The Widow's Poverty

Saturday, June 6th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, Our Lord is sitting in the Temple observing people as they contribute money to the treasury. Many rich people gave large amounts of money, but a poor widow gave two mites, which equals a farthing or 25% of a penny. Compared to the large sums of money donated by the wealthy individuals, this widow’s contribution can appear meaningless. However, Our Lord tells His Apostles that the poor widow has contributed more than any of the others, because she gave all that she had from her very livelihood.

Today’s Gospel shows the importance of obeying the precept to contribute to the support of the Church. However, there is also a beautiful mystical meaning to this passage. In the words of St. Bede the Venerable, “[T]e poor widow…[symbolizes] the simplicity of the Church: poor indeed, because she has cast away the spirit of pride and of the desires of worldly things” (Catena aurea).

As members of the mystical Body of Christ, the Church, this symbolism also refers to us as well. To fully live the life of grace, we must cast aside the spirit of pride and our desire for worldly things. Pride is commonly referred to as the root of all evil, and worldly things only distract us from the ultimate Good, which is God. We were made for union with God, the infinite Good, and we must imitate the widow by giving up everything to fully attain this union with Him.

In today’s Epistle, St. Paul tells St. Timothy that he was being “poured out like a libation.” By the grace of God, St. Paul converted countless people throughout his life, but he knew that errors would continue to persist and that the Church would continue to be attacked by those obstinate in their unbelief. To encourage St. Timothy, St. Paul writes that he must remain faithful to his priestly ministry at all times, giving everything in his work to spread the Gospel and win souls for Christ.

In our own vocations and states of life, we are also called to imitate Saints Paul and Timothy and the widow in today’s Gospel by giving everything in our pursuit of Christ. In the modern world, we are surrounded by error and hostility that seeks to lead us from the truth. If we permit ourselves to be distracted by the temporary things of this world, we can easily be led astray, for our focus is not on God but on lesser things that change and lure us into a false and fleeting sense of fulfillment.

While most of us are not called to radically renounce the world and live the evangelical counsel of poverty as a consecrated religious, we can still practice simplicity and detachment, striving to live in the world but not of it. We can and should make use of the things of this world in order to provide for the spiritual and physical needs of ourselves and those under our care. However, this use should always be guided by the virtues of prudence and temperance, with the glory of God as our constant goal.

As we prepare to celebrate the glorious Feast of Corpus Christi tomorrow, may we seek to do so with a renewed simplicity of heart, so that we can adore Christ’s Body and Blood with hearts empty of any worldly attachment so that we can be filled more fully with the grace and love of God.

“The Widow’s Mite,” by Ignaz Dullinger. Public domain.