Homily (Reflection) for Memorial of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary (09th June, 2018) on the Gospel and the
Memorial
Ps 70:8-9.14-17.22. (R. cf. v. 15);
Mk 12:38-44.
The memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated on
Saturday after the Solemnity of Sacred Heart of Jesus. It calls to mind a lot
of things which include:
Mary’s interior life, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and
hidden perfections, and above all, her virginal love for her God, and her
maternal love for her Divine Son, and her
motherly and compassionate love for
her sinful and miserable children here below.[1]
It is one’s love for Jesus and for God that draws
him/her to the Heart of Mary.
Topic: Widow’s mite.
Often
people talk about widow’s mite especially while giving. We see that widow in
today’s gospel. As Jesus watched the crowd putting money into the treasury,
“Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small
copper coins, which are worth a penny” (Mk
12: 41-42).
Jesus said to His disciples,
Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all
those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed
out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she
had, all she had to live on (Mk 12:43-44).
William Barclay rightly draws some lessons from this poor
widow’s offering: Real giving must be sacrificial. The amount of the gift never
matters so much as its cost to the giver, not the size of the gift, but the
sacrifice. Again, real giving has a certain recklessness in it[2].
Therefore, an offering cannot be correctly tagged ‘widows
mite’ based on the amount but based on what the giver has. Hence, Saint Paul
writes: “the gift is acceptable according to what one has–not according to what
one does not have” (2Cor 8:12). And Tobit
rightly admonished his son Tobias thus, “If you have many possessions, make
your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according
to the little you have” (Tob 4:8). Give
in relation to what God has blessed you with. Mary whose heart we celebrate today
gave her entire self to God, cf. Lk 1:38.
We ought to implore God to give us such heart.
Bible Reading: 1Cor 12:1-30; 2Cor 8:1-15; Heb 12:14-28; 13:5-6; Ps
49:5-20.
Thought for today: Do you give to God sacrificially?
Let us pray: God
our Father, help us to offer to you and to our neighbours in relation to what
we have – Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary – Pray for us (your
children) –AMEN!
You are free to share this reflection with
others if you consider it worthy.
For more
homilies (reflections):
Join our WhatsApp Group via: +234 810 298 6313
Tel: +234 813 305 0302
+234 905 655 4466
May
God bless you all+
[2] Barclay, W. (2006). The daily study bible: The gospel
of Mark. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, pp. 302-303.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment