Sunday - November 07, 2021
No tongue can express the greatness of the love which Jesus Christ bears to our souls. He did not wish that between Him and His servants there should be any other pledge than Himself, to keep alive the remembrance of Him.
-- St. Peter of Alcantara
TODAY'S READINGS
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 155
Reading 1
In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.
As he arrived at the entrance of the city,
a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,
"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink."
She left to get it, and he called out after her,
"Please bring along a bit of bread."
She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives,
I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar
and a little oil in my jug.
Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks,
to go in and prepare something for myself and my son;
when we have eaten it, we shall die."
Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid.
Go and do as you propose.
But first make me a little cake and bring it to me.
Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
'The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"
She left and did as Elijah had said.
She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well;
the jar of flour did not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Reading 2
Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,
a copy of the true one, but heaven itself,
that he might now appear before God on our behalf.
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly,
as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary
with blood that is not his own;
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly
from the foundation of the world.
But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages
to take away sin by his sacrifice.
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once,
and after this the judgment, so also Christ,
offered once to take away the sins of many,
will appear a second time, not to take away sin
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds,
"Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues,
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext
recite lengthy prayers.
They will receive a very severe condemnation."
He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"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."
OR:
Jesus sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"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."
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I How much do you trust God?
Consider the two widows in this Sunday's first reading and the Gospel reading. How could they give what common sense says they could not afford? Did they know with total certainty that God would take care of their needs? No. So they gave all they had because they were so in love with God that they trusted his love for them.
Trust is a sign of genuine love -- especially when the one we trust is God.
We can love others more freely and generously if we trust God to help us through the difficulties that occur when people prove themselves untrustworthy. Our freedom to love others unconditionally is not based upon how safe we are with them; it's based on how safe we are with God.
Each widow gave what she could not afford to lose. We cannot afford to love those who will cause us grief and disappointment and feelings of rejection, and yet Jesus tells us to forgive them and do good to them and go the extra mile for them.
Sometimes doing good to those who are difficult to love must include "tough love", which asserts boundaries that they are not allowed to cross. Remember what Jesus did: Until Good Friday, Jesus always walked away from his persecutors. Did he give up on them? Did he stop loving them? Not at all. Following Christ means that we have to watch for and trust God's timing on speaking up versus walking away.
Sometimes doing good to those who are difficult to love must include enabling them to reap what they sow so that they begin to understand their need to repent. Instead of cleaning up their messes, we have to let them suffer from it. Think about it: Does God clean up our messes before we repent? Usually he won't even do that after we repent. What would we learn if someone else does the damage control?
Loving others always includes sacrificing ourselves and relying on God to comfort us, heal us, restore us, and bless us. We can trust God for this. Our jar of whatever we pour out to others for the sake of love will never go empty.
Questions for Personal Reflection:
Jesus cares about you much more than anyone else can. Are you willing to look to him for the fullness of love that you need? What makes you feel unsafe with God? What needs healing or correction in your thinking so that you sit on Daddy-God's lap and feel secure and fully loved?
Today's Prayer
My Lord, Give me the grace of trusting You completely and above everything. Then I will learn what love means. Amen.
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