- Thomastown Parish

Published on November 8, 2024

Our Christmas Carol Service will be held on Wednesday 18^th December at 7pm.

Christmas Mass Bouquets, with the recipient having a share in three Masses at Christmas, are available at the Church or at the Parish Office.

Reflection

According to Pope Francis, what happens to the widow in the Gospel when she gives everything away?

She has nothing left but finds her everything in God. She is not afraid of losing the little she has because she trusts in God’s abundance, and God’s abundance multiplies the joy of those who give. This also makes us think of that other widow, the one of the prophet Elijah, who was about to make a flatbread with the last of her flour and the last of her oil; Elijah says to her: “Feed me” and she gives; and the flour never runs out, it is a miracle (cf. 1 Kings 17:9-16).

In the face of people’s generosity, the Lord always goes further, is more generous. … This is why Jesus proposes her as a teacher of faith, this woman: she does not go to the Temple to clear her conscience, she does not pray to make herself seen, she does not show off her faith, but she gives from her heart generously and freely. The sound of her few coins is more beautiful than the grandiose offerings of the rich, since they express a life sincerely dedicated to God, a faith that does not live by appearances but by unconditional trust. Let us learn from her: a faith without external frills, but interiorly sincere; a faith composed of humble love for God and for our brothers and sisters.