A few years ago, an editor at a financial investment magazine penned an article on how

one should give to charities. Amazingly, he advocated giving with strings attached! He cautioned that giving to an "inefficient" charity would cause your funds to

be eaten up by administrative costs, and a misdirected donation (whatever that means) would cause you financial grief. Is it possible that in this day and age

the word charity would be so misunderstood? True charity has no expectations and awaits no accountability. There are no strings attached.

Today's Gospel reading from Mark actually contains two lessons. The first is a warning; Jesus asks us to beware of those who promote themselves using religion

as a catapult for their own selfish desires. The second lesson speaks to faith and charity. As Jesus and his disciples watched the donations being given to the synagogue's treasury, they noted that the wealthy gave large amounts of money and made sure

everyone knew it; a poor widow, however, gave all of her wealth (two coins) in silence. It was this woman that Jesus praised; she gave all, the others gave what they could spare.

In giving of our heart to Jesus Christ, do we give all that we have or whatever we feel we can spare? In asking ourselves this question, we would do well to remember that we are one with the body of Christ; we share a communion of charity. Should one suffer, we all suffer; as we give individually, all benefit (CCC 953). The woman with the two coins gave far more than the rich men who made a show of giving a small percentage of their capabilities. As charity is love, remember that we cannot love with only a portion of our hearts, it is all or nothing.

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.” - Mk 12:42-43