June 6, 2026
Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time / Memorial of Saint Norbert, Bishop
Gospel: Mark 12:38-44

Today, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Norbert, Bishop. The saint’s biography tells us that Saint Norbert (1080–1134), born in Xanten in Germany, lived a secular life at court in his early years. At the age of thirty-five, following a profound conversion after a near-fatal accident, he was ordained a priest and founded the Premonstratensian Order (also known as the Norbertines). In 1126, he was appointed Archbishop of Magdeburg. Despite enduring persistent opposition, he labored tirelessly to reform clerical discipline, defend orthodox doctrine, and safeguard the unity and liberty of the Church.

Today’s Gospel continues the account of Jesus’ ministry in the Temple in Jerusalem, taken from the Gospel of Mark. I would like to offer some reflections drawn from this passage.

When we enter the church, aside from the tabernacle, one of the first things that often catches our eye is the offering box near the entrance. At times, we may fixate on it, judging the faithfulness of our brothers and sisters by the amount of money they place within it. If someone contributes generously, we are quick to praise their devotion; yet when we see those who come regularly to Mass but give little—or nothing—we may be tempted to look down on them, as though their love for God were lacking. When such thoughts take root in our hearts, we become like the scribes whom Jesus condemns, measuring our relationship with God by worldly standards. We act as though God were needy, dependent on the transient things of this world—the perishable works of human hands—to be honored. In doing so, we forget that all we have comes from God. Were it not for His creating us in His own image and entrusting us with stewardship over creation, we could not even exist in this world.

The widow who put her whole livelihood into the offering box is truly blessed. Like Holy Mother Church herself, she holds nothing back, entrusting herself entirely to God, that she may receive every grace He wills to bestow—and in turn, dispense these graces to her children. Thus strengthened, her children may overcome the ruler of this world and his minions, and together with her, take up their crosses daily, follow Christ, and journey toward holiness.

O God, whose providence never fails in its design,
keep from us, we humbly beseech you,
all that might harm us
and grant all that works for our good.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica