Referring to Matthew 13:24-43, Fr. Jonas talks about finding happiness at the 9 a.m. Mass at the St. Teresa of Avila in South Ozone Park, NY on Sunday, July 26, 2026.

Text of the homily

       “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field,” Jesus said in the Gospel.

Today’s readings delve into our desire. Do we seek the kingdom of heaven as a treasure in a field? Let us rephrase that question. Do we want to be happy? But what is happiness?

The world hawks the idea of happiness meaning pleasure through food, sex, media, AI and excitement. It markets political and economic ideologies (liberalism, conservatism, communism, capitalism) to ensure the flow of pleasure. You and I must admit that we fell into this thinking. The proof resides in three things: the cellphone, the refrigerator and the TV. How often do we resort to those things when we are sad and we seek a quick hit of pleasure?

However, we all know deep inside that these pleasures do not satisfy us and leave us empty. We still run on the proverbial treadmill chasing the next hit of pleasure while our emptiness grows. We express that emptiness with anger, insults and rudeness.

The world tricks us to believe that we can act out in seeking pleasure and being angry without any consequences. But Jesus unveils that lie by warning us, “The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.” Desiring happiness must have an end point. What is then happiness?

The answer starts with realizing that our emptiness is infinite and requires something infinite to fill it. That is God. Happiness means finding God. When we look toward God, we notice a bigger desire: God’s desire for us.

King Salomon encountered God’s desire for him in the first reading when the Lord asked, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” At the start of his reign, Salomon recognized his inability to rule so He requested, “Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.” That understanding heart is to have God’s wisdom, to see things from God’s point of view. Hearing that request, God granted it that and so much more: long life, peace and riches.

This superabundant generosity Paul captures beautifully in describing a chain of divine actions: God knew us in the beginning, predestined us, chose us, justified us and glorified us through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Likewise, Jesus wants that superabundance for us. He loves us, wanting to fill that emptiness in our hearts with divine love, the Holy Spirit. Our seeking him touches his heart. He then runs to us and gives us his whole self, especially in Mass.

The Mass can train us to reorient our desires. We admit our faults at the “Lord, have mercy.” The readings reveal God’s love and infuse a desire for it. The Gospel ignites that desire in us to seek Jesus. In the Eucharist, we receive Jesus fully, satisfying our desire for happiness. Fr. Pio Bruno Lanteri, the founder of my congregation, the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, tells us to approach Communion as if we are in love. We know what it is like to fall in love: eager to accompany and talk to someone. The time after communion, we should talk to Jesus about everything.

Jesus asks us, “What do you want?” We should say, “Just you, Jesus, because you are the source of my happiness.”