Sometimes we might think that the small acts of kindness or goodness we do don’t make much difference. Yet if borne of love they can be truly transformative. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.
Readings for Saturday of the 9th week of ordinary time can be found here.
The American poet, writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou was eight years old when she was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. The man was later killed by Angelou’s uncles. The trauma of her assault and feelings of responsibility for her attacker’s death caused Angelou to stop speaking for five years. She credited a teacher and family friend, Bertha Flowers, with helping her to speak again by telling her “you do not love poetry until you speak it”. For Flowers those words may not have seemed much, but said with love and care they transformed Angelou’s life and enabled her to become one of the most celebrated writers and speakers of the 20th century.
Sometimes an act which seems insignificant to us can have an amazing impact. So it was with the offering of the widow described in today’s Gospel. The penny she puts in the offering box is equivalent to 1/64th of a denarius, and a denarius was the average daily wage. Compared to the large sums donated by the rich folk it is miniscule. It is hardly noticed, and will not make much difference to the Temple coffers. Yet it involves a huge sacrifice for the widow – it is all she has – and is noticed by God himself, who sees that the value of this small act is far greater than the monetary value of the gift. He knows the true cost involved, and that it was a gift given of love. Perhaps Paul wondered at times whether all of the rejections, the beatings and imprisonments were worth it. In Philippians he describes all his achievements as rubbish compared with knowing Jesus. Yet as we read today, he trusted that despite everything his ministry was worthwhile, and now he has finished the race.
May we never underestimate the value of seemingly small acts of devotion, encouragement or kindness. Give at a cost, and borne of love, they have infinite value in God’s sight. Every such act is like another building block of his kingdom. Let us continue to lay those blocks bit by bit, sure in the knowledge that when we too have finished the race, that kingdom will be just a little bit closer.
Mass today is in St Mary’s at 11.30am (preceded by morning prayer at 10.50 and Rosary at 11).
If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our Day By Day pages.
South Cardiff Ministry Area 