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Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne
Year B
On this page you will find:
The readings from the Mass
The Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download
In PDF format
In editable Word format
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel
A commentary to better understand the Gospel
A word for the road
November 10, 2024
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Amen, I tell you:
this poor widow put into the Treasury
more than all the others.
For they all contributed from their surplus,
But she, she took what she could from her poverty:
She put in everything she owned.
"All she had to live on."
Mark 12:43-44
Readings from the Mass
Lectio Divina
Mass leaflet
Universal Prayer
Meditation
This Sunday's Gospel passage consists of two parts: one in which is described how Christ's disciples should not behave; the other, in which is proposed an exemplary ideal of the Christian.
Let's begin with the first point: what we must not do. In the first part, Jesus accuses the scribes, teachers of the law, of three flaws that manifest themselves in their lifestyle: vanity, greed, and hypocrisy. They love—says Jesus—"greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets" (Mark 12:38-39). But beneath such solemn appearances lie falsehood and injustice. While they strut about in public, they use their authority to "devour widows' houses" (cf. v. 40), who, along with orphans and foreigners, were considered among the most vulnerable and least protected. Finally, the scribes "make a show of praying at length to be seen" (cf. v. 40). Today, too, the risk of behaving this way exists. For example, when prayer is separated from justice, because one cannot worship God and harm the poor. Or when one claims to love God and, in turn, puts one's own glory and profit before Him.
It is in this vein that the second part of today's Gospel unfolds. The scene takes place in the Temple in Jerusalem, specifically in the place where people were throwing coins as offerings. There are many rich people throwing in large quantities of coins, and there is a poor widow who puts in just a little, two small coins. Jesus observes this woman attentively and draws the disciples' attention to the stark contrast in the scene. The rich have given, with great ostentation, what was superfluous to them, while the widow, with discretion and humility, has given "all she had to live on" (v. 44); that is why—Jesus says—she has given more than all of them. Because of her extreme poverty, she could have offered only one coin for the Temple and kept the other for herself. But she does not want to do things halfway with God: she deprives herself of everything. In her poverty, she has understood that, having God, she has everything. She feels completely loved by Him, and in turn, she loves Him completely. What a beautiful example this little old woman is!
Today, Jesus tells us too that the measure of judgment is not quantity, but fullness. There is a difference between quantity and fullness. You can have a lot of money, but be empty: there is no fullness in your heart. Think, during this week, about the difference between quantity and fullness. It's not a question of money, but of the heart. There is a difference between the wallet and the heart... There are heart diseases that diminish the heart in favor of the wallet... And that's not good! To love God "with all your heart" means to trust in Him, in His providence, and to serve Him in our poorest brothers and sisters without expecting anything in return.
Allow me to tell you an anecdote that happened in my previous diocese. A mother and her three children were at the table; the father was at work; they were eating veal Milanese... At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and one of the children—the younger ones, 5 and 6 years old, the oldest 7—came and said, "Mom, there's a beggar asking for food." And the mother, a good Christian, asked them, "What should we do?" "Let's give him something, Mom..." "Okay." She took a fork and a knife and cut each veal cut in half. "Oh no, Mom, no! Not like that! Take some from the refrigerator." "No, let's make three sandwiches like that!" And the children learned that true charity is given freely; it's not done with what we have in excess, but with what we need. I'm sure they got a little hungry during the afternoon... But that's how it has to be done!
Faced with the needs of others, we are called to deprive ourselves — like these children, of half the cutlets — of something indispensable, not just the superfluous; we are called to give the necessary time, not just the extra time we have; we are called to give immediately and without reservation one of our talents, not after using it for our personal or group goals.
Let us ask the Lord to admit us to the school of this poor widow, whom Jesus, to the astonishment of the disciples, brings up to the pulpit and presents as a teacher of the living Gospel. Through the intercession of Mary, the poor woman who gave her whole life to God for us, let us ask for the gift of a poor heart, yet one rich in joyful and freely given generosity.
POPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Better understanding the Gospel
with Marie-Noëlle Thabut
BEWARE OF APPEARANCES
“Beware…” Coming from the mouth of Jesus, this is an unexpected statement! We are in the final chapters of the Gospel of Mark, before the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Jesus is giving his last pieces of advice to his disciples. A few verses earlier, he told them: “Have faith in God (11:22)... Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” A little further on, he advises them again: “Watch out that no one leads you astray…” (13:5). Here, it is something like, “Don’t put your trust in just anyone!” He is referring to certain scribes. We may be surprised by this vehemence from Jesus, but it is characteristic of his prophetic style: how often have we seen prophets use very harsh language to condemn certain attitudes; however, Jesus is not putting all the scribes on trial.
