The WORD in other words (2006) by Sister Joy Mary Climaco SSpS
Monday 29th Week in Ordinary Time
There are many lessons we can learn from sharing life with the poor. I say this straight from the heart because I was privileged to share life closely with them for several years. Through them, I discovered that those who are poor in material possessions can sometimes be extraordinarily rich in the things that matter to God.
Nyaladzi was a three-year-old boy living in Sebina, Botswana. He was the constant companion of his grandmother, Mma Pabalinga, who was an active member of the Church. It was customary for the parishioners to greet one another after Holy Mass, while little Nyaladzi would stay nearby and play.
One afternoon, we stopped by their house and found him playing in the yard with some coins he had received as a gift. According to his grandmother, those coins were his treasures. Wanting to test his generosity, I asked him to give me one of them. He took all of us by surprise. He did not give me just any coin. He gave me the coin of greatest value.
Nyaladzi was poor, but he was rich in what matters to God.
His simple gesture reminds me of the poor widow in the Gospel. Jesus watched as wealthy people put large amounts into the treasury, while a poor widow offered only two small coins. Yet Jesus praised her because, in her poverty, she had given all she had (Mark 12:41-44). Generosity, in God’s eyes, is not measured by the amount we give but by the love, sacrifice, and trust with which we give it. As St. Paul reminds us, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
I learned another lesson about true riches from the Aetas in the Philippines.
In the difficult period following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, harvests were very poor. It required tremendous effort to restore fertility to land covered with lahar. Many Aetas suffered from hunger and poverty. To alleviate their suffering, they worked tirelessly to cultivate and restore their farms so that they could improve their harvests.
In the process, however, they faced a difficult choice. They could seek an immediate increase in their harvest through the use of inorganic fertilizers, which they feared would damage the environment, or they could accept a more modest harvest by using organic fertilizers that were more respectful of the land.
What do you think they chose?
They did not make a bountiful harvest their highest priority. Their decision reminds me of the rich man in Jesus’ parable whose land produced an abundant harvest. Faced with so much grain, he said, “I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones” (Luke 12:18). Yet Jesus warns us that accumulating possessions for ourselves is meaningless if we are not “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).
The Aetas chose instead what they believed mattered more to God: trusting in His loving providence, working hard, and safeguarding the integrity of creation. Their choice reminds us of the responsibility God gave humanity from the beginning, when He placed the human person in the garden “to cultivate and care for it” (Genesis 2:15).
Nyaladzi and the Aetas had something beautiful in common: they were poor, yet they were truly rich in what matters to God. Nyaladzi taught me that true wealth is found in a generous heart. The Aetas taught me that true wealth also means trusting in God’s providence and caring responsibly for His creation.
Jesus tells us, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Luke 12:34).
And so their stories invite me to examine my own heart:
What treasure do I carry within me?
What do I consider truly valuable?
Am I accumulating treasures for myself, or am I becoming rich in generosity, compassion, faith, trust, and love?
Ultimately, the question is not simply, “How much do I have?”
The more important question is: “Am I rich in what matters to God?”
