“The generous woman”
Opening Prayer
Gospel
When Jesus was in the temple one day, he watched the people putting their money in a collection box as their offering. Many of the wealthy Jews gave large amounts of money. Then the poor old woman came into the temple and dropped two small coins, worth no more than a dime, into the box. Seeing this, Jesus turned to his disciples and said “ This old woman has given more than any of the others! They gave money that they could spare, but she has given all the money that she had.”
Discussion
Do you mind sharing what you have with others?
It is easy to share when we have plenty, because we do not really miss what we have given away. It is much harder to give to others, when we have very little ourselves.
Imagine you have a large bag of candy and were asked to share it with all your family.
Would you find it hard to do? Probably not, because there would be enough to give everyone a piece and still have plenty leftover.
Now imagine you had just one piece of your favourite candy. How easy do you think it would be to give that precious candy away to someone else?
The rich men had plenty of money, and like us with a large bowl of candy, it made little difference if he gave lots of it away.
The poor old woman only gave two small coins, and yet Jesus said that she had given the most.
Why? The old woman gave very little, but it was all she had, so she had given everything. She trusted in God to provide her with whatever she needed.
Today’s gospel teaches us about giving and sharing. It is not how much we give that is important but how we give it, what is in our hearts when we share something. Giving and sharing with a loving and sincere heart is what really matters to God.
Somethings you can give and share with others are:
-your love
-your time
-your toys and possessions
-your happiness
-your friendship
(come up with your own ideas)
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord,
Teach us how to share
and never to be greedy,
because everything that we have
comes from you.
AMEN