How do we “store up riches in heaven”? Isn’t it interesting that we actually have a sense of this. Just as Catherine of Siena says that our soul’s infinite love and desire teach us about God, so too our sense of eternity can teach us about the riches we can store up in heaven.
If we are willing to look at it, we know that the physical attractiveness that comes with youth soon fades, but the beauty of a kind and gentle soul lives on forever. Honors that come from worldly achievements can be washed out in an instant, but the deep satisfaction of knowing that I have done my best at a worthwhile task can never be taken away.
Where am I spending my precious energy? Am I wasting it in areas that have only passing value? Or am I investing them in areas that endure forever?
—Fr. Tim Hipskind, S.J. is co-director of the Institute for Leadership and Service, as well as Director of Service Learning at the University of Detroit Mercy. He regularly ministers to Hispanic Catholics in the Detroit area.