Trusting widows play a significant role in this weekend’s readings. At the point of poverty, when giving even the smallest amount of what they had could imperil their health and well-being, they trusted God and gave anyway. What is important about their giving is not what or how much they gave, but how they gave it. Without selfishness, they gave to help others. Their giving was from the heart, with little hope or intention of receiving any sort of reward or recognition for their generosity. The monetary values of the widows’ gifts were small, but their value measured in the Kingdom was priceless.

There is a significant similarity between their gift and the gift Jesus gave each of us. The widows offered their lives for God. Jesus offered his life for us.