This week’s Clergy Corner
taken from November 10 Bulletin

The gospel scene sets the spotlight on a widow. Unaware that she is being observed by Jesus, she puts two small coins into the temple treasury. She gave from her want, from all that she had to live on. What makes her gift valuable and important is not its size but the heart and the sacrifice behind it.         

Generosity is not to be measured absolutely by the amount we give, but relatively according to what we have left. True generosity comes from the heart when we share with others in our poverty. True giving takes a lot of faith. It takes faith to share material things, when we have little for ourselves, or to volunteer our services when we don’t have enough time. It takes faith to listen to others when we don’t have the energy, or to inspire joy in others when own hearts feel empty. We can ask ourselves in what way is the Lord asking me to give my two little coins?   

What God is looking for is our lives. He is concerned with the sacrifices we are making, how much of our lives are surrendered to him and whether we are taking his demands seriously. Yes, learning to give generously to God is a difficult task to master and yet there is no true following of Christ without such self-denial. The life-giving sacrifice of Jesus, who gave up everything for us on the cross, can inspire us to be generous to others.  

There are many kinds of widows: young and old; rich and poor; healthy and sickly. Some are strong and some are feeble in their faith; some adjust to the demands of widowhood while others never adapt to the new conditions. We show our sympathy to all widows. May God bless your grief and loneliness. May God enlighten you in your problems and strengthen you in your daily struggle. Never forget the inspired words of today’s Responsorial Psalm: “The fatherless and the widow God sustains.” Throughout Sacred Scripture God shows his care and concern for widows. God loves the widows and the widowers.  

Some of our parishioners are widows and widowers. They assist our Sunday Liturgy; they are actively involved in our parish; they visit regularly the sick and shut-in; they make tremendous sacrifices to keep a home for their children; they are generous in supporting the family of God; and they do a lot of praying—for your loved ones, for the rest of the parish, for the pastor, for the bishop, for the Pope, for the missions, for everything close to the heart of Jesus. Like the widow in the Gospel, they, too, give their all generously to God by giving their time, talent and treasure to support our faith community. Indeed, they’re all models of Catholic Faith. Fr. Cosme 

– Fr. Cosme