32nd Sunday - Fr. Leo
Last week’s homily ended with the thought that God wants, not only to be our friend whom we see every day in passing, Jesus wants us to be his lover. He wants us to love him as he loves us.
With God at the center of our hearts with all our energy and strength consumed in love of him, we find our ultimate freedom and happiness. Living in the “Spirit” brings an incredible sense of purpose and joy into our lives. Not that we have to be pious and talk constantly about God, which can be annoying, we simply live in gratitude, open to God’s will, challenging us not, in all we do.
This openness applies to every aspect of our lives. Even in our almsgiving. In today’s gospel, the widow puts in two small coins, an insignificant amount, but for her it was everything she had.
Jesus contrasts that with those who gave from their surplus and never experienced any level of self-sacrifice.
So, if Jesus is the center of our lives, how is that to be reflected in how we give of our financial gifts?
Some giving we have no choice about, state and federal taxes being two. But we can think about our attitude of paying taxes. Is it all negative? Or is our faith able to see even in that giving, a reaching out to others.
I am grateful for the great support you give to our parish and I am inspired by your generosity. I’m not asking you to give more, but to reflect on what your giving means as an expression of your love of God and neighbor. This is not to be a guilt trip, but an invitation to let your financial life also be part of your total and loving relationship with God who loves you with his ALL, as if you were his only concern, and ask of us the same.