Thirty-Second Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B., 32nd Sunday--Widow Stewardship

On the first day of a Bible study at a suburban parish, the participants introduced themselves and described what ministries they participated in at the church.

The group was filled with active, engaged parishioners. There were lectors, singers, pro-life volunteers, and many more.

But one elderly woman said, “Unfortunately, my health prevents me from doing too much. Still, I try to spend as much time as I can praying for people. So, share your prayer requests with me; I promise to pray for you.”

The other people at the table who knew her nodded in agreement. This was her gift to them.

[The Word Among Us]

Similarly, the widow in our Gospel gave very little to the Temple treasury, but her generous spirit shone so brightly that it touched Jesus’ heart.

A good prayer for us: “Lord, help me find ways to share a portion of however much or little time and energy I have today.”

In our First Reading, Elijah spent a lot of energy opposing the idolatry of the people, and he had prayed to stop the rain, and this caused a drought throughout the land. Surprisingly, God commanded a poor widow to feed him.

Like the widow in our Gospel today, she is our spiritual mentor standing there on the margins. Not afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

Like the Blessed Virgin Mary: The Blessed Widow Mary we could say.

The early Christian writers said that widows should be revered like “the altar of sacrifice” [Didascalia Apostorum]

It’s an image of the scandal of the cross. It is less about a poor widow than about Jesus himself; it is a study in the art of giving and dying. [Christian Century]

The truth is that those coins weren’t going to change her life, she had so little, but she could be at peace and joyful in knowing she was able to give to the temple treasury.

She was dependent on God and her neighbor for everything. This is what we are to be like before God—

dependent on nothing but the grace of God. We are to be people without any resources except the riches of God’s mercy.

Jesus shows us that our dependence on God leads to joy and thanksgiving and studies have found that generosity, both volunteering and charitable donations benefits us physically and psychologically. It moves people into the present and distracts the mind from the stresses and problems of the self.

If you are the recipient of a good deed, you may have momentary happiness, but your long-term happiness is higher if you are the giver.

(Terri Yablonsky Stat, Chicago Tribunal).

In many ways, trust is the foundation of generosity.

Action:

The true measure of our gifts is not how much is given by us but how much remains behind.

Amen.