20241110 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings at USCCB.org

“To Give All We Can”

In this week’s Gospel from Mark, we see that Jesus is observing those who are making contributions to the collection. He notices that the scribes are attention seekers who accept greetings and honors. Then there are the rich people, who give large amounts out of their abundance. Jesus also notices the poor widow who gave all that she could, her whole livelihood, and praises her saying: 

"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.  For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had her whole livelihood."

This Gospel makes us reflect on our own ways of giving but not just monetary. We think of ways where we give our time, efforts, and energy to things that are beyond ourselves through service and ministry to others. We think about our reasons for why we give to the things that matter to us. We see where we need to improve on being intentional with ways to serve God and to allow God to work through us.

What truly matters in God’s eyes isn’t the size of our gift, but the spirit behind it. 

Are we willing to give even when it costs us something, or only when it’s convenient? 

The widow giving all she had shows us how to be generous and is an example of giving everything to God. 

With the holiday season around the corner, let’s challenge ourselves to be like the widow in the Gospel, for us to give ALL we have and not out of convenience. That looks different for each of us and that’s okay. For some, it might mean to give more money to charities, causes, organizations or it might mean to volunteer more time to give back to the community, or could be as simple as acts of kindness and sacrifices to others.  

When God gives us opportunities to give to others, how will you respond? 

May we continue to spread God’s love generously to others and share blessings in our daily lives.

-Stacey