Greetings on this the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: 1 Kgs 17:10-16; Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; Heb 9:24-28; Mk 12:38-44
Notes: We have been progressing through establishing a healthy attachment to material wealth.
In the Sunday Gospel reading we see that quintessential relationship with wealth: complete detachment.
Perhaps wealth should have no attachment at all to us but rather be a simple tool without special attributes.
- Friday: And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
- Saturday: Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth.
- Sunday: Giving from the heart.
Prior reflections
Friday: https://deacongerrypalermo.blog/2021/11/05/promissory-note-restored/
Saturday: https://deacongerrypalermo.blog/2021/11/06/valuation-equation/
But the highest expression of right relation with wealth is in the condition of the heart.
Giving from the heart.
First reading
Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid.
She left and did as Elijah had said.
She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well;
the jar of flour did not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.
Responsorial Psalm
Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
Second reading
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once,
and after this the judgment, so also Christ,
offered once to take away the sins of many,
will appear a second time, not to take away sin
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
The Holy Mass is referred to as the Unbloody Sacrifice.
The great sacrifice on the Cross is a singular event but is represented in the Holy Mass as part of the Passover also known as the Last Supper.
This Passover: Luke clearly identifies this last supper of Jesus with the apostles as a Passover meal that commemorated the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Jesus reinterprets the significance of the Passover by setting it in the context of the kingdom of God (Lk 22:16). The “deliverance” associated with the Passover finds its new meaning in the blood that will be shed (Lk 22:20) quote from the NABRE note on Luke 22.
Alleluia Verse
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Gospel Portion
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext
recite lengthy prayers.
They will receive a very severe condemnation.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.”
Give from the heart.
In our readings today:
- Two women.
- Two widows.
- Two families is dire circumstances.
Yet:
- Both trusted the Lord.
- Both gave from their hearts.
- Both were protected by the Lord.
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry
Deacon Gerry Palermo 