Một món quà mà cho đi với một tấm lòng hận thù hoặc cho đi để phô trưng cái sự giàu có hay sự rộng rãi của mình thì món quà sẽ không còn cái giá trị nào của nó nữa. Tuy nhiên, một món quà cho đi với tình thương, với một tinh thần quảng đại và hy sinh, thì đó chính là món quà quý giá. Dù cho món quá đó nhiều hay ít không có quan trọng nhiều bằng cách cho của người cho. Người góa phụ nghèo có thể giữ lại đồng tiền xu của mình để mua một ít gạo nấu cơm cho cả nhà ăn, nhưng bà ấy đã cho đi tất cả những gì bà ấy có! Chính cả sự sống của bà và gia đình, Chúa Giêsu đã khen ngợi người bà góa này măc dầu bà ấy chỉ cúng chỉ có một xu cho đền thờ, Nhưng chúng ta biết đó là một khoản tiền đáng kể cho cuộc sống hàng ngày của bà ta, bởi vì đó là tất cả những gì bà ta có. Những gì chúng ta đóng góp, hay bố thí có thể là rất ít so với những người khác, nhưng nếu chúng ta đặt hết tất cả những gì chúng ta có vào hành động của Chúa, Thì vấn đề nhiều hay ít sẽ không còn là vấn đề nữa, Thiên Chúa biết mọi sự và Ngài có thể biến đổi món quá nhỏ bé thành món quà hữu dụng và những việc đó đã nằm ngoài tầm tay và sự toan tính của chúng ta.
Lòng tốt của bà góa là một bài học tốt cho chúng ta là những môn đệ của Chúa Kitô. Chúng ta có thể sống quảng đại, như những người giàu có, bỏ những đồng tiền vàng vào hộp tiền (Lc 21:01). Tuy nhiên, số tiền lớn mà chúng ta dâng hiến vào đền thờ sẽ không có giá trị nếu chúng ta chỉ cho Chúa "những đống tiền dư thừa, những đồng tiền lẻ mà chúng ta có trong túi quần, túi áo", Cho mà không có tinh thần yêu thương, tự hiến, hay cho mà " không"cho hết chính bản thân mình. Thánh Augustinô nói: “Họ đã quan sát cái lòng hảo tâm "tuyệt vời" từ những người giàu có và họ ca ngợi những người đó và trong cùng lúc, họ có thể nhìn thấy bà quả phụ này, nhưng đã có ai để ý đến hai đồng tiền xu.?
Ngưởi đàn bà goá đã cho Thiên Chúa tất cả những gì bà ấy có bằng với cả trái tim của mình. Bà không có tiền của vật chất, những bà đã dâng lên Chuá tât cả tâm hồn, và trái tím của bà, vì bà đã có Thiên Chúa trong trái tim của bà. Đó là việc tốt cần nên bắt chước hơn. Chúng ta nên hãy rộng lượng với Thiên Chúa và Ngài sẽ ban cho chúng ta nhiều hơn những gì chúng ta đã cho đi.
Meditation Monday 34th Ordinary time: "She put in all that she had"
Do you know the joy of selfless giving and love for others? True love doesn't calculate - it spends lavishly! Jesus drove this point home to his disciples while sitting in the temple and observing people offering their tithes. Jesus praised a poor widow who gave the smallest of coins in contrast with the rich who gave greater sums. How can someone in poverty give more than someone who has ample means? Jesus' answer is very simple - love is more precious than gold or wealth!
Jesus taught that real giving must come from the heart. A gift that is given with a grudge or for display loses its value. But a gift given out of love, with a spirit of generosity and sacrifice, is precious. The amount or size of the gift doesn't matter as much as the cost to the giver. The poor widow could have kept one of her coins, but instead she recklessly gave away all she had! Jesus praised someone who gave barely a penny - how insignificant a sum - because it was everything she had, her whole living.
What we have to offer may look very small and not worth much, but if we put all we have at the Lord's disposal, no matter how insignificant it may seem, then God can do with it and with us what is beyond our reckoning. Do you give out of love and gratitude for what God has already given to you?
