Episode 3165: Vanity, Mist, and the Mission: Trading Earthly Treasures for Eternal Riches

Website: www.catholic-reboot.com

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Speak Lord for your Servant is Listening
Book Recommendation of the Day
St. Augustine: Sermons on the Finding of St. Stephen
• Sermons 316–324 are directly related to the discovery of St. Stephen’s relics around 415 A.D.
• Augustine recounts the miracles that took place as the relics were transferred from Jerusalem to Hippo in North Africa.
• These sermons are included in:
o 📘 “The Works of Saint Augustine” (New City Press edition)
o 📘 “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,” Series I, Volume 6
Website: www.catholic-reboot.com
Quick question. When you go to Sunday Mass do you prepare for it? Do you read the epistle and the gospel before mass and when the priest gives his sermon are you listening very intently to have him tie them together and provide you with your guidance of the week? Or do you just walk in sit down and check the box? See Sunday is SO very important because it sets the pace for your entire week. It is your plan for how to live during the week and the weeks feastdays bring it all to life. Do you say to yourself what is this Sunday and the entire next week leading me to or are you just checking the box. Well if you are just checking the box stop doing that and breath your faith. Inhale your Sunday message and exhale it all week long.
Today’s episode is titled: “Vanity, Mist, and the Mission: Trading Earthly Treasures for Eternal Riches.”
Let’s take a deep breath and settle in because we are about to talk about something our modern world forgets, but the saints never did.
Segment 1: The Illusion of Earthly Treasures
Our Lord tells us in the Gospel of St. Matthew:
“Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven… For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.”
— Matthew 6:19–21, Douay-Rheims
What a contrast to the messages of the world! The world screams: “Accumulate more. Indulge more. Secure yourself with possessions, wealth, and recognition.” But Our Lord warns us these treasures will pass away. The moth will eat the finest garments. The rust will eat through the strongest metal. The thief will come. Time will take its toll.
The problem is not in using material goods rightly but in clinging to them as though they are ultimate. In doing so, we forget that we were not made for this world, but for eternity.
Segment 2: Life on Earth Is But a Breath
Let us recall the words of the Psalmist:
“Man’s days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish. For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be: and he shall know his place no more.”
— Psalm 102:15–16 (Douay-Rheims)
And from Ecclesiastes, that oft-quoted but misunderstood phrase:
“Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes: vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.”
— Ecclesiastes 1:2
The Hebrew word used here for "vanity" is "hevel", which literally means “mist” or “vapour.” It communicates not just meaninglessness, but fleetingness, transience, the passing nature of earthly things.
Your life? A mist. Your fame? A mist. Your possessions? All mist.
Compared to eternity, this life is not even a breath it is less than a breath. And yet, we spend so much time years, decades consumed with things that will be buried with us or given away.
The saints saw this so clearly. St. Teresa of Avila once wrote:
“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God alone never changes.”
Segment 3: Asceticism: Training for Heaven
To the world, the practice of asceticism denying oneself comforts, fasting, embracing silence, avoiding entertainment seems unnecessary, even foolish. But to the saints, it was spiritual training.
St. Paul reminds us:
“Every one that striveth for the mastery, refraineth himself from all things: and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one.”
— 1 Corinthians 9:25 (Douay-Rheims)
The saints knew: the comforts of this life often dull the soul, distract the heart, and weaken the will. Asceticism purifies our focus, frees us from dependency on things, and keeps us watchful and ready to do God’s will.
St. Francis of Assisi, though he was born of wealth, stripped himself of all comfort and said:
“If we had any possessions, we would need weapons and laws to defend them.”
He wanted to be unencumbered, so he could run toward Christ with his whole heart.
We must practice small mortifications, embrace silence, limit our attachment to technology, give alms, fast from food and from praise not as punishment, but as discipline for the soul the same way an athlete disciplines the body for victory.
Segment 4: Our True Mission: To Know, Love, and Serve God
Let us remember our true mission as the Baltimore Catechism so beautifully teaches:
“Why did God make you?
God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.”
We were not made to chase mist. We were made for glory, the kind that does not pass away.
How tragic it is to see a soul live as though his only mission is to accumulate cars, promotions, popularity. These things are not bad in themselves, but if they become the focus of our lives, we are missing the entire point.
We are pilgrims not settlers. This life is not home; it is a road, and our journey has a destination: Heaven.
Conclusion and Final Exhortation
So today, dear listener, ask yourself:
• Where is your treasure?
• What fills your heart things of earth or things of God?
• Are you clinging to mist or reaching for the eternal?
Begin today with one small act of detachment. Give up one comfort. Pray a little longer. Fast a little more. Speak a little less. Because each of these small steps trains us to detach from the mist and embrace the unfading glory of Heaven.

Epistle: Romans 8:12–17 (8th Sunday after Pentecost)
"Brethren: We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear: but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father). For the Spirit Himself gives testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also: heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ."
Reflection on the Epistle:
St. Paul speaks directly to the Christian soul: we are not to live by the flesh. This is a reminder that the life of faith is one of spiritual adoption a supernatural transformation. We become children of God through grace, and this inheritance comes with the requirement to mortify the flesh. St. Stephen, the Protomartyr, lived precisely this way. He bore witness not only through his eloquent speech before the Sanhedrin but through the blood he shed for the Name of Jesus. Today’s epistle challenges us to live with the same intensity: not in fear or compromise, but as heirs of eternal life, embracing sacrifice and virtue.
Gospel: Luke 16:1–9 (8th Sunday after Pentecost)
"At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable: There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods..."
Reflection on the Gospel:
The parable of the unjust steward is one that can be confusing at first. Our Lord is not praising dishonesty but rather prudence and foresight. The steward, knowing he was about to be dismissed, used worldly wisdom to prepare for his future.
How much more should we, children of God, live not just for today, but with eternity in mind? We must be faithful stewards of the grace given to us, using time, talents, and treasures to gain friends in heaven that is, storing up treasures in eternal dwellings.
St. Stephen, again, is the perfect example. He was a steward of the Gospel and bore witness even in death. He preached the truth boldly, prayed for his persecutors, and saw the heavens opened. His prudence was not worldly but heavenly.
Saint of the Day: Finding of the Relics of St. Stephen (Protomartyr)
According to tradition, in the year 415, the relics of St. Stephen were miraculously discovered in Jerusalem after being hidden for centuries. The pious priest Lucian was guided by divine revelation to their location. Upon their exhumation, many miraculous healings occurred, attesting to the sanctity of Christ’s first martyr. The faithful processed with the sacred relics to the Church of Sion, and devotion to St. Stephen spread even more rapidly throughout Christendom.
This feast reminds us that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Even in death, the saints speak, and their relics continue to edify, convert, and heal. How far we’ve drifted from this reverence today! But let us, who hold fast to tradition, never forget the power of the saints' intercession and the glory of their relics.
Concluding Prayer:
O glorious St. Stephen, Protomartyr of the Church and first to shed thy blood for the love of Christ, obtain for us the grace to be faithful stewards of the Gospel. May thy heroic witness stir in us a fervor for truth, reverence for the Holy Mass, and love for our persecutors. O Lord, may we honor Thy saints in both word and deed, that one day we may join them in everlasting glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing Message:
Thank you for joining us on this episode. Let us be faithful stewards like St. Stephen, unwavering in charity and bold in truth. May the holy relics of the martyrs remind us that the Church is built not on convenience or comfort but on the blood of her saints.
Until next time remain steadfast, live by the Spirit, and keep your eyes on eternity.
In Christ the King, through Mary our Queen.