Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary.

In the course of his teaching Jesus said,
“Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues,
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext,
recite lengthy prayers.
They will receive a very severe condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.”  MK 12:38-44

Jesus teaches us how to give today.  When Jesus came to earth, He had a mission.  He was to reveal God’s plan for our salvation to mankind and then go through it.  He was to die in our place to redeem us of our sins.  This is how we are to give. We are to die to self and be in service to others as Jesus was for us.  What a difficult task!  Today, Jesus teaches us how we are to give monetarily.  We are to give out of our first fruits, not our abundance.  This requires trust in God.  It is very difficult, especially when you have a family to feed, clothe, and put a roof over their head.  I struggle with this.  I wish I trusted God more.  We must remember everything we have is a gift from God and if you read St. Josemaria’s 17 Signs of a Lack of Humility below one of them tells us that every skill or talent we have is on loan.  God gives us these things to glorify Him and to help us reach our destination with Him.  He desires nothing more than to have us with Him in heaven.  He cares more about our salvation than we do.  The Old Testament gives us a percentage to aim for with tithing, 10% of our income. Nothing in the New Testament gives us an amount. Today, Jesus reminds us that He understands we are giving our blood, sweat, and tears in that 10%, the widow gave her whole livelihood which could also be symbolic for her trust in God. God knows we need to eat. He knows the intention of our heart. I know I tend to lean more toward protecting my money and things because they give me security more than being generous and trusting God with what basically is His to begin with. So, today I suggest you wrestle with God in prayer about a good balance in what He wants you to understand about money and what He wants you to give.

Today’s challenge: Make yourself poor (poverty) in some area of your life (give something up).  If you are not giving enough back to God through the Church, make it a goal to do so when you fill out your next Stewardship form.  

St. Josemaria’s 17 Signs of a Lack of Humility
http://www.stpeterslist.com/10515/st-josemarias-17-signs-of-a-lack-of-humility/

Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO