"A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold" Tobit 12:8b
Today's readings call us back to the true spirit of giving back to God. In the First Reading, Raphael extols Tobit and his son Tobiah to "proclaim before all with due honor for the deeds of God, and do not be slack in thanking Him." In Tobit and in today's Gospel from Mark, there is a common theme about true giving, for Jesus shows the measure of this through the widow's mite, "[she] put in more than all the other contributors ° they have all contributed from their surplus wealth °she has contributed all she had" (Mk 12:43-44).
St. Boniface (672 – 754), Apostle to the Germans, entered religious life against his family's wishes. He wrote and taught grammar, declined honors, but acquiesced when the Pope sent him to minister in the Frankish territories in Europe where many had gone astray, including local clerics. He lived a life of total giving, reforming the church, inviting and converting thousands of pagans to Catholicism and eventually giving his life in martyrdom.
Do I thank God with my whole self?
Thank God! Give Him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things He has done for you, by blessing and extolling His name in song" (words of Raphael).
Reflection by:
Alan Gauzens
Did You Know...
Alan Gauzens is a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Dunedin. There, he is a lector and active in men's ministries including the Knights of Columbus, That Man Is You! and Tap Into Discipleship. A 2019 graduate of the Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute, Alan and his wife Joanne have been married for 40 years and are blessed with 4 children.
