A civilization of love! I have been taking time to read and reflect upon the first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, of Pope Leo XIV. He tells us about the “civilization of love” that is possible in our world today. This idea stays with me.
“Even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love to fulfillment in our lives. Indeed, the Lord continues to make all things new.” –Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas, # 245
A civilization of love to fulfillment! Today Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of God. St. Paul reminds us that all things work for good for those who love God. The Spirit is active and alive and the Lord continues to make all things new.
What about Solomon? He has an encounter with God. God tells him to ask for something and it will be given to him. God, impressed that the gift is to rule a just kingdom, (a civilization of love), Solomon is granted his desire for an “understanding heart.” Wisdom is God’s gift to Solomon for the kingdom of the people of God. As it is written in the Hebrew Scriptures, God desires a relationship: I will be your God and you will be my people.
Perhaps Wisdom is the invaluable treasure. Proverbs, 3:13-15, says:
Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
Let us pray for an understanding heart that is always one in the heart of God.
In the New Testament, the long expected “King of the Jews” is not like Solomon, or others after him. It is Jesus, the Christ. He IS Wisdom! The Spirit IS upon Him. He IS the anointed one, the Messiah. The blind sees, the oppressed are free, there is freedom for prisoners, and no more suffering. Doesn’t this describe for us what the kingdom of God may be like?
Today, St. Matthew informs us of many analogies and metaphors when Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God, or as the scriptures may also say, the kingdom of heaven. In other Gospel accounts, St. Mark writes that Jesus says “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” St. Luke tells us Jesus taught not to look outside oneself, for the kingdom of God is within you. So, what is the kingdom of God? More so, what is it like? For sure it is precious, of great value and worth selling all one has to obtain it and keep it.
What is this pearl of great price or the treasure in the field? I suggest it’s the Christ that dwells within each of us, and around us. It is everything, everywhere, where one may encounter more deeply the profound love of God in Jesus though all of creation. It is peace. It is the place when one finally knows the fullness of God’s love and enters into total union experiencing the wholeness of God. Is this what we hope to find, and perhaps in unexpected places?
Jesus shows us the way of being the dwelling place for God, and the way to live in the kingdom. To be a “beatitude” people. He teaches us how to live wisely with each other in loving relationship.
Jesus became human so we might know the greatest desire of the Divine for all of us and creation, to be in relationship and in union with the Holy One. Perhaps, each one of us is the pearl, the treasure that God desires. God, “the merchant”, did give all, a total self-gift in Jesus. The kingdom of God is self-gift. It is the total emptying of oneself for another. Trinitarian love, communal love, relational love is the reality of the reign of God. It is the “city of God” or a “civilization of love.”
The encounter with God is “more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” –Psalm 119.
One day while in ministry at St. Bonaventure University, (following several years on the Rosebud, Sciangu Lakota Sioux Reservation in S. Dakota) I was walking up the hill to what is known as Merton’s Heart. It is a clearing on the hillside in the shape of a heart where Thomas Merton would go. Perhaps he went to pray, write, reflect or just enjoy the beauty of the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. While climbing to “the heart”, I found an eagle feather. My heart leapt as this sacred feather was a gift, a treasure in a field, that united me with the love and presence of God. For Native Americans, the eagle, waŋblíin (in the Lakota language) is a sacred messenger of Wakáŋ Táŋka (the Great Spirit) symbolizing the virtues of courage, strength, wisdom, and gifted with spiritual power. It was 44 years ago I found this treasure in a field. I still have it. A gift given to me from our Creator. It is a symbol and always a reminder to me of my union with God, Jesus, the Spirit, who dwells within me. Jesus has been my partner in life and ministry. We have walked the sacred path, the road of, in and to the Kingdom of God together. We continue to walk, as Black Elk, Sioux spiritual elder wrote, in a sacred manner.
Have you found the treasure that is yours forever? The Holy, Sacred Divine Kingdom? Go deep into your heart. There the love of our Creator, in Christ and the Spirit, Wisdom, is waiting to be found. We seek the treasure and God finds us. We are God’s people, citizens of the kingdom of God. May we be attentive to this kingdom at hand and within us. It is for everyone and for us to nurture it. It is for both the old and the new. May we be a civilization of love. May we know Wisdom. May we be heaven on earth!
Welcome to the kingdom! What a treasure!
Thank you, God!
A song for praying: I Found a Treasure - Dan Schutte
Candice Tucci, OSF
Born in Buffalo, NY, I grew up in a cultural and ethnic diverse environment. My life as a Franciscan Sister has been a profound spiritual journey. Like Francis of Assisi who called himself, “pilgrim and stranger,” this too is a metaphor for my own life.
A trained spiritual director, with a BFA, and MA degree in Religious Studies/Spirituality focusing on the integration of the arts, spirituality and social justice, prepared me to live this Gospel life of prayer and service. First on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and eventually in Tanzania, East Africa. My journey led me to ministry in higher education at various universities. February 2025, I retired from Creighton University after 10 years as Chaplain for the College of Nursing.
Prior to retirement, I was elected to serve on the General Council of my Congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity. March, 2025, I moved to Rome, IT where I currently reside. Serving in this leadership role provides incredible opportunities to serve as a woman religious in the Catholic Church at this time in history. Settled in Rome, I am happy and ready to contribute again to Daily Reflections. May we hold each other reverently in this Sacred Space.
