Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day

During November, we remember and honor all those who have preceded us in death. We recall especially those who have passed away this past year. It is normal to struggle with one’s faith when in the throes of grief. Death comes with trauma and questions that we can never answer satisfactorily. Why was she taken so soon? Why did he suffer so much? How will our family get through this? We come together today, and each Sunday, as a family of faith to be nourished at the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist. May the resurrected Lord, whom we receive in the Eucharist, strengthen and comfort us as we pray for those we have lost.

Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word

The readings today focus on two women whose powerful faith sustains them in their grief. Though we know very little about their backgrounds, both women are widows, so they have lost their husbands, bringing both emotional and financial pain. One widow has no food but a handful of flour and a little oil. The other has no money but two small coins. Yet each is willing to offer what little she has to God’s work. The sacrifice each makes portends the sacrifice Christ himself makes on the cross for us all.
 

Reflections

• Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, makes his first appearance in the Bible in the midst of a terrible drought and famine. The LORD, however, has promised to watch over him. But this does not mean that Elijah can sit back and wait for food and water to magically appear. No, God sends him out on a mission. God calls him to persuade the people who have lost their faith in God and begun to worship Baal, the Canaanite god of rain, storms, and fertility. At the same time, God deputizes others to care for Elijah. In the passage preceding today’s reading, ravens—associated with the spirit world—help lead him to a stream of running water and feed him bread and meat. Today we hear of a widow who shares what she thinks will be her last morsel of food with him. In a foreign land, Elijah is taught by God to rely on generous, hospitable strangers to sustain his life.

• The two widows we meet today are faces of Christ, particularly of the ultimate sacrifice he will make. These widows had no “safety net” to rely on, from either government assistance or institutional programs. Without an income or social standing, they were left to rely on the generosity of others. Yet, it was their own generosity that made them models of Jesus’ self-sacrifice. Each willingly gives her only asset, “her whole livelihood,” to the Lord (Mark 12:44). In our acquisitive culture, in which society judges us by our possessions and we are always encouraged to buy the newest, the latest, the hottest, giving from our want is countercultural, even crazy.

• As Jesus leaves the temple in the very next verse of Mark’s Gospel, he tells his disciples that the temple will soon be destroyed. They realized only later that he was referring to the temple of his body. In a sense, then, this poor widow was doing the same thing: giving her whole life to the body of Christ, the Church, the people of God. If we saw Jesus himself—in his human body—sitting down opposite the collection box, we certainly would increase our offering, perhaps even to more than we think we can afford. We need to be reminded that what we do for the least of our sisters and brothers, we do for him. Anna, another widow of immense faith, encountered the infant Jesus during his first appearance in the temple. This widow stood in the presence of the Messiah, the Christ, during his final appearance there.
 

Question of the Week

What can I give that demonstrates my acceptance of Jesus’ challenge to his disciples, to give without reservation?