Episode 18: Treasure or Gift?

[00:00:05] Hello! My name is Sally Moriarty-Flask; welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, November 10, 2024, the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. [00:00:23] This week's episode is entitled: Treasure or Gift? And in these readings, we'll ask ourselves that if we are fortunate enough to possess many things, do we recognize that they belong to us, or do we fall into the trap of belonging to them? [00:00:45] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following: Are the things we possess treasures to be kept solely for ourselves and our own benefit? Or do we see them as gifts, entrusted to us for a short time, so that we can share their bounty with others? [00:01:10] Let's begin: In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. [00:01:15] Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the many gifts that you give us and the blessings you pour out upon us with each new day. Help us to see that all the good things of this world are gifts entrusted to us for only a short time so that they may be utilized to help others. And we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. [00:01:43] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures. [00:01:49] Our Gospel this week is from Mark 12: 38-44. If you remember back to some of the episodes from last month, we had a few weeks where there were longer and shorter versions of our Gospel. Well, this week is the same. This time around, however, the shorter version leaves out the first three verses of the passage, so be aware of that in case the Gospel at your parish’s Mass this weekend starts in a slightly different place. [00:02:25] “In [the course of] his teaching [Jesus] said [to the crowds], ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’ And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.’” [00:03:38] This passage from Mark's Gospel follows immediately on the heels of last week's passage. Jesus is still teaching… he's still in the Jerusalem temple… and this passage, while it uses the scribes as an example, really should serve as a warning to all of us about the seductive nature of honor and the danger that that can present to us. [00:04:10] Let's jump into the Gospel… [00:04:14] “In [the course of] his teaching [Jesus] said [to the crowds], ‘Beware of the scribes’” [00:04:19] Jesus has often warned his listeners about the scribes, so that is not unusual. But what occasions his warning in this particular instance? He goes on to explain… “the scribes who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’” Now let me go through each of those one by one. First… “who like to go about in long robes.” Long robes would have been a mark of status, so that would show other people who they were, how important they were. [00:05:30] “[Scribes] who like to have salutations in the market places” Hi, how are you? Hey, Rabbi! Hey, I see you. Greetings - or salutations - in the market places indicate that they are both well-known and popular. Not necessarily well liked… but well known and popular. Not too bad so far, right? But what point does Jesus make next? [00:05:58] “Who devour widows’ houses” Okay, that doesn't sound good. What does he mean by that? Does he mean a gingerbread house out in the woods that scribes stumble upon and eat? Well, no, of course not. [00:06:15] What Jesus actually means here is that the scribes are taking advantage of widows. Remember, widows had no real standing in the community and no real protection from other members of society. So, the scribes basically are sponging off the hospitality of widows and charging them exorbitant, excessive legal fees. [00:06:42] And then… “for a pretense [they] make long prayers.” Okay, we’ve got to be careful here. Long prayers by themselves are not bad, right? Saint Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians to “pray constantly” or “pray without ceasing” so long prayers aren't bad. [00:07:03] God has more than adequate bandwidth to deal with our legitimate prayers, no matter how long they are. The problem is not length, it's pretense! [00:07:15] And I want to have you think here of the Pharisee’s prayer in chapter 18 of Luke, where he spends more time and effort praising himself than he does God. So, prayer - when it's a pretense - when it's done so that others see and admire us for our piety… when we're doing our best to convince others of how holy and devout we are… that's bad! And that is exactly the type of prayer Jesus is criticizing. Let's try to encapsulate all those actions we have: (1) go about in long robes… we show our mark of status; (2) who have salutations in the marketplace…. people see us, they recognize us, they want to say hi to us; but (3) who devour widows’ houses… who take advantage of other people; and (4) for a pretense make long prayers. All of those things together, what does Jesus say will be the result of those less than stellar behaviors? “They will receive the greater condemnation.” [00:08:26] What Jesus is really saying here is that if we use our religious observances SOLELY to build ourselves up in the eyes of others we will be subject to severe judgment. We have to understand that that applies to us as well, right? And that's a pretty stark warning! [00:08:53] “And he sat down opposite the treasury,” Now, the treasury would have been in the Court of the Women in the Jerusalem Temple - which was as far as women were allowed to go - that's why it was called the Court of the Women. [00:09:10] And along the edges of the Court of the Women would have been these colonnades where huge trumpet shaped donation chests would have been located. [00:09:22] Now, when Jews