Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday 7th November

The Widow's Mite:  Artist : James Christensen

Message from Fr Paul for Sunday, 7th November 2021

You must have noticed the prominent place given to widows in the Bible and in the History of Salvation. Although we know that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived and born, it’s also clear that she was a widow by the time of his passion, death and resurrection. Perhaps the most famous of the widows of the Bible is Ruth, who also has a book named after her, a book which is, in fact, about two widows, Ruth, a Moabite who married one of the sons of Naomi, who became her mother-in-law. As a result of famine, the two women journeyed as far as Bethlehem in search of food and it was here that Ruth was eventually taken as the wife of Boaz, an old landowner and distant relative. She became the mother of Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who became king. She appears in the genealogy of Jesus in both Matthew and Luke. Today’s first reading is about Elijah and a widow of Sidon, who puts her life in God’s hands by trusting the word of the prophet. Our Gospel reading from Mark, (Mk 12: 36-44), is about a poor widow, who like the widow of Sidon, entrusts all she possesses to the Lord, when on pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus begins by warning his disciples against the hypocrisy practised by the scribes, who love to be the centre of attention while making a pretence at being religious and devout. He says, “these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers.” Then he sits down and watches the goings on at the treasury of the Temple where visitors coming to pray leave their offerings “He watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny.” The behaviour of this poor widow strikes him profoundly. During my twenty years in Peru, I so often saw the same thing happening at pilgrimages, both where we lived at Tambogrande that hosted a goodly number of big celebrations and at village feasts in the countryside. The poor were always more generous than the well off. He calls his disciples together and says to them, “I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.” His words need no commentary.

Why was Jesus so struck by the poor widow? Because she gave all she had, thereby showing her faith in God’s mercy and loving-kindness. She would not go without for she had God for her Father. She trusted in Divine Providence. But what about us? In whom or in what do we put our trust and our hope? Could we possibly do as the poor widow did that day? How rash are we prepared to be for the love of God? Kyrie eleison.