Out of Her Substance

Thirty-second Sunday in

Ordinary Time

7 November 2021 

 

First Reading: 1 KNGS 17:10-16

Responsorial Psalm: PS 146:7, 8-9, 9-10

Second Reading: HEB 9:24-28

Gospel: MK 12:38-44 or 12:41-44

 

Reflection

By Pietro S. Albano

 

[T]his poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.

In today’s First Reading (1 Kings 17:10-16), the Prophet Elijah visited a poor widow of Zarephath and asked for water and a scrap of bread.  Despite “a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug” for her and her son, she prepared a little bread for the Prophet Elijah. The widow’s kind gesture was rewarded: “The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus praised a poor widow for contributing all that she had compared to the rest. This poor widow, according to Prof Mary Healy, did not give “out of her surplus but out of her substance”. Giving her whole livelihood was tantamount to depending on God for her tomorrow. In a materialistic society, we tend to acquire and cling to whatever goods we can buy. This includes those goods that we do not really need and are therefore non-essential. We oftentimes discover that these goods are just there gathering dust in our already cluttered homes. Perhaps it is high time for us to share those goods with those who genuinely need them. As Bishop Robert Barron wrote, “[W]hen we give away that which we have received through God’s grace, we find that more grace arrives. And when we give that away, still more arrives, and then still more, until we discover, finally, water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).”

• Are you a cheerful giver? 

• Is your donation out of your surplus or out of your substance?

• When was the last time you cleared your closet of unwanted things?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. May the example of two widows in our Mass readings today inspire us to be generous in sharing our gifts – big or small as they may be – with the Church and those in need. Amen.