul, who declares: "whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:7-8). This radical renunciation is not seen as a burden, but as an immeasurable gain, much like the "joy" of the man who finds the treasure. The description of the "valiant woman" in the Epistle, who is adorned with "strength and beauty" and whose life is praised for her works, complements the Pauline exhortation for the faithful to clothe themselves "with heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience" (Colossians 3:12), showing that the value found in the Kingdom manifests itself in concrete virtues.
🏛️ The teachings of the Roman Catechism echo the Gospel's message, explaining that the "Kingdom of God" is the divine grace that sanctifies us in this life and the glory that beatifies us in the next, a "treasure" for which the faithful must be willing to sacrifice all earthly goods (Roman Catechism, Part IV, The Lord's Prayer). The figure of the "valiant woman" is presented as a model of virtue in family life, in line with documents such as the encyclical Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae, which describes Christian marriage as a path to holiness, where the duties of one's state in life, when fulfilled with diligence and charity, become the means to acquire the "fruit of her hands" and be praised "in the gates," that is, in the judgment of God.
