In today’s Gospel, Jesus notices a poor woman donating money to the temple treasury. She had little to give but gave anyway. I wonder what she sacrificed to make her donation. Did she skip a meal? Did she work a double-shift? Did her rent check bounce that month?

Jesus is calling us to give even when it is not easy. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week many of us will be with family and friends. We may be asked to give financially or in another way. Will I listen patiently to my father-in-law’s problems when I would rather watch football? Will I think of my unemployed neighbor and give her a gift card? What if a political discussion makes me angry? If my son asks me to read to him, will I make time to do so? Can I be like the poor widow? Can I give even if it is difficult or takes time from my busy schedule? Will my desire to be Christ-like be stronger that my own self-centeredness, impatience, and self-righteousness?

—Jerry Kinney teaches Spanish at Creighton Jesuit Preparatory School in Omaha, NE.