Save your spoon

I once heard a story of a woman who was known to say at the end of her meal, "Save your spoon - something better is coming!" I guess she must have loved dessert as much as I do, but the woman was also very wise and, before she died, asked her family to bury her with a spoon as a reminder that "something better is coming."

It's not about this life, folks. Yesterday I was reading from Matthew 6:19-21. Jesus says:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Visiting Franciscan sisters on the island of Samar - learning how to be poor in spirit.

On mission, it's easy to recognize how attached you are to material possessions by how upset you are when they are stripped away from you. Although Camiguin is a very safe and peaceful island, petty theft is still a common problem. In the past 5 months, my team has "lost" from our clothesline one top, five pants, three shorts, and one towel - quite a bit when you didn't bring much clothing into missions to begin with. We've also been battling the problem of mold. In the constant humidity, books and shoes and other items grow mold and sometimes can't be salvaged. Every time something disappears or is ruined, there is a temptation to grumble or get angry, but ultimately we try to respond in gratitude. Thank You, Lord, that I have enough clothing to cover my body and still more to share with others. Thank You, Lord, that my real treasures are not here because You are laying them up for me in heaven.

The Franciscan brothers in Samar are working hard at their monastery - ora et labora.

If our hearts are set on heaven, we will not be disappointed when our material wealth is destroyed because we know with certainty that we are living for more than this life.

Save your spoons, everyone! Something better is coming.