Jul262026
Listen to the Homily
Read the Homily

We All Have Pearls, But Do We Have One of Great Value?

My mother has been gone for over 15 years. I wonder what it would be like if I could have her back for a whole day. I would show her all my pearls. I would take out my I-phone and show her all the fish I caught. Then I would show her my Boston Marathon metal I got this year. And I would pull out the book I published. I know what she would say to all of that, “What happened to your hair? Where did it go, and you have not gained a pound since I saw you last. Then would take her to see my father and he would show her all his pearls and I know what she is going to say to him, “Your 94 and still working?” Then we would all fly out to Minnesota to see my brother. And my brother would show her his pearls, and she would say, “How come you are retired, and your father is still working?”
My point is this. We all have pearls. But how valuable are they?

Dad was in the waiting room all alone to see his doctor. A nurse came out, looked around, said nothing, and went back inside the office. She did this several times until she called my father’s name. Dad said, “I am Al Grover.” The nurse was confused and said, I was looking for a 94-year-old, and you do not look 94. My father gets that all the time. Often when I am with my father, people think he is my older brother. Dad gets a kick out of that. Dad once told me, “When you are 94 years old, every day is a bonus; it is an extra day; it is a gift.” When he said that, I thought, “I hope I do not have to wait till I am 94 to figure that out. Jesus tells us about the man who sold all his pearls for one of great value. So go out there and find that pearl.

Back to All Homilies