Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Rev. Kilian McCaffrey  |  11/07/2024  |  Pastor's Letter

God Does The Most With The Least:

Set in Holy Week, we see that Jesus has entered triumphantly into Jerusalem. He taught in the Temple area to the visiting crowds. Part of the deal was to make a show of your offering to the Temple to help with the cost of the Passover Feast. We see time and time again how God loves the poor and widows and always puts them first.

It is called the preferential option for the poor. They both gave from their hearts, not their purses—and they had every reason not to. Take the stories of the two widows whom we meet today. The first widow, in a time of terrible famine, prepared her last meal for Elijah, although she had nothing for herself or her son.

The Lord’s prophet reassured the first widow: “Do not be afraid.” During the great Passover festival, a time when all pilgrims would make their offering at the treasury in the Temple, many made a big show by their giving from their excess wealth, but she gave all her money, all that she had.

The second widow gave all everything to God. The Lord Himself recognized her sacrifice. You see, Jesus Himself was about to make the ultimate sacrifice. He could empathize with her. In God’s eyes, the one who gives the least gives the most.

The Widow’s Mite: The lessons of the Widow’s Mite (her two copper coins) speak to us today. She gave from her soul, not her head. The human soul expands when it touches God.

It expands to take in the needs, the business, of every vulnerable human being. The miracle of plenty that surprised the widow who Elijah met, we find our capacity for love and concern much greater than we imagined.

The two widows security came from knowing they were daughters of the Most High God and from putting their faith in Him. They had no need to panic in the midst of natural disaster or cling desperately to their menial resources. Their faith in God set them free to trust Him when all seemed hopeless. Their faith kept them detached from material possessions. Their faith allowed them to be brave and generous, to think of others despite their own trials.

These women saw themselves as stewards, not owners, of the resources God gave them, regardless of how much or how little they had. And acting as stewards made them gracious, generous and mighty indeed.

HEALING MASS: 6:00pm, Tuesday, November 26th As part of our Miraculous Medal Novena Celebrations, we will celebrate the Memorials of The Miraculous Medal and St. Catherine Laboure

Fr. Kilian, Fr. Samuel, our Deacons and our Parish Staff and Volunteers.

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