“Then he called his disciples and said
to them 'In truth I tell you, this poor
widow has put more in than all who have
contributed to the treasury; for they
have all put in money they could spare,
but she in her poverty has put in
everything she possessed, all she had to
live on” (Mk 12, 43-44). This passage
taken from Mark’s Gospel, read on the
32nd Sunday of the Year, Year B, reminds
us of a central truth in our faith:
total self-giving to God. A truth of
vital importance: how in fact could we
truly believe in Him unless we belong to
Him? If we offer only the superfluous to
God, would faith in Him be possible?
Jesus offers the figure of a poor widow,
whose name is not even mentioned, as an
example of authentic giving; instead of
putting the superfluous into the
treasury, like others, she put
“everything she possessed, all she had
to live on”. Her gesture was not
glaring, but the Lord sees in the heart
and recognises the most beautiful
reality of the faith: total gift of
self, or, the most perfect imitation of
Divine life. God does not give
superfluously he gives all, as the Holy
Father Pope Benedict XVI, recalled at
the beginning of his pontificate: “He
takes nothing away, and he gives you
everything. When we give ourselves to
him, we receive a hundredfold in return.
Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ
- and you will find true life.”
(Benedict XVI, homily 24 April 2005).
If this woman shows what it means to
have complete trust in God, how much
more the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of
all authentic donation, helps us make
our whole life a gift of self to Jesus.
Mary was the first to offer her self to
the Redeemer, holding nothing back,
giving herself, aware of the
disproportion between what was given and
what was received: “Blessed are the poor
in spirit because theirs is the Kingdom
of Heaven”. Giving Christ our poverty as
creatures enables us to accept the gift
of the Creator, the magnificence of His
love, always at work to transform us.
Giving of self always transforms. The
Saints are perfect examples of this
reality. The more we trust the Lord and
give ourselves to Him, the more we are
transformed in Him. The problem is human
selfishness, the inability to see
further than “two coins”; which prevents
us from changing, putting our talents to
good use, abandoning ourselves in God as
a child throws itself into the
protecting arms of its father! How often
today Jesus calls “the rich young man”,
too concerned about himself to decide to
follow Him. With Mary we can sing the
Magnificat, on the condition that we put
all our trust in God. When we give
ourselves to Him we too are immersed in
the ocean of His loving mercy: “His
mercy is on those who fear Him from
generation to generation.”. Those who
fear God, like the poor widow, attract
Christ’s loving gaze and praise. The
Gospel is full of these icons of
unconditioned love, lovers of “Love
unloved”.
From every Marian shrine, from every
corner of the earth where she is
venerated and invoked, Our Lady
continues to sing her Magnificat, to
testify that her Son continues to “fill
the hungry with good things; and send
empty away the rich in themselves”. A
person who gives everything is a loser
in the eyes of the world, but a winner
in the eyes of God and rich in boundless
love. One who thinks he gives much, but
holds back himself, gives only the
superfluous; one who mistakes appearance
for substance, instead of growing rich
becomes ever poorer, also in faith.
This helps to understand why Jesus
continually urges his disciples to pray
and make sure their hearts are filled
not with appearance but with the gifts
of the Holy Spirit. Entrusting one’s
self to God is like true friendship for
those we love: we open our heart not
just once, but again and again; a life
of self-giving to God is a continual
opening to others, a daily outpouring of
self, drop by drop, a sweet letting-go
to God, slipping into the ocean of his
goodness. It would be absurd for a drop
of water to imagine it could be the sea,
unless it falls and loses itself
therein! (Agenzia Fides 15/11/2006 -
righe 46, parole 740)
