Spiritual Life
‘O Come, O Come, NOV. 7 IT IS EASY TO GIVE WHEN WE HAVE MUCH 1 Kgs 17: 10-16; Heb 9:24-28; Mk 12: 38-44
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any of us dream about hitting a financial windfall. We dream big about what we would do if we hit the lottery. In our times people can achieve fame and fortune by becoming a social media influencer or posting the right video on the right website. Once we have hit the motherlode, our generosity can begin! Along with that generous dream of course, often comes the desire to be recognized for one’s generosity. In this way we are not too much different than the people at the time of Jesus. While they may not have been able to dream of winning the lottery, or becoming an internet sensation, they were able to exercise some limited ability to make more money. Economic opportunities existed, and while the social strata was often entrenched, then like now, just because one had privilege of legacy, that did not mean that one was at the same time wealthy. This was especially true of the Sadducees. While Jesus often uses parables as teaching tools, all of which are based on real life scenarios, there are only a few occasions when he employs people in his ministry in such a way. One of those was the rich young man whom we encountered a few weeks ago. In this Gospel we hear the story of a poor elderly woman. While the wealthy, especially the Pharisees, would be making great fanfare about their contributions to the Temple treasury, this woman comes along and drops in two small coins, amounting to very little money in the grand scheme of things. However, this money comes not from her surplus wealth, but from the meager amount of money that she had. NOV. 14 THE TIMES ARE CHANGING Dn 12:1-3; Heb 10:11-14; Mk 13:24-32
St. Rose of Lima Chapel, Freehold
48 THE MONITOR MAGAZINE November 2021
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n any time of great political turmoil and social upheaval there is the per-