"Lord Jesus, your love knows no bounds and you give without measure. All that I have comes from you. May I give freely and generously in gratitude for all that you have given to me. Take my life and all that I possess - my gifts, talents, time and resources - and use them as you see fit for your glory."
Monday 34th Ordinary time
“I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” Luke 21:3–4
We must all see ourselves as this poor widow by offering our “whole livelihood” to Christ. Everything we have is a gift from God, and it must be offered back to God, sacrificially, as our gift to Him. The material offering made by this poor widow was two small coins worth very little. The truth is that even if you were the richest person in the world and donated all that you had to God, it would greatly pale in comparison to the gift given to us by our Lord. We are all poor in the big picture of God’s grace and His Kingdom. The most any one of us can offer is symbolized by these two small coins.
As you look at your own life, how willing are you to give everything you have to our Lord for His glory and service? The only appropriate “offering” we are called to give to our Lord is the “sacrifice” of our entire life. This spiritual truth is something very difficult for those who are very wealthy in the things of this world. Material wealth offers an easy way to live in comfort. Money can provide every modern convenience, entertainment, fun, worldly security and much of what this world has to offer. But money cannot buy fulfillment. It cannot satisfy us in the truest sense. This is why many people who live very luxurious lives are not truly happy.
Happiness is found in sacrifice. Specifically, it is found in sacrificial love by which we dedicate everything we are and all that we have to the sole purpose of the glory of God and the furtherment of His Kingdom. Sadly, when one is rich in the things of this world, it is easy to think that offering a portion of their wealth, such as a tithe, means that they can keep and use the rest any way they want. But that’s not true. Giving of ourselves completely to God and to His service does not necessarily mean that we donate all of our money to the Church. But it does mean that we offer everything to God. For many, when this complete offering is done every day, God will lead them to use their material resources for the raising of their family, to take care of their basic needs, and, at times, to even enjoy various comforts in life. But the real question is whether or not you truly live as though all you have and all you are is God’s and is to be used for His glory and the furtherment of His will.
Reflect, today, upon this poor widow. She was greatly blessed to have very little. This made it easier for her to remain detached from money and other forms of material wealth. And in that detachment, she gave all to God. She entrusted all to Him, and Jesus noticed and praised her. Reflect upon our Lord’s reaction to you and to the offering of your life to Him. If you are holding back from our Lord, then use the witness of this poor widow to inspire you to daily dedicate everything to the service of God in accord with His holy will.
My wealthy Lord, Your riches are all that matter in life. You bestow the riches of eternal salvation and countless other graces upon those who have given all to You. I do give my life to You, dear Lord. I give all that I have and all that I am. Please receive the offering of my life and use me in accord with Your holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Monday 34th Ordinary time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I give all that I am to you. I offer you everything I do today as a loving sacrifice. I hope that, united to your Son’s offering, it becomes a pleasing sacrifice of praise. I thank you for releasing me from the debt of sin and granting me true freedom as your child.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Value of Two Small Coins: Jesus sees everything. He saw the wealthy and the poor widow. Jesus saw beyond their appearances and saw their hearts and deepest intentions. He saw the intentions of those who wanted to be seen and praised for their generosity and those who gave with a humble heart. Jesus does not measure or judge a person by their bank account. In fact, according to Jesus’ math, two small coins – two lepta – can be worth more than great sums of wealth. In Jesus’ day, a lepton was the least valuable coin: one hundred twenty-eight bronze lepta equaled a day’s wage, i.e., a silver denarius. Jesus pointed out that the wealthy were making offerings to God from their surplus (from their leftovers), but that the poor widow offered her entire life or livelihood. It is reminiscent of the difference between the sacrifices of Cain and Abel. Cain offered some fruit to God but not the first fruits. Abel, by contrast, offered God the best, the firstborn from the flock, and the fat portions (Genesis 4:3-5). By pointing out the widow and her total offering, Jesus was not encouraging reckless or imprudent abandon in giving away what we have. But he pointed out a model of self-giving to God and filial trust in God’s care.
