The Beauty of Humility!

Luke 21:4

For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.

It is easy to see in the widow who gave that mite to God a beautiful image of humble sacrifice.  You can’t help but love that little old woman as she shuffles up to the Temple treasury and plinks down the two meager little pennies she has scraped together so that she can offer her love to her God.  What many people don’t immediately see is that she is, without realizing it, as much an image of Christ as King David, or Adam, or the great hero Joshua.  For, like Christ, she pours out her soul and gives God “all the living she had” just as Jesus gave all the life he had for us.  As St. Paul tells us, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).  In his divine humility, he gave up vastly more than the widow did.  How much more beautiful was his sacrifice!

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Mark P. Shea is a popular Catholic writer and speaker. The author of numerous books, his most recent work is The Work of Mercy (Servant) and The Heart of Catholic Prayer (Our Sunday Visitor). Mark contributes numerous articles to many magazines, including his popular column “Connecting the Dots” for the National Catholic Register. Mark is known nationally for his one minute “Words of Encouragement” on Catholic radio. He also maintains the Catholic and Enjoying It blog and regularly blogs for National Catholic Register. He lives in Washington state with his wife, Janet, and their four sons.

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