The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today identify patience, praise, trust, and humility as the life of those who radiate the message of the Gospel.
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| Trust on the journey |
The reading from the Second Letter to Timothy is a solemn charge to proclaim the message and a view of a reward for fidelity.
* [4:1–5] The gravity of the obligation incumbent on Timothy to preach the word can be gauged from the solemn adjuration: in the presence of God, and of Christ coming as universal judge, and by his appearance and his kingly power (2 Tm 4:1). Patience, courage, constancy, and endurance are required despite the opposition, hostility, indifference, and defection of many to whom the truth has been preached (2 Tm 4:2–5).1
The psalmist declares “my mouth is filled with your praise.”
* [Psalm 71] A lament of an old person (Ps 71:9, 18) whose afflictions are interpreted by enemies as a divine judgment (Ps 71:11). The first part of the Psalm pleads for help (Ps 71:1–4) on the basis of a hope learned from a lifetime’s experience of God; the second part describes the menace (Ps 71:9–13) yet remains buoyant (Ps 71:14–16); the third develops the theme of hope and praise.2
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus denounces the Scribes and praises the widow’s offering.
* [12:41–44] See note on Lk 21:1–4.3 * [21:1–4] The widow is another example of the poor ones in this gospel whose detachment from material possessions and dependence on God leads to their blessedness (Lk 6:20). Her simple offering provides a striking contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes denounced in the preceding section (Lk 20:45–47). The story is taken from Mk 12:41–44.4
Angela Maynard comments that no matter where one goes today, there is social stratification. The wealthy seem to get more while the less fortunate suffer. The wealthy sometimes profit at the expense of those on the margins—sometimes because they know how to take advantage of them.
There are many good, generous people providing for the poor and neglected. For that I am grateful. However, I’ve witnessed too many decisions centered on money and prestige to the detriment of other. This is contrary to the teachings of the gospel.
Just for today take some time to consider the giving that occurs in your community, your country and around the globe. What is the reason behind the gift? Determine opportunities for personal giving, not out of abundance but from substance.
Prayer for GenerosityLord Jesus, teach me to be generous;teach me to serve you as you deserve,to give and not to count the cost,to fight and not to heed the wounds,to toil and not to seek for rest,to labor and not to seek reward,except that of knowing that I do your will.Amen.---St. Ignatius Loyola5
Don Schwager quotes “Mercy and compassion are never worthless,” by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.
"Although the spite of some people does not grow gentle with any kindness, nevertheless the works of mercy are not fruitless, and kindness never loses what is offered to the ungrateful. May no one, dearly beloved, make themselves strangers to good works. Let no one claim that his poverty scarcely sufficed for himself and could not help another. What is offered from a little is great, and in the scale of divine justice, the quantity of gifts is not measured but the steadfastness of souls. The 'widow' in the Gospel put two coins into the 'treasury,' and this surpassed the gifts of all the rich. No mercy is worthless before God. No compassion is fruitless. He has given different resources to human beings, but he does not ask different affections." (excerpt from SERMON 20.3.1.6)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 12:38-44 suggests that in many ways, trust is the foundation of generosity.
When we give something away to someone else, we have to trust that God will fill our lack. If we donate to our parish, we have to trust that we will still have enough to pay our bills and save for the future. If we stay up late talking to a friend in distress, we have to trust that God will get us through the next day with less sleep. If we volunteer on Saturdays at a homeless shelter, we have to trust that we will still be able to get all our errands and chores done before we go back to work on Monday.
The truth is, the more we practice generosity, the more our trust in God grows. It often takes a leap of faith to believe that we really will have enough money, time, or energy if we give it away. But when we make a decision to be generous, we are demonstrating our trust in God. We are giving him the opportunity to show us how he cares for us. Either he will supply what we lack, or he will give us the grace to do without. In either case, we will be blessed.7
Friar Jude Winkler notes the author of the letter to Timothy urges him not to worry about opposition as he shares the manner in which Paul has poured out his life in his mission with Christ. Our interior conversion and disposition are seen in our actions. Friar Jude reminds us that our measure is based on our interior disposition.
A post by Franciscan media shares the work of Saint Norbert, Saint of the Day for June 6, who entertained no pretensions about his own ability to accomplish multiple tasks. Even with the aid of a goodly number of men who joined his Order, he realized that nothing could be effectively done without God’s power. Finding this help especially in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, he and his Norbertines praised God for success in converting heretics, reconciling numerous enemies, and rebuilding faith in indifferent believers. Many of them lived in central houses during the week and served in parishes on weekends.
A different world cannot be built by indifferent people. The same is true in regard to the Church. The indifference of vast numbers of nominal faithful to ecclesiastical authority and essential doctrines of the faith weakens the Church’s witness. Unswerving loyalty to the Church and fervent devotion to the Eucharist, as practiced by Norbert, will continue immeasurably toward maintaining the people of God in accord with the heart of Christ.8
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares the following practice from CAC Living School alumnus, Scott Dewey, an active member of an alternative Christian community in Denver, Colorado. We exercise our [heart and soul] eyes by practicing gratitude—for instance in the classical personal reflection or Ignatian Examen or in a thank-you note. We step out and walk, as my friend did daily from her meth house, and awaken to the natural world among our city sidewalks. A bitter experience crushes us and then in time we breathe, breathe, breathe into a life that eventually surprises us with how it gleams. We grow to see and sustain a way of seeing, by refusing to break faith with goodness glimpsed.
[And with our vision liberated] . . . we can risk. We can risk rest, in the face of pressing need. We can risk an audacious plan, with our credibility at stake amid fears it might be our only shot. We can risk great sorrow, trusting we’ll be held. We can risk our delight, trusting its own worthiness and the worthiness of the world to share in it. We can risk a painful path of healing from whatever has us in its grip. We can risk a hard conversation or a joke that might work if the timing’s right. We can risk a song.9
From our sense of gratitude we praise and trust God to help us grow in patience and humility as we experience the journey of our mission.
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