The second parable, which concerns the precious pearl, is very similar to the preceding one, and it also follows immediately after it in St. Matthew (Matt. 13:45). For in the former there was a treasure; in this one there is a pearl, which can be held to stand in place of a treasure. In the former, one had to sell all one's goods and buy the field in which the treasure lay hidden; and here likewise one must sell everything one possesses in order to buy the precious pearl. It will therefore be necessary to explain only the points in which these parables differ. They differ in two respects: namely, that in the former a treasure is named, while in the latter a precious pearl; and that the treasure was found by chance, while the pearl was diligently sought by a merchant. And indeed in this passage heavenly beatitude, or Christ Himself, is called a pearl, as the holy Fathers teach — St. Ambrose in his sixth sermon, and St. Gregory Nazianzen in Oration 48, which is his treatise on the faith, in Rufinus's translation. Moreover, what in the former parable was called a treasure is called a pearl in this one, so that we may understand that the divinity of Christ (which is the object of eternal happiness, and whose vision is itself — to speak with the theologians — formal beatitude and felicity) is indeed a treasure, yet not one divided into many kinds of gold, silver, and precious stones, but a single thing containing within itself the price of an infinite treasure.
For the pearl is a single thing; yet, as Pliny relates, it holds the highest rank among all precious things (Bk. 9, ch. 35). Moreover, a treasure can consist of money alone, provided it be in the greatest quantity; but such a treasure serves only for utility, not for delight or adornment. Therefore, lest anyone should gather from the preceding parable that heavenly beatitude is merely useful but neither comely nor honorable, He taught that the divinity of Christ and our happiness are like a precious pearl, which, besides the usefulness of a treasure, also possesses a beauty and splendor that adorns and delights.
Add that the pearl is a symbol of Christ, both as Son of God and as Son of the Virgin. For the pearl is generated from the light of the sun and from the dew of heaven, as Pliny teaches in the place cited, and others besides; so also the Son of God according to the divinity is begotten of the Father of lights, who is the uncreated sun — and hence it is said in the Creed, "Light from Light, true God from true God." And the same Christ according to the humanity was begotten of the dew of heaven, inasmuch as He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, not of the seed of man. Finally, the pearl is white, shining, solid, pure, smooth, and round; and the humanity of Christ — and far more, beyond all comparison, His divinity — is white on account of innocence, shining on account of wisdom, solid on account of constancy, pure because without stain, smooth because gentle and meek, and round because perfect on every side.
Now the pearl is not found by chance, but is diligently sought by a prudent merchant. Nor is this parable contrary to the former one, in which the treasure is said to be found by accident; for both are true, but in different persons. And therefore the Lord in His divine wisdom joined this second parable to the first, lest anyone should think that it falls to everyone to stumble upon the treasure unawares. For some God enlightens at once with a singular grace, so that, neither seeking nor desiring nor even thinking of it, they come to the truth of the faith, to most ardent charity, and even to a certain hope of obtaining eternal life; and these, so far as they themselves are concerned, find the treasure by chance — although it was not by chance that God preordained them to this grace and to future glory, but by His eternal providence. But others God indeed forestalls with His grace, yet He does not show them the treasure at once; rather He inspires in them a desire to seek out the truth, and makes them diligent merchants, and aids and directs them until they find the precious pearl. Saint Paul and St. Augustine will serve us as examples. Saint Paul was not seeking the true treasure, which is Christ; rather, he was persecuting Christ as a deceiver and Christians as deceived. And while he was on the journey, breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1), Christ appeared to him, and at one and the same time blinded the eyes of his body and enlightened the eyes of his heart with so great a light that he was immediately changed from a persecutor into a preacher. And although this befell him by a happy chance, yet what was chance in him was providence in God. For so he himself speaks in the Epistle to the Galatians: "You have heard," he says, "of my manner of life in times past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it, and advanced in the Jews' religion above many of my equals in my own nation, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased him, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, immediately I condescended not to flesh and blood" (Gal. 1:13-16), and what follows. St. Paul, then, was set apart from his mother's womb by divine providence to preach the Gospel of Christ; yet he himself did not seek the good pearl or the treasure in the field, but by good fortune the treasure showed itself to him and made itself loved by him with so ardent a charity that he spared no labors: nay, he even exposed himself to every danger and counted all things as dung, that he might gain Christ (Phil. 3:8). St. Augustine, on the other hand, began from his very youth to burn with the desire of finding the precious pearl, that is, true wisdom and eternal happiness. But having fallen into the sect of the Manichees, he labored long and much, both by seeking within himself and by disputing with others, that he might find the truth of the Gospel; and since in that sect he found nothing but fabulous and deceitful tales, he had almost despaired of finding the truth after spending so many years in the search. For so he himself speaks in the sixth book of the Confessions: "I had come," he says, "into the depth of the sea, and I distrusted and despaired of discovering the truth" (Conf. 6.4). Yet it pleased God that he should at length find the precious pearl; and then without any delay, having sold all things — that is, having cast off the desire of marriage, which held him most of all, and having spurned riches and honors, for which, as he himself confesses in the same book, he had a vehement longing — he bound himself wholly and forever to the service of God alone. This, then, is the reason why the Lord in the former parable compared the kingdom of heaven to a treasure found by chance and without labor, and in the latter said that it is like a pearl sought out by a merchant with great labor and diligence. It now remains for the Christian soul, alone with itself and before God, all other occupations being put aside for a time, to weigh seriously what manner of commerce this is, how profitable and how easy at this present time, and how difficult — or rather impossible — if the opportunity of the present market should be lost. Surely the children of this world would not let slip the chance of buying a pearl that could afterwards be sold for many thousands of gold coins and that can now, at the present market, be bought for a hundred silver coins, even if they had to borrow those hundred silver coins at the heaviest interest: and will the children of light be so imprudent as to refuse to buy a pearl that will make them rich and blessed for all eternity, when they are neither compelled to borrow money at interest nor obliged to run hither and thither in search of the price, but it is wholly enough to give freely what they have, even if they possess only two mites? Therefore, O Lord God, let Your light shine in our hearts; grant us to know the priceless worth of Your pearl, and together with it the cheapness of the price that is asked of us so that we may obtain it. Add, O Lord, to Your mercies, that You may not have shown us so precious a pearl in vain; and You who said: Cast not your pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6), grant by Your grace that, if we were once like swine — not knowing the dignity of Your pearl, and preferring acorns and husks to it — now, enlightened and taught by You, we may know Your pearl, and seek it, and, having sold off all things, purchase it with joy.