Monday, 24 November 2025 – 34th week, odd-numbered year
Homily
Throughout this week, the last of the liturgical cycle, the Book of Daniel will accompany us as the first reading at Mass. It is a writing that, while containing historical elements, belongs to the apocalyptic genre. It was written during a time of persecution, at the time of the Maccabees' resistance. It reveals a messianism that nourishes the expectation of a saviour designated as the ‘Son of Man’. This already prepares us for Advent.
Similarly, throughout the week, the Gospels, taken from the last chapters of Luke's Gospel, will speak to us about the end times. And one of the characteristics of this end time, according to the Gospel, will be the reversal of situations: Those who have been underprivileged and oppressed in this life will be joyful, and the privileged of this world who have lived without compassion for the less fortunate will be in pain. This is the context in which this morning's Gospel must be understood.
There is a contrast between the rich who deposit large sums of money in the Temple treasury. and the poor widow who deposits her tiny coin.
Wealthy tourists travelling in developing countries often have the opportunity to give money to the poor, especially to poor children who run after them. This is certainly a commendable gesture. At the same time, I have always found something shocking about this situation. The widow in the Gospel, on the other hand, is a poor woman who gives to the poor. She gives from her essentials, not from her surplus.
And this teaches us something very beautiful about God. If God were rich, giving from his abundance, he would be better represented by the rich people in our Gospel than by the widow putting her mite into the treasury. But can we not say that God gives us not from his wealth, but from his poverty? Yes, because God revealed himself in Jesus Christ, who became poor with us and for us. In Jesus of Nazareth, God did not appear to us as a rich tourist throwing coins to poor children, but as a poor man sharing his life with us.
If the Gospel were only a condemnation of the rich, we could feel good about ourselves, since most of us can consider ourselves, if not poor, at least not exactly rich. And so, the harsh (or at least demanding) words of the Gospel towards the rich are not meant for us. But that is not the real message: Jesus' message is that he expects us to give not so much of what we have (whether little or much) but of what we are, of our own lives; he expects us to live in service to those around us or those who cross our path.
And that is the soul of all community life.
- Today we remember the holy martyrs of Vietnam.