2. They Were Singing a New Song: In the Book of Revelation, John has just contemplated the persecution of the Church by the red dragon, a symbol of Satan, the sea beast, a symbol of corrupt Gentile powers like Rome, and the land beast, a symbol of false religious authorities. When John saw the 144,000 in heaven, he saw the righteous remnant that was saved during the time of tribulation. “The vision reminds the reader that, though Jerusalem has become wicked, not all from Israel will be condemned. The reader is reminded that not all have bowed to the beast and received his image. Some are marked with the sign of the Lamb” (Barber, Coming Soon, 178). The righteous remnant gathered on Mt. Zion and sang a new song. “Just as Moses led Israel in singing a song of praise to God after delivering them through the Red Sea, so now the saints sing a song of praise as they enter into the true Promised Land of heaven” (Barber, Coming Soon, 179).
3. They Have Been Redeemed: Unlike those who followed the beast (Revelation 13:3) and were marked on their foreheads with 666, the number of the beast (Revelation 13:16-17), the righteous remnant follow the Lamb and have been marked with the name of God the Father on their foreheads. John highlights that the faithful followers of the Lamb of God have been redeemed. This recalls that, for centuries, Israel was in the debt of sin and awaited God to ransom or redeem them from this debt and its consequences. The New Testament reveals that Jesus is our redeemer, for he has paid the price to release us from the debt we incurred through sin and from our slavery of sin. Jesus has redeemed us at the expense of his own blood. His sacrificial death truly atoned for our sins. The 144,000 John contemplates are like the 24 elders (royal presbyters) who offered their lives as a priestly sacrifice to God. These saints are also called the “first fruits:” “In the Old Testament the first fruits were to be an offering to the Lord (cf. Exodus 34:26). These who ‘have been redeemed’ have offered themselves to God as a sacrificial offering” (Barber, Coming Soon, 180).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my redeemer. You are my brother, my kinsman, who paid the ultimate price to release me from the debt and slavery of sin. You are the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for my sins. I thank you, I praise you, and I adore you.
Monday 34th Ordinary time
Opening Prayer: Dear God, I love you because you notice little details, like a poor widow offering two small coins. I know that you see and cherish all of my good deeds too. It makes me want to love and serve you even more. Please give me the grace to do so!
Encountering Christ:
Complete Love: There is a sense of finality in the poor woman’s meager donation. She had something, and now she has nothing and it would seem her life is about to end. We are now in the last week of the liturgical year, when we read of the end times in Luke 21. And it all begins with this poor widow donating her fortune to God. We are like that woman; we are poor and seemingly insignificant in world history. Our names will be forgotten, like hers was. And yet what she did for God has never been forgotten. Scripture presents her as the epitome of love and devotion, for she followed the first commandment and loved the Lord her God with all her heart, mind, and soul.
Not Much, but All: Jesus often makes statements which can be maddening to those with a worldly mentality. He said, “She has put in more than all the rest.” The worldling says, “But it simply isn’t true! She put in only two coins, entirely irrelevant to the treasury needs.” Jesus is trying to open us up to a deeper reality: The Father does not measure our self-donation in worldly terms but he does ask us to offer him everything we have. May we have the courage to give everything to the Lord, as did this poor woman.
I Choose All: What happened to the widow the day after she gave God her last two coins? Did she die of want and exposure? The Gospel doesn’t say. Wasn’t it rash of her to give away everything she owned? Yes, it was rash. But the saints remind us that love is daring, rash, and sometimes even foolish. When discerning her path in life, St. Thérèse of Lisieux said, “I choose all.” The worldling says, “You can’t choose all, that’s foolish.” May we be fools for Christ!
Conversing with Christ: Jesus Christ, you loved me so much that you gave me all you had by dying on the cross. From the poverty of your humanity, you offered your whole self to your Heavenly Father. You learned obedience through what you suffered and so became the fount of salvation for all who believe in you. Teach me to understand this logic of love so dear to your heart.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will read and reflect on Philippians 2:1-11.
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