Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 10, 2023
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.”
My husband and I have never struggled to make rent or put food on the table. From the suburbs where we grew up, to our home under the Golden Dome, to our current home outside Washington, D.C., we have been able to provide for more than our basic physiological needs. From this position of privilege, we often ask whether we are giving back enough of our time and resources. Today’s gospel brings this question into focus.
I admire and long to be more like the poor widow from today’s gospel. She did not give from her abundance because she had none. Instead, putting her life in God’s hands, she gave all she had.
I picture the two coins she offered as coins she would have used to buy dinner. I imagine her lying awake that night, her stomach rumbling. Despite having almost nothing, the poor widow recognized and responded to God’s call to love her neighbors as herself by giving the little she had. Like Christ, she showed true self-sacrificial love.
How often do I fail to look beyond my needs to do something for others? How often do I ignore my neighbors who do not have a place to call home while my family lives comfortably? How often have I acted like the rich people from today’s gospel, only giving from the excess of my time and resources?
The challenge to be more like the poor widow seems daunting, if not impossible. She didn’t measure out what was safe to give—she just gave. We can make that same choice today by putting our own needs aside and prioritizing those of our neighbors.
Let us all take time today to think about how even in small ways, we can be more like the poor widow and strive to put both God and our neighbor before ourselves.
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

Henry was a man who did everything he could to get to heaven.
He was born in northern Italy around 1250 to very poor parents. He never received an education, and could not read or write. He lived as a day worker in a city called Treviso, and this is how he provided for his wife and child.
When both his wife and child died, Henry dedicated himself to prayer and service to the poor. He continued to work as a laborer, but gave away everything he earned to people living in poverty. He sought only to serve God—if he wasn’t working, he was in a church attending Mass, praying, or having his confession heard.
Some biographies go out of the way to note that he was an odd-looking man--thick-set, short, with sunken eyes, a crooked mouth, and a long nose. Mean people and children would see him as an easy target and sometimes tease or mock him, but he responded only by praying for them. Most other people noticed him as a holy man, even if he wore ragged clothes and seemed to not fit in.
When Henry got old and could no longer work, a citizen sheltered and fed him. Henry secretly would give away to the poor most of the food that was intended for him. Even when he was extremely weak, he would continue to walk through the region to visit churches every day.
When he died on this date in 1315, the people of Treviso crowded to his room, seeking some artifact or relic. They found very little, however: some straw on which he slept, a log that served as his pillow, and a hair shirt that he wore as penance. When his body was moved to the cathedral, people broke into the church seeking some contact with Henry. At least 276 miracles were recorded within a few days of his death.
The reliquary chapel in the Basilica contains relics from two holy men named Henry—one is St. Henry, king, whose feast day is in July, and another is simply denoted with the name Henry and might be from this man.
Blessed Henry of Treviso, though you worked as a simple day laborer, you gave away all you earned to the poor—pray for us!