From our Gospel for this Sunday:
"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."
What impressed Jesus was not the total amount of the offering. Jesus had noticed, “Many rich people put in large sums” “from their surplus wealth.” What impressed Jesus was that the widow gave what she could not afford to give. She gave all she had, her whole livelihood. She gave “from her poverty.”
Speaking of poverty, I admit Prince of Peace made a mistake on our stewardship thank-you letters. We addressed many of them incorrectly to only one person of the family instead of Mr. & Mrs. This was not intentional so please forgive us if it offended you. I take the blame for this since I drafted my thank-you letter so late, pushing my deadlines as I often do, that it stressed my helpers, and in a time crunch, mistakes were made. We often have a poverty of time (sometimes maybe caused by my procrastination). But please know we are immensely grateful for all the sacrificial gifts of time, talent, and treasure from all our faithful families! Thank you!
This week, November 7-13, is National Vocation Awareness Week. Please ask Our Lord for more dedicated, holy priests, deacons, and consecrated men and women. May they be inspired by Jesus Christ, supported by our faith community, and respond generously to God's gift of vocation.
The gift of a priestly or religious vocation, to give oneself totally to God, is a lot like the poor widow story of our Gospel. Sometimes we don’t feel worthy of the call, that we don’t have much to give. Sometimes we feel we don’t have the talents needed. Sometimes we feel too much is being asked. I’d call that “poverty.” Who really has anything substantial to give to God? Does God really need anything? Indeed, God needs nothing. But it pleases God, as it pleased Jesus in the widow’s case, when we offer what we do have, even if it is very little. When we offer our whole livelihood, our entire selves, that impresses Jesus, impressed God! I feel very privileged to have been called to the priesthood while at the same time I feel often I do a very poor job of living it out. But hey, I’m giving to God “from my poverty,” so I hope God is pleased.
Please pray for vocations. Please encourage vocations to priesthood, the diaconate, and religious life. But also equally important are holy vocations to marriage and parenthood—you too are called to give totally of yourselves to your family, and often I’m certain you feel a poverty from trying to do that. And, we need holy single people too, who give of themselves in service through their work, volunteering, friendships, and families. May God help each of us give totally of ourselves in our vocations!
Peace,
Fr. Greg