Mite as might

Let us celebrate today as Widow’s Day. We humbly bow our heads in praise for the numerous widows who have lovingly raised their families and served their communities with such dedication, sacrifice, and faith in God. Their mite is might indeed. This is no less than a miracle that comes from God’s love for them, and their love for him in return.

In today’s First Reading, Elijah asked a widow to feed him, in spite of her own and her son’s needs as being more than his. But with God’s inspiration, she did what she could for Elijah, after which she attended to her own and her son’s needs.

Likewise, the Gospel reading for today, as narrated by Christ himself, singles out a poor widow who contributed all that she had; two small coins worth a few cents in the temple treasury, whereas many rich people contributed large sums from the surplus of their wealth.

In our own country, there are many such poor widows who are able to carry on with their own lives, take care of their children, and at the same time reach out to other poor families in their communities. The lifespan of our women seems to be longer in general, and so there are more widows than widowers. In many of our parishes all over the country, there are quite a number of such widows who help out in parish work, especially on weekends, in spite of their own responsibilities of taking care of their own children. In Payatas alone here in Quezon City, there are quite a number of such widows, who are able to raise their children and help out in parish apostolates on Sundays. What strikes me even more is the loving dedication that you see in them. I attribute this to their spirituality, which is quite evident even in the way they live their daily lives. Their faith in God is quite strong and visible in the way they live their daily lives, and in the way they relate to one another and to the community. Payatas is only one of the many poor communities all over the Philippines where such typical widows live and die.

In another province, many decades ago, there was a young mother in her early twenties. She delivered her second son on the very day of her husband’s funeral. I have written her life story in this column many years ago, but it is worth repeating. She remarried a decade later, but after six years and three more children, she was widowed for the second time. Even with children to take care of, she worked hard as a teacher, sewer, and baker, to send her children to school.

Believe it or not, she succeeded in sending them through college. Not only that. One son became a Brigadier General in the Philippine Air Force. A second son became a Rear Admiral in the Philippine Navy, a third son died heroically in action as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Philippine Air Force. Lastly but not least, her two daughters both ended as successful professionals. Through it all, our widowed mother not only worked for her income but also helped as a dedicated parish volunteer. Her life as a widow twice was no less than a miracle.

Such lives among poor and unknown widows are also found among the upper sectors of society. In the history of the church, we cannot ignore the life of St. Elizabeth Seton, who was canonized by Pope Paul in 1975. The spiritual writer, Msgr. Arthur Tonne, narrates her life-story in such a short but inspiring way. The young Elizabeth and her husband were both originally American Episcopalians. They had already five children when her husband contracted tuberculosis and died a few years later. She supported her family by teaching, and later was converted to Catholicism. Not only that. She founded the first American branch of the Sisters of Charity in 1810. This started free schools for Catholic children, which became the American parochial school system. St. Elizabeth Seton was the first native born American saint. She died at the age of 46. There you are. A widow!

Coming back to our own country, how can we ever forget our first female President, Corazon Aquino, who was also a widow.  After our People Power revolution in 1986, we chose her to replace the deadly Marcos martial law regime. Cory’s presidency was the exact opposite of the previous one. Her moral integrity, love for God and country, compassion for the poor, and dedication to her work, were all outstanding qualities that she shared with us. So there you are. Another widow! Not only that. Our current President is her own son, and he is likewise following his mother’s inspiration. Like mother, like son.

Let us not conclude then, that to be an inspiring Christian, you have to be a widow. In fact, God is missioning every single one of us to likewise live our faith with such love and dedication as those amazing widows did. Each one of us is a unique person with his/her unique qualities as given by our Creator. Can you imagine if more and more of us were to activate and maximize with loving sacrifice our time, talents, and treasures for God and neighbor?

Indeed, there is hope for our country!