St. Maria Goretti

Probably, we all have our misconceptions about the poor. Poverty today, in Twenty-First Century America is more deceiving than ever. People can have jobs and work hard today and still be poor. Thanks to credit, people can drive shiny new SUV’s and live in huge houses and wear nice clothes and be so far in debt that they are worse than poor. A lot of those who are most in need in our own area, are too proud to admit it. They would never use food stamps, or go to a food pantry, or accept charity. Gone are the days when we can say that we know “the poor”. The old stereotypes don’t work. When I was in college seminary, I spent a lot of time working with the poor in southern Indiana. At that time, I used to say that you could tell those who were really poor and who were really most in need of help, by the way that they smelled. It was kinda like that Capital One commercial where the family is traveling by boxcar because their miles are blocked out, and the little girls asks “What smells like old cheese?” And the one hobo says “That’s just Earl”. Riding in a boxcar with Earl who smells like old cheese, is supposed to make all of us want to get a Capital One card. Real poverty has a smell, and it’s not a pleasant one. But today, I suspect that even that has changed. We live in one of the most affluent counties in the most affluent nation in the world, and still be have those in need all around us. And most of time, we don’t see them. We don’t notice them or their need.

Back in the 1970’s, Mother Teresa of Calcutta sent her first group of sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, to the United States. And there were many who were very critical of her for doing this, primarily her own supporters from the United States. Those who objected said “These people aren’t the ‘poorest of the poor’. Why, the ‘poorest of the poor’ in the United States have the government and all kinds of private agencies to take care of them. The U.S. is not Haiti, or India, or the Sudan.” But Mother Teresa argued that the poverty in the U.S. was much worse. She said that there was a “spiritual poverty” here that other places didn’t have. And she claimed that the poor in the U.S. were desperate to be needed, and to be loved, and to be acknowledged. And that’s why she was sending her Sisters to one of the wealthiest nations on the planet. There are many different kinds of poverty. Sometimes you can have all the money in the world and still be poor. And it is also true that you can be one of the poorest persons in world, and still be greedy and selfish. We can all be poor. We can all be greedy and selfish.

Today in our Gospel, Jesus runs into a poor widow who is not what anybody expected either. Jesus is upset with the Scribes and their behavior. And in His observance of the Scribes, he notices this poor widow who comes into the Temple treasury, and puts in everything that she has. It’s not much. All she has is two small coins worth only a few cents. But in Faith, this widow puts everything she has into the collection box. What a contrast Jesus sees between this poor widow and the Scribes! It’s not about how much we put in, how much we give to God, but it is about how much Faith we have when we do it. Do we give only out of our surplus, our leftovers? Or do we make our giving to God, our tithe, a real priority and where we put our trust? The poor widow trusted God. She didn’t understand how, she didn’t know what would happen next, but she knew that if she was generous with God, God would give back to her what she needed. We are called to live the same way. The way that some of us give, you’d think that we don’t believe anything at all. Our giving, our generosity, IS a matter of Faith. That’s why tithing is so important!

That poor widow most likely hadn’t been noticed by anybody for years. We do that with the poor, don’t you know. If we ignore them, we think that maybe they will just go away. The same was true in Jesus’ age. Jesus took notice of this widow and her exceptional generosity and Faith. She didn’t have to have a lot of money to get Jesus’ attention. But her complete trust in God made her stand out, especially in comparison with the rich that were putting a fraction of what they could have, into the Temple treasury. This Gospel reminds us who we are supposed to be like, and it is the poor widow, not the Scribes.

Real poverty can be a terrible cross. There’s nothing glorious about not having enough to take care of your family or even yourself. But like many other crosses, poverty can lead us to a deeper love and trust in God. The poor widow shows us how to live this way. Sometimes, in one-way or another, we are all poor. Whether we are rich or poor really doesn’t matter in God’s eyes. It’s where our Faith and trust lies that matters to Him. This week, let’s make sure that our hearts are in the right place.

May God bless us today, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti … Pray for us !!!