HOMILY
2026 Catholic Women’s Conference – June 6, 2026 – “Courageous Faith”
Saturday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
I’ve got to be honest with you. While most people think I have a hand in everything that goes on in our Diocese, I really don’t! Just most of it!
So, with this being said, I have no idea how the focus for this year’s Catholic Women’s Conference surfaced. Did our theme, Courageous Faith, emerge from some group thinking? Does it reflect words of Pope Leo who reminds us that “we need to be courageous in the witness we?” Or did it come from today’s gospel passage from Saint Mark? However it emerged, it is quite providential that the Word of God provided by the Church for this very day, Saturday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time, provides us with a powerful image from Jesus for our reflection and prayer!
The gospel from Saint Mark offers us a disarmingly simple story about a poor widow who courageously let go of two small copper coins – something by today’s standards that would amount to 1/40th of a penny – to respond to the needs of others. As we consider its meaning and why Jesus lifts it up for our consideration, if you’re like me, this gospel story is probably surfacing all sorts of images and experiences from our own lives. And so it should!
For me, the actions of this poor widow take me back to stories that have lived in my family for years – stories that pertain particularly to my grandparents on my dad’s side of our family. They were both immigrants from Poland, arriving in this country just prior to the turn of the last century. I hope you won’t mind if I share some of my recollections from my family’s history this morning. In doing so, I suspect that some of your own stories may also come to mind – stories that are not all that different from what I’m going to share.
Although my grandfather died many years prior to my birth, I recall my grandmother talking often about life during the Great Depression in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. She and my grandfather operated a grocery store – something more like a general store – in their little community. My grandmother would often reflect upon how difficult life was during that period – how people would come into the store with very little or no money at all, hoping to purchase basic supplies to keep their families fed.
I vividly recall my grandmother stating that the rule that was to be followed in the family store – for my dad and my aunts and uncles who worked in it – was one that was simple and direct. If someone was unable to pay for food, you put their name on “the books.” And for most of you my age and older, you understand that “the books” was an old-fashioned precursor to today’s credit cards – with a whole lot more risk for the store owner. Regardless, no one was ever turned away from my grandparents’ store.
You know the next part of the story. As time went on and the Depression waned, some people who had outstanding bills fulfilled their obligations – and some did not. When my grandmother sold the store after my grandfather died, there were thousands of dollars of unpaid bills.
That being the case, it needs to be said that my grandparents and their children survived pretty well. In fact, in an area where coal mining was the industry for most heads of households, they survived better than most, despite – yet maybe in some miraculous and mysterious way – because of their willingness to risk incurring significant loss to ensure that the gospel value of caring for their neighbors was fulfilled.
My grandparents weren’t perfect people, but like some many of your parents and grandparents who lived in a different era, they understood very well what we often forget today. They knew that the blessings of this world weren’t theirs to cling to or hoard. They knew that what they were given in life came from the generous hand of God. As such, they also understood that it was their responsibility to care for what they had been given, to use their gifts well and wisely, and to share them when the opportunity to do so emerged.
I want you to listen to what you wrote about the theme for this year’s conference, Courageous Faith. It was shared in a press release advertising today’s gathering. “Courageous faith is more than just belief – it’s action. It is the kind of belief that pushes forward even when fear, doubt or uncertainty threaten to stop you. It is about trusting deeply in what you know to be true, even when there’s no guarantee of success. This faith shows up in your life when you stand firm in your values, when you choose to act in accordance with your beliefs and not just hold them inwardly. It’s a faith that lives boldly, stepping forward despite opposition, and refusing to compromise on the truth.” … You said it all, far better than I!
Now, let’s look again at the Word of God taken from today’s gospel. Many of us tend to gauge our relationship with God by the things that we do and the things that we give – what we place in a collection basket, how often and how reverently we say our prayers, and the work that we do to support our parish. All these things are fine indicators of our commitment to live our faith and to serve our brothers and sisters. But what happens if we’re not able to give as much or to work as hard or to participate as often in the prayers of the Church? Is there some line that we ought never cross, lest we lose touch with the Lord?
In today’s gospel, Jesus helps us put into perspective the relationship with God that we so often seek to measure. The widow in today’s gospel is praised by Jesus not because of what she gave but because of who she was – a woman of faith who relied upon her God and trusted that he would walk with her in her life’s journey.
The widow’s coins can take many forms in quiet acts of faith that no one applauds: the exhausted parent caring for a child, the person who keeps praying through grief, the worker who acts honestly when no one would notice otherwise, the lonely person who still chooses kindness, the widow who bakes a pan of lasagna for a neighbor caring for a sick parent. Her coins are mighty and her actions are courageous, accomplishing great things not because of the size of the gift but because of the love and selflessness that they reflect.
You see, greatness in the reign of God is not determined by what is in our portfolios, bank accounts or resumes, but by what motivates us to use and share our gifts. Greatness in the eyes of God is measured not just by the actions of a poor widow but the depth of willingness to trust in the promises of God. It’s measured by how authentically we embrace the great commandment to love God in our neighbor, despite our fears and reservations.
Some of you know one of the oldest and wisest priests of our Diocese, Monsignor John Esseff. For all the many times that I have spoken to him to tap his wisdom and faith, there is one thing that he shared with me that I have never forgotten and that I want to pass on to you. It’s called the “Surrender Novena.” I know I’ve shared this prayer with some of you before and you pray it with regularity. If you don’t have it, you can find it online.
Essentially, it’s a prayer that reminds us that when we’ve nowhere else to turn – when we finally admit that for all that we are able to do, we can’t fix and control everything in life – we need to turn to the one power in our lives that can give us hope. You and I know that power to be God. … Here are the words that the novena asks us to embrace and pray every day: “Jesus, I surrender myself to you. I trust in you. In your mercy, take care of everything – for I know that you will.”
It takes courageous faith to pray that prayer with authenticity, doesn’t it? You’ve shown that faith in your lives more than you will ever admit, because you know well that’s where our struggles end and our true life begins. … That’s the trust that enabled a poor widow in today’s gospel to love as selflessly as she did amid all sorts of obstacles. She placed two small coins into the temple treasury, but in truth, she placed her whole life into God’s hands. … And it’s the same trust in God that will carry you and each of us forward into God’s life and peace. Amen!