Scribes were held in high esteem in Jesus' time, and this was generally justified. Who were they? Laymen who had studied the Law of Moses in specialized schools, graduates of the Law (like we would say today, "doctors of theology"). They had the right to comment on Scripture and to preach. They sat on the Sanhedrin, the permanent court of Jerusalem that met in the Temple twice a week. The best among them were called "doctors of the Law." The respect shown to them was, in reality, the respect felt for the Law itself. The Book of Sirach devotes an entire page (Sirach 38:34–39:11) to praising the scribe, “he who diligently reflects upon the law of the Most High, who studies the wisdom of all the ancients, and devotes his leisure to prophecies… He studies the hidden meaning of Proverbs, he spends his life among the enigmas of parables” (Sirach 39:1–3). But this popular recognition could easily go to some people’s heads: in the synagogues, they had reserved seats in the front rows, and gossips pointed out that these seats, curiously, faced away from the Tablets of the Law and were located opposite the congregation!
Jesus displays a great deal of freedom in his dealings with them: in the preceding verses, he paid tribute to one of them: Mark tells us that “When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’” (12:34). Here, however, he seems to be addressing them more generally; in reality, this is simply a response to the harassment he has been subjected to by some of them since the beginning of his public ministry, harassment that made him aware of their jealousy of him. Indeed, Mark has amply demonstrated throughout the Gospel the scribes' growing mistrust of Jesus.
All these episodes should be reread (or linked together): the healing of the paralytic of Capernaum (2:6-7); the meal at Levi's house (2:16); the accusations of being a minion of the devil, which would explain his power: "The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul in him, and by the prince of demons he casts out demons'" (3:23). Or again, the discussion about the disregard for traditions (7:5).
Their jealousy gradually turned into hatred and gave rise to the idea of killing him: after he drove the merchants out of the Temple, “The chief priests and the scribes heard about it and began to plot how they might kill him, because they were afraid of him, since the crowds were amazed at his teaching” (11:18: essentially, it is the jealousy of teachers). Following the episode with the merchants, they would demand that he justify his audacity: “As Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him. They asked him, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority?’” (11:27-28). Moreover, at the time of the Passion, Pilate will not be mistaken (Mark notes "Pilate clearly saw that the chief priests had handed him over out of jealousy": 15:10).
Jesus is well aware of the hatred directed at him, but that is not what he reproaches them for; in his eyes, there is something more serious: "They devour widows' houses." By this, he reproaches some for taking advantage of their position. We can assume that the scribes, giving consultations, were probably being sought legal advice by widows (which was apparently not free!). "They devour widows' houses and, for a show, make long prayers: they will be judged all the more severely." A harsh sentence, but very much in the prophetic style: we know that hardening of the heart comes very gradually if we are not careful; those who are targeted here "make long prayers, for a show," but this feigned, affected prayer is obviously not a true prayer since, afterwards, they steal from the poor... their prayer therefore does not draw them closer to God; (in other words, they exclude themselves from salvation).
THE AUDACITY OF GENEROSITY
And then a widow comes forward, just to make her offering. She is clearly poor; Mark says so three times (vv. 42, 43, "poor widow"; v. 44, "poverty"): this was unfortunately the general case, for they had no right to their husband's inheritance, and their fate depended largely on public charity. The proof of their poverty lies in the Law's particular emphasis on the support that must be given to widows and orphans, something a scribe, a specialist in the Law, cannot ignore. The widow comes forward to put in two small coins; and it is she whom Jesus gives as an example to his disciples: "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. For all of them contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had to live on." The Gospel doesn't elaborate further, but Jesus' reflection on the matter suggests that his trust will be rewarded... The parallel with this Sunday's first reading (the widow of Zarephath) is significant: just as the widow of Zarephath gave her last provisions to the prophet Elijah, the widow of the Temple in Jerusalem gives her last pennies. Her trust in God goes that far. Even to the point of taking the greatest risks, complete destitution.
These final words of advice from Jesus to his disciples would take on a very particular significance a few days later. In turn, they would have to choose their place in the fledgling Church. The model their Lord had set for them was not the ostentation of certain scribes, their pursuit of honors... but the quiet generosity of the widow and the courage to risk everything.
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