LOVE DOESN'T CALCULATE
A real giving
must come from the heart. A gift given out of love with a spirit of generosity
and sacrifice is precious to God.
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
A great gift that we can give one another is the joy of selfless giving and love
for others. True love doesn't calculate: it spends lavishly! Jesus Christ
drives this point home to His disciples while sitting in the temple and
observing people offering their tithes. Jesus praises a poor widow who gives
the smallest of coins. Why does He praise this action? The answer is very
simple: love is more precious than gold or wealth! Jesus teaches that real
giving must come from the heart. A gift given out of love with a spirit of
generosity and sacrifice is precious to God.
Today's
responsorial psalm identifies strong Christians as "the people who long to
see [the Lord's] face." Christians who are ready to "ascend the mount
of the Lord" show this readiness by hands unstained by sin, by cleanness
of heart, and by a determination to refuse "what is vain" (Ps
24:3-4). The poor widow in our Gospel story today might be seen as such a
person.
Today
the Church honors St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr. The Passion of St. Cecilia is
a narrative of her sufferings. In it she is extolled as a perfect example of
Christian womanhood, having embraced virginity and undergone martyrdom for the
love of Christ Jesus. She also lived by following the Corporal Works of Mercy,
deeds that have to do with bodily care, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked,
tending to prisoners, sheltering the homeless, and visiting the sick.
Today,
in memory of all Christian martyrs and all those who give with joy in acts of
selfless love and compassion, may we practice a work of mercy to someone who is
in need this week.