June 6, 2026
Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 358
Reading 1
Beloved:
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.
For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine
but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity,
will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth
and will be diverted to myths.
But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances;
put up with hardship;
perform the work of an evangelist;
fulfill your ministry.For I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well;
I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
71:8-9, 14-15AB, 16-17, 22
R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
with your glory day by day.
Cast me not off in my old age;
as my strength fails, forsake me not.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
But I will always hope
and praise you ever more and more.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
I will treat of the mighty works of the Lord;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
So will I give you thanks with music on the lyre,
for your faithfulness, O my God!
I will sing your praises with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel!
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060626.cfm
Commentary on 2
Timothy 4:1-8
Today we have our last reading from 2 Timothy organised in
two parts. The first part consists of an exhortation by Paul to Timothy to be
unwavering in his work of evangelising and preaching.
Paul gives this urging with great solemnity:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to
judge the living and the dead…
He is also keenly aware of the twin facts of Christ’s return
and the coming establishment of God’s kingdom in its fullest expression. After
all, the eternal lives of his listeners will be depending on the commitment
Timothy gives to his work.
So Timothy is charged to preach the Word through thick and
thin. Paul says:
I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent
whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage
with the utmost patience in teaching.
This is necessary because there will come a time when people
will tire of solid teaching and will go chasing after all kinds of novelties:
For the time is coming when people will not put up with
sound teaching, but having their ears tickled, they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening
to the truth and wander away to myths.
That is, people have ears that want to be “tickled” by words
which are in keeping with their evil desires. Instead of standing by their
faith in Christ, they chase after fables and fairy tales.
What was true in Paul’s time is just as true today. In
spite of the spiritual wealth and wisdom that we have in our Christian
tradition, we have so many, including Catholics, who pick and choose from
elements of other religious practices that they find more interesting. People
move from one titillating excitement to another—there is no end.
However, some of this, we Christians must admit, is because
of our own weaknesses and failure to clearly communicate our message. The
Christianity that many reject is frequently a serious distortion of the
original message, because it is all they have ever heard; many others have not
even heard the message in any form. It can lose all meaning in face of
the bombardment of new ideas which pour out from all kinds of sources.
In all such situations, Timothy is urged to ‘keep his
cool’. There is a need to:
…be sober in everything, endure suffering, do the work of
an evangelist, carry out your ministry [service to the Gospel Way] fully.
That is what we all have to do. But to do so
effectively, we must be, as we saw in yesterday’s reading, deeply inserted into
the Word of God in the Scriptures.
In the second part of the reading, Paul himself can look back
on his own record as an evangeliser with a certain amount of satisfaction:
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation,
and the time of my departure has come.
It was the custom both among Jews and other religious
believers to pour libations of wine, water or oil over the victims to be
sacrificed. Paul views his approaching death as the pouring out of his life as
an offering to Christ. Earlier, he had written to the Christians at
Philippi:
But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the
sacrifice and the service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with
all of you. (Phil 2:17)
He knows his “departure”, that is, his leaving this life, is
not far away. Now in prison and at the end of his life, Paul sees himself
being poured out as a total offering to God. He has given his all and is
holding nothing back:
I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I
have kept the faith.
Paul looks back over 30 years of labour as an Apostle (from
about 36-66 AD). Like an athlete who had engaged successfully in a
contest (“fought the good fight”), he had “finished the race” and had “kept the
faith”, i.e. had carefully adhered to the teaching of the gospel.
Like a runner in a race, he now deserves the garland of
victory with which he is confident that the Lord will crown him when the Lord,
whom he so passionately loves, comes again in judgement. He could be
referring to the winner of a race or he could be referring to a crown given as
a reward for a righteous life, a crown consisting of righteousness or a crown
given righteously (justly) by the righteous Judge.
Can we make the same boast as Paul? Almost certainly
not. But there is still time. Let us start today.
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Commentary on Mark
12:38-44
We come today to the end of our readings from Mark’s Gospel.
We stop just on the threshold of prophecies about the end of Jerusalem, the
final coming of Jesus and the story of his passion and resurrection. There are
two related passages today serving as entry points for this last phase of
Jesus’ life and mission among us.
