THE DAILY GOSPEL

November 8, 2015 (Sunday)

Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 Praise the Lord my soul! 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalter: Week 4/(Green) 1st Reading: 1K 17:10-16

So Elijah went to Zarephath. On reaching the gate of the town, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink.”

As she was going to bring it, he called after her and said, “Bring me also a piece of bread.” But she answered, “As Yahweh your God lives, I have no bread left but only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am just now gathering some sticks so that I may go in and prepare something for myself and my son to eat-and die.”

Elijah then said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me; then make some for yourself and your son. For this is the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be emptied nor shall the jug of oil fail, until the day when Yahweh sends rain to the earth.”

So she went and did as Elijah told her; and she had food for herself, Elijah and her son from that day on. The jar of flour was not emptied nor did the jug of oil fail, in accordance with what Yahweh had said through Elijah. 2nd Reading: Heb 9:24-28

Christ did not enter some sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself. He is now in the presence of God on our behalf. He had not to offer himself many times, as the High Priest does: He who may return every year, because the blood is not his own. Otherwise he would have suffered many times from the creation of the world. But no; he manifested himself only now at the end of the ages, to take away sin by sacrifice, and, as humans die only once and afterwards are judged, in the same way Christ sacrificed himself once to take away the sins of the multitude. There will be no further question of sin when he comes again to save those waiting for him. Gospel: Mk 12:38-44

As he was teaching, he also said to them, “Beware of those teachers of the Law who enjoy walking around in long robes and being greeted in the marketplace, and who like to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues and the first places at feasts. They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s goods while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”

Jesus sat down opposite the Temple treasury and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and many rich people put in large offerings. But a poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins.

Then Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty, but she gave from her poverty and put in everything she had, her very living.” Reflection:

Read: Jesus taught His listeners on the evil of showing-off one’s holiness. It is not the external religious practices that count in the eyes of God but a consistent life of holiness within and without. He extolled the widow who gave less than others in terms of quantity but bested the rich in the quality of her giving.

Reflect: Perhaps it is because we are embodied beings that we desperately want to concretize in the material plane even those that belong to the realm of the spirit. Holiness for example is a state that cannot be quantified. It is expressed in our speech and action in an unconscious manner. It attaches itself to our being. Thus seen or unseen, it never changes. It simply is. But some people knowing our need for the material and concrete capitalize on this by faking holiness. They invent elaborate actions and speeches that are too loud and glaring. They intrude into our awareness without being invited. She was not ashamed to show her inadequate status. And thus her little, guileless acts exude odor of sanctity. These poured from a genuine center.

Respond: I may have fallen prey to the occasional need to act out my good deeds for others to praise me. A close scrutiny of my heart is perhaps in order today to purge myself of the need to boast and perform acts of holiness for my own sake.

Pray: Father Almighty, save me from my tendency to seek praise and recognition even in the sphere of spirituality. Make my acts of piety genuine and true and free from affectations and artifices. May all redound to Your greater glory. Amen.