made donations to the Temple, the coins they threw into those big trumpet shaped openings would have made noise - and where more or larger coins were thrown in, they would make more noise - but when fewer or smaller coins were thrown in, they would make less noise. So, in other words, other people would be able to judge how much was given by any particular person by the sound made when their donation was deposited opposite those colonnades… opposite that place… is exactly where Jesus decided to sit! Mark tells us… “he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.” [00:10:21] Makes sense… rich people would have been able to afford larger donations. They have greater means to begin with and would have donated out of their abundance… their excess… their surplus. [00:10:35] And - keep in mind - those donations would make an impressive noise when they were dropped into the chests! But do they really have intrinsic value to the givers? Are they making those donations because they really want to further the work of the temple? Or are they throwing in just enough of their excess to make a big noise and amaze others? Are those rich donors using their worldly treasure for their own benefit - to impress others by their supposed generosity - or are they doing it to sincerely share their bounty with others, as I asked when we began. What happens next? [00:11:26] “A poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny.” Remember, widows have no legal protection, no social standing, no inheritance rights, no real means of support. There was no welfare system or Social Security in biblical times. Yet this poor widow still comes into the Temple, to the Court of the Women - as far as she is allowed to go in the Temple - to donate whatever she can. I'm sure those two small copper coins would have made almost no noise… maybe not even enough to be heard over the noise of the crowd gathered in the court. [00:12:32] “[Jesus] called his disciples to him, and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.” [00:13:01] This poor woman gives out of her poverty - out of her substance - out of the meager coins that she has to live on - and that is a true act of piety. The value… the worth… the merit of any donation is based on the motives present in the heart of the giver. [00:13:30] God notes the value that the gift has FOR THE DONOR rather than the objective value of the gift itself. [00:13:45] The widow's small gift to the Temple, because she gives everything she has… because she gives out of her substance… can be seen more as a gift given to God Himself rather than just a simple donation - one among many - given to support the Temple. [00:14:09] And, seen in that light, it also may be seen to parallel the self-emptying generosity of Jesus when he became man in the Incarnation. [00:14:25] It's also important to note that these words of praise for the widow, in Mark's Gospel, are the last words that Jesus speaks in the Jerusalem Temple - the Temple of the Old Covenant. [00:14:43] Jesus - in that second half of Mark's Gospel - was on the way to Jerusalem. He’s reached his destination… he is in Jerusalem… and this is where he will be tried, tortured, and executed… but NOT before instituting the New Covenant - in his own Blood - at the Last Supper. [00:15:15] So these words - his praise for this poor widow - being the last words he speaks in the Jerusalem Temple, we have to see the significance of those words to us as well. [00:15:31] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from the 1 Kings 17: 10-16. [00:15:41] “[In those days, Eli’jah the prophet] went to Zar’ephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.’ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’ And she said, ‘As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a pitcher; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’ And Eli’jah said to her, ‘Fear not; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the pitcher of oil shall not fail, until the day the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’ And she went and did as Eli’jah said; and she, and he, and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the pitcher of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Eli’jah.” [00:17:42] Now let me put this reading in perspective. At this point in history, Ahab is king of Israel (he reigned from about 874 to 853 BC) and, as we’re told in chapter 16 of 1 Kings: “Ahab did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all that were before him.” Truly, Ahab was considered to be one of the four worst kings ever to rule Israel! That's saying something… that's a pretty low bar to have slunk under. [00:18:30] He married a Phoenician princess named Jezebel - that's a name that rarely goes unnoticed by anyone. And to make her happy - to make Jezebel happy - Ahab establishes cults of worship to the false gods of the Phoenicians throughout Israel, particularly the Ba’als (who are weather gods - small “g” gods) and to Asherah (who's a fertility goddess - again lowercase “g” goddess). [00:19:08] Because of Ahab's lack of faithfulness to the Covenant with the one, true God and because of his many evil actions… Eli’jah prophesied to Ahab that there would be a drought in the land of Israel. And then God told Eli’jah to leave… get out of Dodge… first to head east and hide, and then later to go to Zar’ephath. And that's where we pick up our story… [00:19:38] “[In those days, Eli’jah the prophet] went to Zar’ephath;” [00:19:46] Remember, I just said Elijah was SENT there - he was called OUT of Israel and SENT to Zar’ephath. It's also worth noting that Zar’ephath was the home of Ithobaal. Ithobaal I, actually, king of Tyre AND father of Jezebel. [00:20:13] “and when he (Eli’jah) came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks;” Now, the connection here with the Gospel cannot be lost! The woman is a widow - a person without power or influence or standing - just like the widow that Jesus praised in the Gospel. [00:20:42] “and [Eli’jah] said to her, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.’ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’” [00:20:59] Remember, hospitality was of tantamount importance in biblical times! So, once the woman was asked to provide sustenance to a stranger - she was honor bound to do so. The passage goes on… [00:21:17] “And she said, ‘As the LORD your God lives’” Now it's apparent, from her words, that she - herself - is a Gentile. She says: “As the LORD your God lives.” [00:21:33] “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a pitcher; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’” [00:22:00] This is not hyperbole! This woman is clearly at the end of her resources! It's not just that she didn't get her Social Security check that month… remember, there was no Social Security… there was no social safety net… there was no assistance for a poor widow or for her son. [00:22:24] So she is at the point where she will use what few supplies she has left - what little she has been able to hang on to - to provide one last meal for herself and her son and then they will wait patiently - and with resignation - for death to come and claim them. [00:22:54] I also have to point out here that the widow doesn't refuse Eli’jah's request - no matter how intrusive they may seem to her, despite her desperate condition! She simply explains her situation to him so that he understands how bad things really are for her and for her son. But what does Eli’jah say to her? [00:23:25] “Fear not” [00:23:27] In the NAB (The New American Bible), that phrase is translated as: “Do not be afraid.” Those are the same words that Jesus spoke to his disciples when they saw him walking across the waters of the Sea of Galilee. [00:23:50] Do not be afraid… Fear not… Eli’jah here is speaking and acting with the power of God himself. [00:24:02] “Fear not; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake and bring it to me, and afterwards make for yourself and your son.” [00:24:18] That sounds ridiculous to our modern ears, doesn't it? And certainly, quite selfish on the part of Eli’jah. Make something for yourself… AFTER you feed me. But, Eli’jah goes on… [00:24:38] “For thus says the LORD the God of Israel” [00:24:43] Remember, when a prophet says those words: “Thus says the LORD” he is speaking the truth which God has given him to speak. Eli’jah is making a promise to the widow - from God! And what is that promise? [00:25:06] “The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the pitcher of oil shall not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.” [00:25:25] That is an incredible promise offered to a woman who was so destitute that she was ready to eat a last meal and then wait for death to claim her and her son. Now, what's even more incredible is what happens next… [00:25:52] “And she went and did as Eli’jah said;” [00:25:57] Again, that shows that hospitality was - first of all - tantamount in biblical times, but it also shows an incredible level of faith and trust! And what was the result? [00:26:15] “she, and he (Eli’jah), and her household (her son) ate for many days.” Now, I have to be honest here. That's not just many days… it was actually for an entire year! Not just many days… for a year! And during that time, what does the Scripture say happened? [00:26:44] “The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the pitcher of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Eli’jah.” [00:26:58] When the drought - that same drought that Elijah told Ahab was coming - when that drought led to famine, the widow and her son survived because she trusted that God would fulfill the promise made to her through Eli’jah, the prophet. Pope Saint John Paul II wrote the following about what he called the Law of the Gift: “Man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.” [00:27:53] And what JPII meant by that is that each of us increases in the measure that we give ourselves away. I know… that sounds absurd, illogical even. But when we begin to live according to the Law of the Gift, we find that it really is attainable… painless… easy… even joyful! [00:28:37] If we open our hearts to give away love to others, we find that we have even more love to give than we did when we started… the more we give away, the fuller we become! Sounds crazy! It's true! [00:29:02] Mother Teresa, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, put it this way: “If we love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” [00:29:21] This from a woman who walked away from family… from a good life… from wealth… and established an order that served the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick. [00:29:43] “If we love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” [00:29:53] And once we commit to that path, it becomes easier and easier. So, let's think back to the questions I posed at the beginning: are the things we possess treasures to be kept solely for ourselves and our own benefit? [00:30:18] It may SEEM easier to answer that question if we think of our treasures only as being wealth or power or influence. But what happens when we substitute LOVE for any of those things? [00:30:40] That kind of alters our perspective, doesn't it? What if we ask ourselves: is the LOVE we have to be kept solely for ourselves and our own benefit? Makes us look at