Today,
as it happens so often, small things go by unnoticed: small alms,
small sacrifices, small prayers (jaculatory prayers); but what, at
times, may look small and unimportant, it frequently represents the
warp and also the culmination of master works: be it great works of
art, be it the maximum goods deeds of personal saintliness.
Because
these small things are mostly unnoticed, their bona fide intention is
out of question: we are not to seek in them neither recognition nor
human glory. Only God will discover them in our heart, in the same
way as only Jesus could see the poor widow's generosity. It is more
than certain that poor woman did not play trumpets to announce what
she was doing, and it is even possible she was ashamed and felt
ridiculous before the eyes of the wealthy, who, while offering
splendid gifts into the treasure box, were making others feel admired
at their liberality. Yet, that woman's unselfishness, that caused her
to drop the two small coins despite her poverty, deserved the Lord's
praise: «Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than
all of them. For all gave an offering from their plenty, but she, out
of her poverty, gave all she had to live on» (Lk
21:3-4).
The
widow's generosity is a good lesson for us, Christ's disciples. We
can be extremely generous, as the wealthy people that were «putting
their gifts into the treasure box» (Lk 21:1). But, none
of this will be worth the while if we only give “from our
plenty”, without any loving or generous spirit, without
offering ourselves along. St. Augustine says: «They looked at
the great offerings from the wealthy and they praised them for that.
And, even if the could see the widow later on, how many did notice
those two coins...? She gave whatever she had, for she had God in her
heart. But she had plenty, for she had God in her heart. It is better
to have God in our soul than gold in the safe». Quite true: Let
us be generous with God and He will be much more so with us.