First, Jesus hits out at some of the scribes, the expert
interpreters of the law. As such, they feel that they are expected to be
perfect models of that law down to its smallest details. Jesus says they go
around in long, flowing robes (the working poor could not afford to dress like
that) and that they expect to be:
…greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have the
best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!
Sadly, such behaviour, we have to confess, is still not
unknown among Christian clergy and other religious leaders.
At the same time, Jesus says, these leaders were rapacious
hypocrites. They did not hesitate to “devour widows’ houses” while at the same
time making a show of lengthy prayers. They were the opposite of everything
that Jesus was proposing as the way to love and serve God. They emphasised the
external appearance rather than the inner spirit; they were concerned about
being served rather than serving others; they thought only of what they could
get through their privileged position rather than what they could share,
especially with those in need.
Jesus warns that, precisely because of their greater
knowledge of the law, their responsibilities in not keeping its real spirit
will be all the greater—to whom more is given, more is expected.
The mention of widows leads on to the second part of the
reading. Jesus was sitting facing the treasury of the Temple and watching the
people putting in their offerings. A poor widow—and at the time, widows were
almost by definition poor and, because they could no longer produce children,
regarded practically as non-persons—rejected by their husband’s family. They
were often reduced to poverty. Yet, it is a poor widow who approaches the
treasury box and drops in two coins of negligible value.
Jesus draws the attention of his disciples who were with him
and points out that the poor woman had put in more than all the others
combined. They were contributing what they could easily spare while she put in
her whole livelihood. It was an act of total trust in God’s providence and care
for her.
It has been pointed out that she put in two coins. In other
words, given her situation and under the law, she would have been more than
justified in putting in just one. Compare her to the rich man who could not
part with his wealth to follow Jesus.
It has also been pointed out that this anonymous woman is,
in a way, a symbol of Jesus himself. He also will “empty himself”, give away
everything, including his life, out of love for his Father and for us. It seems
no accident that the story is placed just here as Jesus enters on his final
days.
Today’s two incidents both provide matter for us to reflect
on. Do we wear our Christianity just on our sleeve? Do we tend to assert our
“rights” over others and expect due deference from them, e.g. in our working
place? How much of what we have are we willing to share with others? Let us
pray as St Ignatius prayed:
Teach us, Lord, to be generous.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2097g/
Saturday,
June 6, 2026
9th Week in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Father, your love never fails.
Hear our call. Keep us from dange and provide for all our
needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Mark 12: 38-44
In his teaching Jesus said,
'Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted
respectfully in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues
and the places of honor at banquets; these are the men who devour the property
of widows and for show offer long prayers. The more severe will be the sentence
they receive.'
He sat down opposite the treasury and watched
the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great
deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny.
Then he called his disciples and said to them, 'In truth I tell you, this poor
widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they
have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in
everything she possessed, all she had to live on.'
Reflection
In today’s Gospel we are getting to the end
of the long teaching of Jesus to his disciples. From the first cure of the
blind man (Mk 8: 22-26) up to the cure of the blind Bartimaeus in Jericho (10:
46-52), the disciples walked with Jesus toward Jerusalem, receiving much
instruction from him about the passion, death and resurrection and the
consequences for the life of the disciple. When they reached Jerusalem, they
assist to the debates of Jesus with the traders in the Temple (Mk 11: 15-19),
with the high priests and the Scribes (Mk 11: 27 a 12: 12), with the Pharisees,
Herodians and the Sadducees (Mk 12: 13-27), with the Doctors of the Law (Mk 12:
28-37). Now, in today’s Gospel, after the last criticism against the Scribes
(Mk 12: 38-40), Jesus instructs the disciples. Jesus sitting opposite the
treasury he called their attention on the gesture of sharing of a poor widow.
In that gesture they should look for the manifestation of the will of God (Mk
12: 4144).