it differently. [00:30:58] Do we see the things that we have in this world, no matter what they are, as gifts that we can - and should - share with others? [00:31:17] Our Psalm this week is Psalm 146 and the response is: “Praise the Lord, O my soul!” And here are the verses: [00:31:25] “[The LORD] keeps faith forever; executes justice for the oppressed; gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over sojourners. He upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Alleluia!” This is one of the Hallel Psalms (which, of course, are Psalms 146 – 150) that all begin and end with the words: Praise the Lord. This particular Psalm is an Individual Hymn of Thanksgiving and Praise to God. It speaks of God's eternal faithfulness and offers praise to God for his help to those who are in need. [00:32:48] If we look at certain phrases: the LORD keeps faith forever… executes justice for the oppressed… gives food to the hungry… upholds the widow and the fatherless. Well, then it becomes really evident why this Psalm was paired with the Gospel and the First Reading this week. [00:33:10] I also want to point out, while we're here, that this Psalm helps us see that it is nearly impossible for us - for us limited humans - to separate WHO God IS from WHAT he DOES - from his deeds. The things he does for his people are an outpouring of his being and evidence of how he can be known in the world. [00:33:44] Certainly God is so much more than what he does for us… but what he does for us is most clearly how - precisely how - we come to know him. [00:34:01] And that leads us to the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews 9: 24 - 28. [00:34:10] “For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own; for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” [00:35:25] This is the 6th of our 7 passages from the Letter to the Hebrews. And if you'll remember, last week we jumped from chapter 5 to chapter 7; this week we jump again from chapter 7 to chapter 9. And this passage expounds even further on the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. So, let's get started… “For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one,” Meaning - here - the Jerusalem Temple “but into heaven itself” And when did he do that? After his Death and Resurrection. And Hebrews tells us… [00:36:08] “now” The word NOW is particularly important! It tells us that Jesus’ Death was not just a past event! Yes, the Crucifixion itself - a bloody sacrifice - happened once in history at a fixed point in time and at a fixed location, but… the sacrifice is ongoing - in an unbloody manner - as it is remembered at every Catholic Mass. There is a liturgical term for that - it is the Greek word anamnesis - which means a RE-presentation of the Paschal Mystery: The Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. Not representation - as in something symbolic but not real - but rather a RE-presentation… the act of MAKING PRESENT AGAIN Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross as we remember it. [00:37:21] Our basis for that comes from the very words of Jesus himself that he spoke at the Last Supper when he said, “Do this in memory of me.” So… [00:37:36] “now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” That speaks, again, to Jesus priestly role as mediator between mankind and God the Father. [00:37:51] “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly” Again, that once-for-all perfect sacrifice! Not… “as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own;” [00:38:08] What the author is referencing here is Yom Kippur, or the Jewish Day of Atonement, when the Levitical priests entered into the Holy of Holies, the center of the Temple, with the blood of a goat… well, actually two goats were utilized… one was sacrificed, and that blood was taken into the Holy of Holies, and one was sent out into the desert, symbolizing ridding the community of sin. It's important to point out here that blood was both a symbol of life and an agent of purification. Leviticus 17 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your sins; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life.” What we are to understand from that passage is that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. [00:39:17] The difference between the Levitical priesthood and the one priesthood of Christ is the NATURE of the blood. Levitical priests offered to God the blood of an animal - lacking in human will or intelligence - to atone for the sins of the Jewish people. [00:39:35] Christ, however, offers his own Incarnate Blood WITH all his human and divine will and intellect. Hebrews goes on… [00:39:46] “for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.” In other words, if Christ's sacrifice was like that offered by the Levitical priesthood, it would have been offered again and again in exactly the same manner. But we know, with absolute certainty, that that is NOT what happened with Jesus' sacrifice. It occurred once - again - at a fixed point in time on a fixed geographic location (the hill of Calvary outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem). Hebrews goes on… “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Okay, there's a lot going on in that sentence, so let's break it down piece by piece… ONCE FOR ALL - I think I've covered that sufficiently by now. AT THE END OF THE AGE - that deserves some attention. The word age (or ages as it appears in the New American Bible translation) refers to various eras during which God interacts with his creation. It has been suggested that there have been as few as 3 eras (or ages) and as many as 37. For our purposes, I'm going to mention 2 specific ages: The Age of the Law - which is when the Mosaic Law governed God's chosen people (so, basically from 13th cent. BC when Moses received the law on Mount Sinai until about 33 AD) and then the Age of the Church - the current age (which began with the feast of Pentecost - the birth of the Church - until now). So, when Hebrews talks about the end of the age, the author means the current age… the Age of the Church. And then the words: PUT AWAY - the Greek word used in this text is athetésis which literally translates to a setting aside. Other translators make slightly different word choices: remove, void, take away… are the most common. [00:42:00] I thought the differences were fascinating because of the connotation. When I think of putting something away - I envision bringing it back out at some point… like putting away summer clothes to prepare for winter or vice versa. [00:42:14] So I thought PUT AWAY was an interesting choice because sin isn't necessarily something we want to bring back out! Regardless, the letter goes on…. “And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once” I'm going to stop here and say again - one fixed point in history! I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, but that is because I've actually encountered individuals - that I thought were pretty well versed in their Catholic faith - who really believed that Jesus was sacrificed again on the altar at every Mass… actually sacrificed… that is NOT the case! “so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin” We know that was already accomplished on the Cross! “but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” I think it's worth noting here that the RSV (the Revised Standard Version) says: “save” - the NAB (the New American Bible) says: “bring to salvation.” [00:43:19] Again, I think it's a matter of emphasis… and I think the RSV translation, in this case, got it wrong. Jesus’ saving ACTION took place on the Cross. So, I think “bring to salvation” is a better translation. In other words, Jesus (at his Second Coming at the end of time) will come to lead those who are ALREADY SAVED into the full and eternal experience of life with God in heaven. [00:43:50] This passage here in Hebrews really captures the past/present/future nature of Christ and his priesthood. The three phases of Christ's priestly work: (1) cleansing from sin - a PAST event - accomplished by shedding his Blood on the Cross (2) mediation - his CURRENT phase - his continuing intercession for us at the right hand of his Father in heaven, and… (3) deliverance - the FUTURE phase of his priesthood - which will happen at the Second Coming and the Final Judgment. There's one other thing I want to explore a bit before I finish for this week… and that is the concept of being SAVED or being JUSTIFIED. [00:44:44] The term Justification is used more commonly in the Lutheran faith tradition than in the Catholic Church, and I think it's a matter of extent rather than specific meaning. Justification - as I have come to understand the Lutheran point of view - is the permanent establishment of right relationship with God and the effective cleansing of sin from humanity made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. And yes, that's a really long definition, but I wanted to make sure I covered every salient point. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Justification as the gracious action of God which frees us from sin and communicates “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ” (Rom 3:22). [00:45:34] The Church goes on to say that Justification is not ONLY the remission of sins, but also sanctification and renewal of the interior man… an even longer definition, I understand. But I think the Catholic definition has a greater DEPTH because it takes into account the free will that God gave all mankind which allows us to turn away from, or reject, God's saving action. [00:46:04] God offers us the gift of salvation, but we are not required to accept it! [00:46:11] So again, to revisit the questions I asked as this episode began… are the treasures we possess things to be kept solely for our own benefit? And - much as I substituted LOVE into that question earlier to put a different spin on it… this time I'm going to substitute SALVATION. [00:46:37] Is our SALVATION something that we keep to ourselves, or do we see that as a gift that we can - and should - share with others? [00:46:52] I think those two simple tweaks make the question eminently easier to answer! And, through the Law of the Gift as explained by Pope John Paul II, we have been assured that once we start down that path of giving… whether that begins with sharing the gift of self, of time, of love, of faith… whatever our starting point is - the giving becomes easier and more fulfilling as we go along. So, the question really becomes, how willing are we to start down that path? To see the treasures we possess - no matter what they are - as gifts entrusted to us so that we can share their bounty with others? [00:47:53] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at [email protected] Thank you for listening and until next we meet, may God shower His blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain and may he hold you, safe and secure, in the palm of his hand. [00:48:15] From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions. The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask. Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with permission of the composer. All rights reserved. [00:48:31] Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis of this podcast is available upon request. Thank you for listening and God Bless.