November 23
Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
First Reading
Revelation 14:1-3, 4b-5
I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. They were singing what seemed to be a new hymn before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been ransomed from the earth. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed as the first fruits of the human race for God and the Lamb. On their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Alleluia
Matthew 24:42a, 44
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 21:1-4
When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
Give a Mass Offering
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
“ Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.”
Readings & Reflection
Today we hear the parable of the poor widow woman who gave two small coins to the treasury. Onlookers may have thought that her contribution was trite, but we find that she has given not from her wealth but from her poverty. The widow’s gift may have meant that she went without food that day. The onlookers, we are told, have only given from their surplus wealth, so although they did give, their gift did not cause them to sacrifice. Jesus makes the comment, “…she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
We as faithful Christians need to examine our motives for giving. I believe we should do this each day because it is not only our monetary wealth that we are called to give but also our talents, our time, our attention, that we are to offer others. So often in my own mind I find myself calculating what I will get out of giving of myself. Will I gain the respect of others, or perhaps their admiration? Will others see me as more generous than I really am? Would I still give the same amount if others were not watching, or would not be able to repay me? All of these questions are important. Let us each examine our own motive for giving. Are we giving from a surplus of wealth or time, or is our offering causing us to sacrifice. If there were no sacrifice involved, then perhaps Jesus would say the gift is not worth giving in the first place.
Peace,
Fr. John Kurgan
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