“Seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” - Colossians 3:1 

St. Paul wrote these words to the Christian community in Colossae, a small city in Asia Minor, during a time when new believers were wrestling with competing influences. Pagan philosophies, Jewish ritual observances, and mystical teachings were creeping into the Christian community, causing confusion and drawing people away from the simplicity of the Gospel. Paul responds with a bold and clear exhortation: fix your eyes on Christ. Don’t get caught in arguments about earthly rules and passing shadows. If you’ve been baptized-if you’ve died and risen with Christ-then your life is now hidden in Him. Your future, your hope, your identity-it’s all wrapped up in the risen Lord, seated in glory. So live accordingly. Set your mind on what is above. Let your heart follow where Christ already reigns. 

This call to “seek what is above” sets the tone perfectly for the beginning of August and the Sunday readings of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Year C. In the first reading from Ecclesiastes, we hear that haunting refrain: “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” The author wrestles with the futility of a life consumed by toil, anxiety, and the pursuit of things that ultimately fade. The Gospel then echoes this theme through the parable of the rich man who stores up treasures for himself, only to discover that his life will end that very night. Jesus warns, “Though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” In contrast to these warnings about earthly striving, St. Paul offers us an alternative: seek what is above. Live with a higher perspective. Set your mind on Christ, not on accumulation, worry, or self-preservation. In a world chasing temporary satisfaction, Paul’s vision of heaven-centered living is both radical and freeing. 

Few saints embody this verse more clearly than St. John Vianney, whose memorial we celebrate this week. Born in France in 1786, he became a parish priest in the small, obscure village of Ars. By all worldly standards, he was unimpressive-a poor student, almost dismissed from seminary, and sent to a forgotten town. But he sought what was above. His whole heart was fixed on the salvation of souls and the glory of God. He spent hours in prayer, fasted, offered penance, and heard confessions for up to 16 hours a day. People came from all over France to encounter a man who radiated heaven. He once said, “The soul that aims at God seeks only God.” His life was not centered on comfort, success, or popularity-it was centered on Christ. 

This week, we are invited to follow his example. Where is your gaze? What fills your thoughts and your longings? Take time this week to examine where your heart is anchored. Look up. Lift your eyes. Seek what is above, where Christ is seated in glory. There is your true home. There is your peace. Like St. John Vianney, let your life become a signpost that points others to Heaven.