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Talking about
money at church makes everybody feel uncomfortable. For
most Catholics, our giving is an extremely personal part of
our Faith lives. We don’t like to talk about it. We don’t
like to be challenged on it. And it is even more
uncomfortable when it’s done at Mass. I’ve actually had
Catholics ask me before, especially around the time that we
do Fruitful Harvest, “Did you really have to talk about that
at Mass?” And yet, there are times when we really do have
to talk about it at Mass, because it is still the best way
to reach as many of us as possible. Priests, in most cases,
also don’t want to talk about money. For one thing, most
priests aren’t any good at it. Money is not our “thing”.
If money were our “thing” then most of us wouldn’t be
priests. Priests are trained to talk about Faith, and
theology, and morality, and spirituality. Most of us did
NOT have any classes in fundraising. And I think, to a
certain extent, to both Catholic laity and to the clergy,
there somewhat of a feeling that talking about finances and
money is dirty or base. It’s like we should somehow be
“above” talking about money at church or at Mass. And all
of this is a reality here at St. Maria Goretti. We don’t
talk about money much, except when it is time for us to do
Fruitful Harvest, every two years. We all know that there
are some churches, both Catholic and otherwise, that talk
about money “all the time”. And nobody wants be like them
and nobody wants to wear that label, of talking about money
“all the time”. And I think that all of this is even truer
today, during these tough economic times, than ever before.
Then of course, we come to
this story, from St. Mark’s Gospel towards the end of Cycle “B”,
of the poor widow who put in more than all the others. We’ve
all heard this story before. It’s a very humbling story. This
poor widow puts in the collection everything that she has. It
certainly isn’t nearly as much as a lot of people are putting
in, but she gives her all. Now, let me assure you, there are
homilies all over the world being given today on tithing, on
giving, and on stewardship. Our readings on this 32nd
Sunday in Ordinary time seem to be giving us as Catholics
permission to talk about money at Mass. And yet, when we look
at our readings today a little closer, we find that there’s a
whole lot more going on in this story, then just money and
giving. And that’s a good thing, because it is really hard for
us to relate to the poor widow. We want to know what she was
doing. This woman doesn’t have anything. Even what little she
has, isn’t very much. It’s not going to make much of a
difference. What was it that made her think that it was so
important to give everything that she had? That’s our way of
thinking.
But for this woman, poor
or not, she had to do something. This woman is thinking by
Faith. She knows what she has and what she doesn’t have. She
knows exactly what her gift is worth. She knows that there are
many others giving much more than what she is. She knows,
because just like Jesus, she is watching them bring their gifts,
and make their donations, and write their big checks. Well,
she’s probably not seeing the check part. And this woman isn’t
stupid, or crazy, or suicidal. This woman wants to give back to
God. She wants to do what she can. And she has incredible
Faith that if she is Faithful to God that He in turn will be
Faithful to her. She is making a great sacrifice. As Jesus
points out, she is making a bigger sacrifice than anybody else.
And when she gets hungry, or when she needs money to pay the
rent, or when she has to take care of a bill for herself or her
family, she is trusting that God will give her what she needs.
Our sacrifices, all of them, our giving, our tithing, our giving
back to God, ALL OF IT is a matter of Faith. Either we believe
in God and God’s generosity, or we don’t. The practical side of
all of us, the fearful side of all of us, would stop most of us
from making a similar gift and sacrifice. But doesn’t our
Faith, our trusting side, demand that all of us pay attention to
the witness that this woman is giving us?
Is it really giving, is it
really sacrifice, if we are only giving away our extra?
This Gospel is making the
point loud and clear that our giving and tithing is a whole lot
less about money and finances, than what it is about Faith and
Trust in God. Sometimes, we really need to remember this. Our
sacrifices are our response to what God has done for us. We too
need to do something, anything! Our tithing, our giving can’t
be separated out of our Faith and spiritual lives. It’s
impossible. Because sometimes for our Faith to be real, we
really do have to put our wallets, our checkbooks, and our
purses, where our mouths are. Our Faith changes every part of
our lives. This poor woman helps all of us to understand this.
May God bless us today, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit…AMEN !!!
St. Maria Goretti…Pray for us
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