Monday of the Thirty-Fourth Week In Ordinary Time
Generosity Of The Poor
Alternative Celebration: Learn more here.
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
To strengthen the faith of the persecuted Jews during the time of the Maccabees, the author of the Book of Daniel recounts the inspiring story of four young Jews who risked remaining loyal to God’s law even in the pagan king’s court. They draw both God’s protection and their wisdom from this fidelity.
The widow goes beyond the law. In her generosity, she not only gives all she has, she has only what she has given. People who are poor often know well how to give because they know what it means to be poor and dependent; they know how to live in the hands of God.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, generous Father,
simple people often put us to shame
by their total generosity
and straightforward loyalty.
Make us realize, Lord,
that, like your Son, the real poor of heart
often make us understand who you are:
a God who gives himself.
Grant us too this kind
of generous love and loyalty
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you on the throne of your Kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus looked up and saw wealthy people depositing their gifts into the temple’s treasury.
He also saw a poor widow, who dropped in two small coins.
And he said:
“Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them.
For all of them gave an offering from their abundance; but she, out of her poverty, gave all she had to live on.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– Lord, we pray you for widows and orphans. Keep them from despair and make us attentive to their need of love and compassion, we pray:
– Lord, we pray you for all the poor who are insecure about the next day. May we bring them security and love, we pray:
– Lord, we pray for this community. Make us learn from the poor to be generous enough to share not only from our abundance but also, when needed, from our own poverty, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, if you want someone
to suffer or die for sin
that we may live,
you take your own Son and he agrees loyally.
God, who give yourself,
accept these gifts, poor as they are,
because in them we place our own generosity
in the hope that you will make it grow
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, generous Father,
in your Son Jesus Christ you come to us
not the way a rich person would visit
an underdeveloped humanity
but the way a poor one shares
with those who are also poor like him or her.
Accept our thanks for giving yourself
and revealing in Jesus
all the abundance of your love
with an infinite respect for our human poverty.
Accept our thanks through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Christ gave his own self to bring others reconciliation and happiness. Christians should learn from him to give themselves without counting the cost, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
24 November 2025
Luke 21:1-4
The Gospel of the Widow’s Gift
In today’s Gospel, Jesus turns our attention to a scene most people would ignore — a poor widow quietly placing two small coins into the Temple treasury. To many, her offering seemed insignificant, especially beside the rich who gave from their abundance. But Jesus sees differently. He sees the heart.
What moves Jesus is not the amount given, but the love with which it is given. The widow gives “all she had to live on.” Her generosity flows from faith — a trust that God will provide. While others offered what they could spare, she offered her very life.
This Gospel confronts our way of measuring value. In God’s eyes, generosity is not about how much we give, but how much of ourselves we place in the gift. The world admires the large donation, the impressive project, the visible act. But God looks deeper — to the quiet sacrifice, the hidden love, the offering made with humility and faith.
In the early Church, this spirit of sharing marked the Christian community. “There was not a needy person among them,” Acts tells us, because believers held everything in common. Yet as wealth and comfort grew, that original spirit of solidarity often faded. The challenge remains for us today: to recover the widow’s heart.
We are surrounded by people in need — materially, emotionally, spiritually. Each small act of love — a visit, a prayer, a meal shared, a moment of listening — can become our “two small coins.” What matters is not how much we give, but whether we give with love.
May this poor widow teach us to trust more deeply, to love more freely, and to give not from our surplus, but from our hearts — until our lives themselves become an offering pleasing to God.
Charity begins at home.
The beautiful explanation by Fr. Armellini's vivid description of the poor widow's offering allows us to reflect upon the temple's corrupt practices and traditions, which forced people such as this poor widow to make offerings. Jesus condemned the attitude of priests and religious scholars who devoured even the poor and widows to enrich their own pockets.
Widows, orphans, migrants, and foreigners were the poorest people in Israel. The widow in the Gospel had offered her whole livelihood because she trusted the Lord. She gives everything because the Lord is greater than all else for her. The message of this Gospel passage is an invitation to generosity: generosity towards the poor, the needy, and the abandoned and despised.
Therefore, when the Church exhorts the faithful to be generous, it should take care to be generous herself toward the needy. Often our Church institutions behave like the religious scholars and priests of the time of Jesus. Often, we hear of parishes and priests who charge for funerals, weddings, baptisms, and even the Mass, resulting in many people avoiding the sacraments and the Church. In order for the Church to truly represent the presence of God among the people, it needs to address not only their spiritual needs, but also their physical needs.
“Charity begins at home,” says the proverb. Caring for the elderly and the sick in our homes should not be overlooked when reaching out to help a needy neighbour or contributing large sums to the church. In our society, how often do we encounter elderly or infirm parents living in misery while their children are recognized for their charitable work in the community and the church?
Generosity belongs to everyday life. Could I be more conscious of the question, "How can I be more generous towards the poor? How can I be more helpful?” It is normal to think that “I am not super rich to be very generous with the needs of people around me!” Pope Francis has a suggestion for us: “look through your room or your wardrobe. How many pairs of shoes do I have? One, two, three, four, fifteen, twenty…. Maybe too many… But if you have many pairs of shoes, give away half. How many clothes do I not use or use only once a year? This is one way to be generous, to share what we have.
25 November 2024
True Generosity: Giving from the Heart, Not from Abundance
In today’s Gospel, Jesus observes a poor widow who gives two small coins to the temple treasury. Though her offering is tiny compared to the gifts of the wealthy, Jesus is moved by her generosity. “This poor widow has put in more than all the others,” he says, “for she has given all she had to live on” (Luke 21:4). Her gift, though materially small, is a profound act of faith, trust, and love.
Jesus’ words challenge us to rethink what true generosity looks like. The widow’s offering was a sacrifice; it wasn’t given from excess but from her very sustenance. Her trust in God’s provision is humbling. Unlike the rich, who give only what they can spare, this widow’s gift expresses a complete reliance on God.
Today, we are called to ask ourselves: How do we give? Do we share only when it’s convenient, or are we willing to give sacrificially, trusting that God will meet our needs? The widow reminds us that generosity is not about the size of our gift but the love and faith with which we give it. It’s about sharing even in our own need, recognizing that everything we have is a blessing from God meant to be shared.
In the early Church, this spirit of radical sharing was foundational. Christians were known for their willingness to support each other, pooling resources so that “none was in need” (Acts 4:34). As followers of Christ today, we too are called to live with open hearts and hands, to embrace a spirit of solidarity and generosity.
May we learn from this widow’s humble example, trusting in God’s provision and giving joyfully from the heart, knowing that in God’s kingdom, even our smallest acts of love matter greatly.