Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Widow's Mite

For they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:44

Not a day goes by that I don’t see her at morning mass. Her soft gray hair, her heavy maroon coat and her sensible shoes are always accompanied by her angelic smile. Her smile lights up the church brighter than an entire wall lined with votive candles. It is just one of the many gifts she gives to others without the smallest effort.

When mass is over she stays behind. Prayer book and rosary beads in hand, she prays for her children, her grandchildren, her friends and the many homeless that she bakes cookies for. This is her widow’s mite, her small sacrifices of love that she joyfully shares with others. She is a witness of Christ here on earth; her name is Preska.

Then there is Joan. She leads a Thursday night rosary in the church for the sanctity of life. I have seen her on countless Sunday afternoons standing, either alone or with a few other folks, in front of the nearby Planned Parenthood. Apparently, this particular Planned Parenthood does abortions on this day. Joan holds her rosary beads in one hand, a few prayer cards in the other, and she prays during the hours that the abortions are being preformed. She has been subjected to many vile comments by both men and women seeking the seemingly "quick fix" they feel Planned Parenthood will provide them. You see, Joan's peaceful presence, her standing up for life, stirs something in them that they want to keep suppressed, something they don't want to feel.

She doesn't seem to mind though. This is what she joyfully does for Jesus. And the fruits of her labor have,  indeed, been a joy because Joan has also had young women that have come out of Planned Parenthood and walk up to her,  tearfully telling  her thank you. They tell her that her presence and her prayer jolted something in them, something that made them realize that they could not go through with the abortion.   

These good women, and many others like them,  live the message of Jesus in small but mighty ways every day. As St. Paul has said, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” Heb. 13:16

During Lent of 1986, Our Lady gave the following message:
“Dear children, today I invite you to live this Lent with your small sacrifices which you have already presented to me. Dear children, continue to live in this way and, with your love, help me to present your offerings to God, who will reward you.”   BVM, Medjugorje  03/13/1986.

Our sacrifice is the truest sign of love, for on the external level we gain nothing for ourselves, but direct our action outward for the benefit of another. And a sacrifice that we have made with love is redemptive in the hands of God, for it becomes joined to the greatest sacrifice of all, that of Christ on the cross.1





18 comments:

Denim Journal, Scarlet Lens said...

Beautiful thoughts, beautifully written.
God bless you.
Madeleine

Unknown said...

These are wonderful and beautiful examples of how we can give of ourselves in big and small ways.
Giving ourselves and storing treasures for heaven.
Thanks and God bless, DG.

Ed Sousa said...

BEAUTIFUL!

jek said...

Very nice and a good reminder that the little things can do big things. God bless, Joan :)

Daily Grace said...

Madeleine,

I thank you for the visiting my blog and I thank you for your comments on my thoughts and my writing.

The women I write about here are true disciples of Christ and I am blessed to know them.

God bless

Daily Grace said...

Karinann,

God blesses us with these women of grace and wisdom, and I am thankful for the lessons that they teach us in their big and small ways.

Blessings

Daily Grace said...

Ed,

Thank you! Double prayers for Ed Jr. from me during this lenten season!!!

Daily Grace said...

Jek,

Thanks for visiting, my beautiful daughter!!! And yes, God bless Joan!

Gigi said...

You write so beautifully and obviously straight from the heart. Your blog is so aptly named! I really like the way you write; there's an economy of words that gives clarity, not detracting from the subject but making each word precious. Thank you x

Daily Grace said...

Gigi,

Thank you for what you have written here; your words are uplifting.

Blessings

Anonymous said...

This was very nice. I know some people like that and what examples they are to others.

Mary N. said...

Hi DG,

It's wonderful that there are such good people in the world, isn't it? This was a beautiful post.

Speaking of cookies:
Did I ever tell you about the batch of cookies I decided to surprise my daughter with last year? I forgot they were in the oven and three hours later I pulled out 12 hockey pucks. Michaela didn't mind though because it WAS Winter after all and little girls can be fond of hockey too. Did you enjoy hockey as a child? Or, perhaps you still do? Good exercise you know. Right, you DO know. Since you're such an avid hockey fan I'd be happy to send you my leftover pucks. The Boston Bruins put in an offer for them but I had to decline. They would like to hire me as Master Puck Maker but I didn't feel that the salary they were offering was quite up to snuff. It's an art, you know. Perhaps you do know. Well, anyway, I still have a couple of pucks left and would be more than happy to send you one. Actually, it would be my pleasure. You know me...anything for a friend. My puppy dropped one down the septic tank at our new house (I TOLD Randy not to take that lid off, hrrmph) and, sad to say, I had trouble fishing it out. Speaking of septic tanks, you got one of those? Things are nasty, let me tell ya! If they had septic tank wars ours would win hands down. (Only it wasn't OUR septic tank till just a few weeks ago so I can't take credit for it's nastiness, can I? Then again, with a horsefarm across the street we'd probably be disqualified from the show "Septic Wars" anyway - they'd probably consider it cheating, you know? Well, perhaps you do. I know you are highly knowledgeable (How is that dang word spelt, do ya know? Do you drop the e or not? Whoever wrote the dictionaries should have used shorter words. What's wrong with those people anyway? Smart's not good enough for them? Smart worked perfectly well for MY parents, and my parent's parents but nowadays nothing is politically correct anymore and "smart" is probably socially unacceptable because people with the last name Smart probably complained or something, ya know? Well, perhaps you do.)Now what was I saying? Right, you are highly knowledgeable when it comes to a "hog" so I was just wondering if you were as knowledgable about "bull" too?

I await your reply with bated breath since I have a major bull problem over here. Love ya, DG! (Wink, wink)

I already prayed a Hail Mary to see if she minded if I left this or not. She didn't :) She said I only have to prove I'm not a robot!

Mary N. said...

It's a good thing I know you moderate comments ;)

Michael said...

I loved this post DG, and the examples you have shared with us. It inspired me to do more.

God Bless.

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Beautiful.

Thank you.

God bless.

Daily Grace said...

Mary,

I always thought that Victor was the biggest character out there until I read this one!

God bless you my friend ;)

Daily Grace said...

Michael & Victor, thank you both.

Mary N. said...

DG,
When you left the "hog" comment on Colleen's blog I laughed so hard! Thanks for having such a good sense of humor! The cookie story is partially true, you know. I just took a few liberties with it :)

Victor and Michael probably think I'm nuts.

I told Colleen you probably wouldn't put it up...lol!

God bless you too, DG ;)