The other day I was talking to a rather wealthy woman who was bemoaning the fact that she was “taking quite a hit” in the stock market. I, of course, commiserated with her. Finances are no small matter for us as we struggle through to make ends meet. We want to leave something for our children. We desire to live comfortably in our retirement years. This is all well and good. There is nothing particularly sinful or even selfish about these desires, unless we exclude charitable giving from our financial decisions. This is the basis of Biblical command to tithe.
Our readings this weekend we call to mind the widow who forgot herself in her concern for the poor, and, thinking only of the life to come, gave away all her means of subsistence. The Kingdom is built of such beautiful acts of self-giving!
Let us then invest with the Lord what He has given us, for we have nothing that does not come from Him. We are dependent upon Him for our very existence. And we Christians, particularly, have a special and a greater debt since we know that God not only created us but purchased us as well. What can we regard as our own when we do not possess even ourselves?
So let us give back to the Lord the gifts He has given us; let us give to Him who receives in the person of every poor man or woman. Let us give gladly, and great joy will be ours when we receive His promised reward. What we often call sacrifices are actually investments. And in the Lord’s Divine Economy the “market” always goes up.
Joyfully,
Father Mike