Homily 32nd Sun. Yr. B (Stewardship/Solidarity with the Poor) Fr. Dwight P. Campbell, S.T.D. In today’s Gospel, Jesus points out that although many rich people put in large sums of money into the treasury of the temple, they are not to be commended as much as the poor widow because while the rich “all contributed from their surplus wealth, she, from her poverty, contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

Jesus praises this poor widow for her trusting abandonment to God’s providence. Obviously, by giving all that she had to assist others who were in poverty, proportionally she gave more than the rich who were giving of their surplus wealth, that is, from the wealth they did not need.

By giving all that she had, even what she needed to live on, this poor women showed a great trust in God’s loving providence; she trusted that God would provide for her needs in some way.

We see a similar disposition of mind and heart with the widow in our first reading, from 1 Kings, who comes to the aid of the Prophet Elijah. There was a drought in the land and she had only enough flour for one last loaf of bread which she and her son would eat, and then she and her son would die. But in spite of this she was willing to bake a loaf of bread with the last of her flour in order to share that bread with the Prophet Elijah. And for her great generosity and trust in God, she was rewarded: miraculously, her flour did not run out and she was able to eat for a year, until the drought was over, as the prophet Elijah had foretold.

We are not told about what happened to the poor widow in the Gospel who put all the money she had into the treasury; but we have no doubt that God rewarded her for her generous heart, and this is why Jesus praised her.

In regard to sharing our wealth with those who are in poverty, those in dire need, it’s good to keep a couple of rules in mind. First of all, in the Gospels Jesus makes it very clear that the end of our lives we will have to render an accounting of all that God has given to us. How have we used the wealth that God has allotted to us?

In God’s loving plan, He arranges that some people have greater wealth than others, in order that they may use their wealth for His good purpose; that they may share their wealth with others who are in need.

1 At the last judgment scene, Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. He says to the sheep, on His right, “Come, enter into my kingdom, for I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, naked and you clothed me.” But he says to the goats on His left, “Depart from me, you evildoers, into the everlasting flames, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, naked and you did not clothe me.”

Second, we must remind ourselves always that all the material goods that we possess, all the wealth that might accumulate, properly speaking, is not our own; it is God’s. While the Church recognizes the right to private ownership of property, there are reasonable limitations on this right. This is because when one considers all the goods of the earth and the needs of all the people on earth, there is an even more fundamental principle we must keep in mind; that is, the “universal destination of goods.” God desires that the goods of the earth be shared by all.

As our Catechism teaches, “the common good [of all people as a whole, and of each person individually] requires respect for the universal destination of goods. . . . The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race.” (CCC no. 2401) It goes on to teach: “[While] the appropriation of property [for private use] is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of [his family],” this accumulation of private property “should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between [people].” (no. 2402) This term, “solidarity,” is also referred to as “social charity.”

After saying this, the catechism goes on to teach: “The right to private property, acquired or received in a just way, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. The universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise.”

Therefore, “in his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself. The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.” (2404)

“Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good.” (2406) Why is government 2 intervention necessary to assure a just distribution of the goods of the earth? It’s because, by reason of our fallen nature, we tend to be naturally greedy, and some desire to accumulate more and more wealth.

By sharing our wealth with others we learn to practice detachment from the goods of the earth. This is why the church encourages almsgiving. Pope St. Gregory the Great says that “when we administer necessities to the indigent, we do not bestow our own, but render them what is theirs; we pay a debt of justice rather than accomplish works of mercy” (Pastoral Rule, III, 21)

In practice, the Church does not set a specific amount or percentage that each person must give from his or her wealth, to the Church or to charities. On the one hand, Jesus tells us that when we give alms, should not blow horn before us so that others see how much we are giving; rather, Our Lord says we should “not let our left hand know what are right hand is doing”; in other words, we should give without counting the cost. Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta says that we should “give till it hurts.”

On the other hand, it is helpful, in practice, to have some type of standard to go by; for example, to give on a regular basis, weekly or monthly, a percentage of our income or wealth back to God (by giving to the local parish, and to those in need, maybe some favorite charitable organizations; I have my own that I give to).

I recall when I began full-time work after finishing school, I started to read the through the Bible regularly, and encountered the beautiful concept of tithing; that is, giving 10% of my paycheck back to God. I think this was one of the things that led me to the priesthood – the detachment that was required in order to regularly give back to God in this manner. Such detachment frees us from slavery of attachment to material things, and brings us true joy, knowing that we are helping others.

In a couple of weeks we will have the opportunity to assist others in our own community in a concrete way, by contributing to the Shalom Center for their new building. A second collection will be taken, and a parishioner will address our congregation as to how we can assist in this worthy effort. Please read the bulletin where you will find details.

St. Bede the Venerable says that God does not appreciate the smallness of the gift, but the greatness of the affection with which it is offered. 3