32nd Sun of OT Year B Homily

Our nation has been blessed by giving us many freedoms. On Tuesday we were able to practice our freedom to vote for our president and for other elected officials. Compared to other countries we have many opportunities and an endless amount of options. No matter how tough the economic situation has become for our families we can still pride ourselves on the fact that we are far from being in the situation that many find themselves within poorer nations. Our zeal as a people to take from our own resources to give to those who are in need is indeed a great attribute of our society. We have most recently seen this played out following the outcome of Hurricane Sandy a few weeks ago. Despite all the good that we do our nation has become very individualistic. We pride ourselves on our individual rights and thus at the end of the day become concerned with our own needs instead of the needs of the whole. This same individualism flows into our understanding of religion and our understanding of God and the doctrine of the Church.

As Catholics we are not able to step into the cafeteria line and choose the things that appeal to us the most while leaving other items off of the menu. With Catholicism we must take the whole and apply it to our lives in hope that we can grow closer to God. When we walk forth inside of the communion line to receive our Lord inside of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and confidently respond "Amen" we are saying that we don't want to be a mere individual. With our "amen" we are showing our desire to enter into the community of faith and are agreeing that we believe as the Church professes. We believe because we realize that we are more then a mere individual and therefore need the Church, the Sacraments, the people of God who surround us this day, and Christ. When we can place all of our trust in the Church and in Christ we will receive many graces into our lives as we move along to praise The Lord with our whole soul and mind.

Whenever sin creeps into our human experience we are allowing ourselves to turn inwardly upon ourselves and our own needs instead of being able to see the needs of the whole. Sin causes us to be stuck within our own needs and our own self pride instead of allowing us to open ourselves up to the love that is bestowed upon us by God. No matter how much we fall into these sinful attitudes hope remains that this bond can be broken. Hope remains that we can turn away from these desires and place ourselves upon a path where we hand ourselves over entirely towards God. To hand ourselves over to God entirely is a scary response because it can require a lot from us. This response requires more then one hour on Sunday, but to allow it to enter into every second of our lives. This response requires us to trust in the Church and all of the teachings that she hands on to us because they are the teachings of Christ Himself. May we allow Christ to take everything that we have and assist us in this process.

The woman who is found in today's Gospel is a perfect example for all of us to follow Christ. She did not decide to give a percentage, be it small or large, but gave everything that she had. With the offering that she gave inside of the temple she had nothing left to give. It would of been so easy for her to be like the many people who brought their offerings to the temple holding something back. Of all these people only this woman was able to give and hold nothing back from God. In the time that it took her to draw close to the temple she had a lot of time to prepare her mind for what she was about to do. I am sure that during this journey she had some doubts, but she still was able to overcome them and endure until the end. Her faith was so great because in giving she knew that she would receive so much more from God if she could only place her trust in Him. This day each of us desires to take up her example as we desire not to be mere individuals, but to trust in Christ and in the Church so much more each day.

With out trust placed here we will hear the voice of Elijah that says "do not be afraid." We must not be afraid because Christ is here in our midst and desires us to join with Him this day. Joined to Christ we will see the beauty that can only be found when we leave our individualistic desires behind. The faith is not about serving our own needs and wants, but is about handing ourselves over entirely to God. With ourselves handed over in this manner we will receive more grace then we could ever desire or need. We become like the widow who in the first reading whose jar never went empty and whose oil never went dry when we are able to hand ourselves over to Christ in this way. It is Christ who brings strength and joy into our lives if we will only allow Him to enter in instead of molding Him into our own image. We must trust as the author of Hebrews trusted in our second reading when it was said that salvation will be brought to those who await Christ.

And so for all of us here who await Christ this day we must ask ourselves how we can begin to give more to Christ and His Church. We must ask ourselves what sins that we grasp onto and are too afraid to hand over to Christ. We must ask ourselves where we fail to believe in the teachings of the Church. We must ask ourselves why we stay stuck in our own individualism and cannot begin to fight for the good of the community as a whole. We must ask ourselves how we can grow more in faith during this upcoming year. May we place all of our trust in Christ and His Church as we begin to hand over everything that we have in emulation of the two women that were found in today's readings. They are perfect examples for all of us no matter where we find ourselves spiritually today because we can always be challenged to something more. May we continue to allow our souls to praise The Lord as we draw ourselves closer to Him each day of our lives.