Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs.17:10-16; Psalm 146: Heb.9:24-28; Mk.12:38-44
In reflecting on the qualities of God, the words I often think of are love, mercy, faithfulness, kindness, and generosity, to name but a few. Today’s readings encapsulate those qualities for me.
The widow at Zarephath and her son have come to the end of their meager supplies. They prepare for their final meal before dying, or so they think. Elijah, acting on God’s direction, turns their final meal into the first of many, many more. Hope restored, they have years left to thank God for such generosity.
The Psalmist reminds us to praise the Lord, who keeps the faith, gives food to the hungry, sets captives free, and sustains the fatherless and the widow. This is our God, kind to the end.
Hebrews shows us the faithfulness of Christ, Who constantly intercedes for us with the Father. We are reminded that Christ has offered Himself for us to take away our sins and return us to friendship with God.
In Mark, we see ourselves as the poor widow, offering our gifts, ourselves to God. God does not look at a dollar amount. God looks at the heart.
My prayer is that God will look at our hearts and find in them the obedience of Elijah, the heart of the Psalmist which praises God, the faithfulness of Christ, the generosity of the poor widow. Above all, may God find in us grateful hearts which will always thank God for his gifts of love, mercy, faithfulness, kindness, and generosity.
Sr. Monica Paul Fraser, OP