A teacher displayed a little box in her classroom to collect money to be given away to the poor. She called it, “The Widow’s Mite.” One of the children asked: “what does the widow’s mite mean, teacher?” She replied: “It means some might give and some might not.”

How true!

Jesus puts it all in perspective as far as generosity is concerned when He praises the munificence of a poor widow in Mark : 42. She could only give two small coins, but she gave more than the wealthy donors because she gave from the heart.

It is the quality of what you do which pleases God, not the quantity.

In Jesus’ day, and for centuries before, the most powerless people in society were young widows with children who had no means of support. Many of them starved to death and had to watch their own children do the same. In the ancient world, there was no one so pitiful as the impoverished widow. Jesus does not discriminate between widowed or married, men or women, white or black. He loves them all equally and is as much at home with the poor as with the rich. It is the poor widow, not the rich folks, who makes the largest offering to the temple because she gave all that she had, little though it was.

The place of women in society has changed since the days of Jesus and many of the old prejudices have been swept away like dust in the wind. Today, women as well as men are among the leaders and educated of society. They can possess and earn money in their own right. They fill important offices in government, business, and the professions. What applies here to women also applies to people of color. Still, studies show that women and blacks doing the same work are sometimes paid less than white men.

Membership in some groups is not open to them. Yet, times are a-changing. Barrier after barrier are beginning to fall leaving us with the realization that a person’s gender or color is much less important than a person’s character. What our world needs is justice and love for all men and women, black and white, rich and poor alike.

When equality based on merit is denied to one group, it sets up the precedent for denying it to any other group as well.

It is hard for many to realize that God has no gender. While we do not flinch at calling God our Father, we invoke the divine power which bestows the fatherly and motherly attributes of love, compassion, tenderness and concern for all God’s children, great and small.

The poor widow who put two small coins into the collection at the Temple, representing all she could give, is an example of generosity. This message is not one-sided or applicable to one age, place or time. It is universal. It offers a powerful example for all women and for all men everywhere.

It is the quality of giving rather than the quantity of giving that really matters.

Whatever you give, be it great or small, give generously from the heart.

A generous spirit frees one from from selfishness, and from prejudices based on race, color, creed or gender.

People who strive to apply this message to their lives and pass it on to others are truly free of attachments to money and possessions because they are spirituality alive.

Strive to nurture this generous attitude.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy