34TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)
Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
1st Reading: Rev 14:1-3, 4b-5
I was given another vision: The Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, surrounded by one hundred and forty-four thousand people, who had his name, and his Father’s name, written on their foreheads. A sound reverberated in heaven, like the sound of the roaring of waves, or deafening thunder; it was like a chorus of singers, accompanied by their harps. They sing a new song before the throne, in the presence of the four living creatures and the elders, a song which no one can learn, except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been taken from the earth.
They are those who were not defiled with women, but were chaste; these are given, to follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They are the first taken from humankind, who are already of God and the Lamb. No deceit has been found in them; they are faultless.
Gospel: Lk 21:1-4
Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury of the temple. He also saw a poor widow, who dropped in two small coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them. For all of them gave an offering from their plenty; but she, out of her poverty, gave all she had to live on.”
Reflections
Today’s gospel presents to us a poor widow but with exceeding generosity because she gave all what she had, her whole livelihood for the temple treasury. Her poverty did not stop her from giving her share. Her great love is greater than her need. The others were putting in offerings which they could easily afford; it would have involved no diminution of their lifestyle, no hardship of any kind. God is not interested in how much we give, but in why we give. God does not look at the amount of the gift but at the spirit of the giver. Jesus sets her up as an example of someone who put her total trust in God’s providence. She gave everything to him. If only we, too, could have that kind of trust, that kind of generosity, that ability to share and that kind of freedom – freedom from material security and freedom for others. The richest person is not the one who has accumulated much but the one who has the least needs. In this sense, this poor widow was rich indeed. There is always a difference in giving alms and sharing our goods with others. At the end, what makes the difference is either we give everything with trust in God’s providence or we give but with a heavy heart fearing more our own insecurities. God loves a cheerful giver.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
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