The Charity God Pours Into Our Heart

Jesus appeared to have been very observant; his eyes were open to what other people failed to notice or appreciate. An example is when he called attention to a widow who contributed two small copper coins to the temple treasury. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything —all she had to live on” (Mk 12: 43-44).

The widow’s action tells us several things about her. First, it was important to her to offer what she had to God, even though it was not valuable in the world’s eyes. Second, in giving all she had to live on, she was expressing confidence in God’s care and abundance.

Most of us do not experience financial poverty, but we all have an inner poverty of some kind. Perhaps we lack self-confidence, attentiveness, trust, resiliency, or patience. Can we muster what little self-confidence we have to be of service to God or use the last drop of our patience to help someone who asks a favor of us? Can we trust that, as St. John of the Cross says, “Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love”?

In his book Letters from the Desert, Carlo Carretto said, “ I, a little creature … have been called to be transformed into God by sharing [God’s] life. And what transforms me is the charity which [God] pours into my heart. Love transforms me slowly into God.”

Our inner poverty teaches us that we cannot always be self-reliant. However, like the poor widow, we can always draw on the strength, compassion, and charity that Christ pours into our hearts, and then we ourselves will experience God’s abundant love and care.