2 Timothy 4 : 1-8 / Mark 12 : 38-44
It is an undeniable fact that most religious institutions are quite rich.
That is because the devotees contribute money to these religious institutions for maintenance and upkeep of the religious functions and also as a form of charity.
But it is also a fact that some people have the idea that offering one's surplus in the "spirit" of charity will wash away sins.
It may also ease the conscience a bit especially if the money is ill-gotten.
Whatever the case might be, the fact is that the offering is still from one's surplus.
In the gospel, Jesus tells His disciples that love offering from one's poverty means much more than the contribution from one's surplus of wealth.
So Jesus made it clear that God's blessings and mercy and forgiveness is not merited by the amount that one gives to the Church or to any religious institution.
Rather, God's grace is given freely to the saint as well as the sinner and not according to merit.
Nonetheless the sincerity of the intention of offering in the spirit of sacrifice opens our heart to receive the plenitude of God's blessings and graces.
The widow is a model of that sincerity and sacrifice because, as Jesus puts it, from the little she had, she has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.
Maybe because the widow knew that God will provide for her and she put her hope and trust in Him.
May we likewise trust that God will always provide for us because He loves and cares for us.
It is also by giving that we receive.