Fr. Michael P. Sullivan, O.S.A.
St. Thomas of Villanova Monastery
Villanova, Pennsylvania
Readings
1 Kgs 17:10-16
Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
Heb 9:24-28
Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44
Do we come from Abundance or Scarcity? That is the question posed in today’s readings.
The two widows in today’s scripture gave of their substance, whereas those well-off gave of their excess. We might ask ourselves whether we come from Abundance or Scarcity. Those who come from Abundance will always have enough, and those who come from Scarcity, no matter how much they have, will never have enough. It has nothing to do with money, rather it is an attitude of life: Do we see the glass half-full or half-empty? Two people have the same amount in their glass and one is moaning and complaining about what they do not have. The other person praises God in thanksgiving for how blessed and fortunate they are and reaches out with a generous heart to others.
Jesus came that we might have life, life unto abundance. All too often we can get so caught up in the trappings of life that we lose sight of what it means to be a true follower of Christ. The position, the power, the need to achieve and be noticed, like the scribes Jesus describes in today’s Gospel, make us insensitive and numbed to those who are less fortunate. We go through the motions of practicing the Faith, but in reality we are sometimes just shallow men and women whose hearts have not loved as Christ would have us. We become self-centered and not Christ-entered. We need to develop an Attitude of Gratitude.
Let each of us offer a prayer asking the Lord to inflame our hearts today by the power of the Spirit so that we can love and reach out to one another as Christ would have us.
