34th Week in Ordinary Time : Monday, 23rd November 2020

There is a saying that goes, “What we do in this life echoes in eternity.”  Basically, what we do here on earth can be put into two categories, which is what we do for ourselves and what we do for others. Self-care and care for others are the two pillars of man as a social being. Think about the choices that we make in life and the helping hand that we extend to others.

The problem comes when self-centeredness creeps into our lives. When this happens, our pride swells up, and the ego takes over. Our ‘wants’ exceed our ‘needs’.  There is no time for others.

This is the current struggle of many today. We are blinded by self-centeredness. One wonders if ever there is time for God!

In the Gospel today, we see many people putting in their offering, which is given from what they can spare.  The issue is not about how much they put in but on where their focus is, which is the security that money can offer them. Thus, their commitment to God’s law comes after all that they have spent first.

Jesus, on the other hand, praises the widow who ‘put in all she had to live on’. There was no self-centeredness here. There was only trust in God’s providence for her care, and the charity given was for others.

Can we move from our self-centeredness to be like that widow?

Lord, Your grace is sufficient for me.