•
Mark 12: 38-40: The criticism of the doctors of
the Law. Jesus calls the attention of the disciples on the arrogant and
hypocritical behavior of some of the doctors of the Law. They liked very much
to go around the squares in the city wearing long tunics, and to receive the
greeting of the people, to occupy the first places in the Synagogue and to have
the place of honor in the banquets. They liked to enter into the houses of the
widows and to say long prayers in exchange for money! And Jesus says: “These
people will receive a great condemnation!”
•
Mark 12: 41-42. The mite of the widow. Jesus and
his disciples sitting opposite the treasury of the Temple observed that all
left their alms. The poor put in a very small amount, a few cents, the rich put
in coins of great value. The Treasury of the Temple received much money.
Everyone took something for the maintenance of the cult, to support the clergy
and for the maintenance of the building. Part of this money was used to help
the poor, because at that time there was no social security. The poor depended
on public charity. And the poor who needed greater help, were the orphans and
the widows. They had nothing. They depended for everything on the help of
others. But even without having anything, they tried to share. In this way, a
very poor widow, put in her alms into the treasury of the Temple. Just a few
cents!
•
Mark 12: 43-44. Jesus indicates where God’s will
is manifested. What has greater value: the ten cents of the widow or the one
thousand dollars of the rich? For the disciples, the one thousand dollars of
the rich were much more useful than the ten cents of the widow. They thought
that the problems of the people could be solved only with much money. On the
occasion of the multiplication of the loaves, they had said to Jesus: “Are we
to go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat?” (Mk 6: 37) In
fact, for those who think this way, the ten cents of the widow do not serve for
anything. But Jesus says: “This widow who is poor has put into the treasury
more than all the others”. Jesus has different criteria. He calls the attention
of his disciples on the gesture of the widow and teaches them where they and we
should seek the manifestation of God’s will: in the poor and in sharing. Many
poor people today do the same thing. People say: ”The poor do not let another
poor person starve”. But sometimes, not even this is possible. Cicera, the lady
of the interior zone of Paraiba, Brazil, who went to live in the periphery of
the capital city, would say: “In the interior, people were poor, but there was
always a piece of bread to share with the poor person who knocked at the door.
Now that I am in the great city, when I see a poor person who knocks at the
door, I hide out of shame, because at home I have nothing to share with him!”
On the one hand, rich people who have everything, but who do not want to share.
On the other side: poor people who hardly have anything, but who want to share
the little that they have.
•
Alms, sharing, riches. The practice of giving
alms was very important for the Jews. It was considered a “good work”, because
the Law of the Old Testament said: “Because the poor will never be missing in the
country; this is why I give you this command, and I say to you: Always be open
handed with your brother in your country who is in need and poor” (Dt 15: 11).
The alms, deposited in the treasury of the Temple, whether for the worship, or
for the needy, for the orphans and for the widows, were considered an action
pleasing to God. To give alms was a way of recognizing that all the goods
belong to God and that we are simple administrators of these goods, in such a
way that there will be abundant life for all. The practice of sharing and of
solidarity is one of the characteristics of the first Christian communities:
“None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses
would sell them and bring the money from the sale of them to present it to the
apostles; (Ac 4: 3435; 2: 44-45). The money from the sale, offered to the
apostles, was not accumulated, but rather “it was then distributed to any who
might be in need” (Ac 4: 35b; 2: 45). The entrance into the community of
persons who were richer introduced into the community the mentality of
accumulation and blocked the movement of solidarity and of sharing. James warns
these persons: “Now you rich! Lament; weep for the miseries that are coming to
you. Your wealth is rotting; your clothes are all moth-eaten” (Jm 5: 1-3). To
learn the way to the Kingdom, we all need to become pupils of that poor widow,
who shared all she had, what was necessary to live (Mk 12: 41-44).
Personal Questions
•
How is it that the two cents of the widow can be
worth more than one thousand dollars of the rich? Look well at the text and see
why Jesus praises the poor widow. What message does this text contain for us
today?
•
What difficulties and what joys have you found
in your life in the practice of solidarity and in sharing with others?
Concluding Prayer
My mouth is full of your praises,
filled with your splendor all day long. Do not reject
me in my old age, nor desert me when my strength is failing. (Ps 71: 8-9)
