Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 6, 2026
In the course of his teaching Jesus said,
“Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues,
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext,
recite lengthy prayers.
They will receive a very severe condemnation.”He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
I grew up in a lower-middle-class family. We were, certainly, closer to the poor widow than the rich people. The only family vacation I remember was a drive around Lake Ontario to Toronto for a few days. Today, that would take about 3 hours. Don’t feel bad for me…I didn’t know, and my brother, sister, and I didn’t care. We had great parents, a roof, food, clothes, and great fun. We had all that we needed.
My Mom lived 19 years after my dad died, and for the last 15 years of her life, she was financially dependent on her children. Mom balanced her checkbook at least once per week. She was getting closer to the poor widow in today’s gospel as time went by. I remember her sitting at the kitchen table calculating the amounts for the weekly offertory and the capital campaign for the new church. I promise you, it was not much. By the time Mom died, she truly lived up to the example of the poor widow…contributing from her poverty, all that she had, her whole livelihood.
Time goes by, and every time I read, think, and pray about today’s gospel, I am reminded of Mom’s example. She had great faith and trusted that God would provide. I hope and pray that before God calls me home, I get closer to Mom’s example…putting my whole livelihood in the hands of God.
Prayer
Loving Father, may the poor widow move us to trust fully in your Providential Care. All is yours and all is your gift. In you, we are enough and have enough. Let us live humbly, love tenderly and walk justly each day you give us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Norbert turned away from a self-serving life through a dramatic conversion experience and went on to become a great reformer of the Church.
He was born in Germany in 1080 to royal parents. As a young man, he sought the priesthood as an ambitious career move and began preparations for ordination, even though he was only interested in a life of pleasures.
He was out riding one day when he was caught in a thunderstorm and tossed by his horse. He lay on the ground paralyzed for an hour. His first words when he awoke were the same as St. Paul’s after his famous conversion: “Lord, what will you have me do?” A voice answered, “Turn from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it.”
Immediately he changed his life. He returned to the court and gave his life to prayer and fasting. He finished his preparation for the priesthood and was ordained. He took on the life of a wandering preacher, encouraging conversion in the court where he lived, but the people there thought him hypocritical. In return, he sold all of his land and goods, keeping only a small bit of money, a mule (which soon died), and the things he needed to celebrate Mass.
He met with the pope, who gave him permission to preach wherever he chose. He set out on a mission to preach and started to gather around him others who were impressed by his conversion and commitment to the faith.
Church leaders drew on his leadership to reform monastic communities that had grown lax in their observance. Norbert himself started a community in an abandoned monastery, and their numbers grew such that other monasteries were established.
While visiting a town in Germany, Norbert was chosen as bishop of that town by popular acclaim from the community’s leaders, but as he approached his new rectory, the doorman turned him away, thinking he was a beggar because he was dressed so humbly. As bishop, he asserted a reform of the Church, which was met with resistance, but Norbert persisted.
Late in his life, he was drawn into a crisis in which disputed popes claimed to have been elected, and his influence was a great help in resolving the matter. All of his work had exhausted him, however—he had only been ordained 20 years when he died on this date at the age of 53.
Along with St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Norbert stands as a great reforming Saint of the time whose influence led people to holiness for generations. St. Norbert’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Norbert, your dramatic conversion experience helped you lead the Church to greater faithfulness—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Norbert is in the public domain. Last accessed March 18, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
