First reading 1 Kings 17:10-16
‘Jar of meal shall not be spent, jug of oil shall not be emptied’
Elijah the Prophet went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks; addressing her he said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a vessel for me to drink.’ She was setting off to bring it when he called after her. ‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’ ‘As the Lord your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’ But Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son. For thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel:
“Jar of meal shall not be spent,
jug of oil shall not be emptied,
before the day when the Lord sends
rain on the face of the earth.”’
The woman went and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.
Responsorial Psalm 145(146):7-10
Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
The Lord keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets captives free.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who were bowed down;
the Lord loves the just.
The Lord protects strangers.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The Lord shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
Second reading Hebrews 9:24-28
Christ, our high priest, has done away with sin by sacrificing himself
It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him.
Gospel Mark 12:38-44
This poor widow has put in more than all
In his teaching Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’
He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’
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Learning to gaze like Jesus
In today’s gospel, the poor widow hidden among many rich people in the temple did not escape Jesus’s gaze. He saw and understood the significance of her small but sincere offering and brought it to His disciples’ attention. In our daily lives, we may feel that our little acts of kindness, genuine words to others, and thoughtful efforts to put others first may go unnoticed. Just as Jesus appreciated the widow’s true generosity, He appreciates our sincere efforts to show love.
Today, Jesus is teaching us to have the same kind of gaze as Him. We are invited to look more closely and deeply at the various events in our lives. Like Jesus, may we learn to recognise and appreciate the great love behind seemingly insignificant words and gestures we witness in the people around us.
Reflective question:
What is Jesus’ message for me in prayer?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
