Saint Mary of the Cross (MacKillop), Virgin
Feast
Liturgical Colour: White
First Reading
1 Kings 17:8–16
The widow gives food to Elijah, and is fed
And then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, ‘Up and go to Zarephath, a Sidonian town, and stay there. I have ordered a widow there to give you food.’
So he went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks; addressing her he said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a vessel for me to drink.’
She was setting off to bring it when he called after her. ‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’
‘As the Lord your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’
But Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son. For thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel:
“Jar of meal shall not be spent,
jug of oil shall not be emptied,
before the day when the Lord sends
rain on the face of the earth.”’
The woman went and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 62(63):2–8
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
On my bed I remember you.
On you I muse through the night,
for you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
Gospel Acclamation
Matthew 27:55
Alleluia, alleluia!
Many women were there by the cross, watching from a distance,
the same women who had followed Jesus and looked after him.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Matthew 6:25–34
Do not worry about tomorrow: your heavenly Father knows your needs
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing!
‘Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life?
‘And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these.
‘Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith?
‘So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.
‘Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well.
‘So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’
Reflection
Today’s readings are especially fitting for the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. They speak about scarcity, trust, practical service and the difference between responsible concern and anxiety that takes control of the heart.
The widow of Zarephath is introduced at the lowest point of her life. She has only a handful of meal and a little oil. She is not preparing for an ordinary supper; she believes that she and her son are about to eat their final meal. Elijah’s request therefore sounds almost unreasonable. He asks her to give from what she cannot afford to lose.
The widow does not possess proof that the promise will be fulfilled. She must decide whether to trust God before she sees the jar remain full. Her faith becomes visible through an ordinary action: she prepares food and shares it. The miracle follows her act of trust.
This does not mean that God demands our last resources without concern for our wellbeing. The reading reveals that God sees the widow, her son and their desperate need. His providence reaches them through Elijah, while Elijah also receives what he needs through the widow. God forms a small community of dependence in which each person becomes part of his care for another.
The Catechism teaches that creation has its own goodness and perfection, but it has not come from the Creator’s hands entirely complete. God guides creation towards its fulfilment through divine providence (CCC 302). His care is concrete and immediate, extending from the smallest needs of his creatures to the great movements of history (CCC 303).
Yet providence does not make human action unnecessary. God gives people the dignity of sharing freely in his work by using their abilities, choices and resources for the good of others (CCC 306–307). The widow participates in God’s providence by sharing her meal. Elijah participates by speaking God’s promise. Neither person acts alone.
The responsorial psalm reveals the deeper hunger beneath every material need: “For you my soul is thirsting.” Food sustains the body, but the human person desires more than physical survival. We long for meaning, love, security and a goodness that cannot be taken away.
The psalmist does not speak as someone whose life is free from difficulty. He describes himself as dry and weary, yet he remembers God’s help and takes refuge beneath the shadow of his wings. His confidence comes from recalling what God has already done.
This is an important response to anxiety. Fear narrows our vision until the problem before us appears to be the whole truth. Prayer restores memory. It reminds us that we have been helped before, that God remains present now and that our immediate circumstances do not define the whole of our lives.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks directly about food, clothing and tomorrow. He does not dismiss these concerns as trivial. He knows that people need to eat and be clothed. He also knows how easily legitimate concern can become an exhausting attempt to control what has not yet happened.
There is a difference between planning and worrying. Planning asks what faithful action can be taken today. Worry repeatedly enters an imagined tomorrow and tries to carry burdens that have not yet arrived. Planning can lead to action; uncontrolled worry often leaves us afraid and unable to act.
Jesus redirects our attention towards the birds and the flowers. They are not presented as an excuse for idleness. They are signs that creation remains within the Father’s care. If God gives such beauty to the grass of the field, the human person—created in his image and called to eternal life—is not forgotten.
The Catechism teaches that Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of our heavenly Father, who cares for his children’s smallest needs (CCC 305). This trust does not eliminate work, prudence or responsibility. It places them within a relationship with the Father rather than beneath the rule of fear.
“Set your hearts on his kingdom first” is the centre of Christ’s teaching. Jesus does not simply tell us to stop worrying. He gives our hearts something greater to seek. Anxiety is not overcome merely by trying to think about nothing. It begins to loosen its grip when our attention is directed towards God’s kingdom and righteousness.
Seeking the kingdom first means asking how God wants us to live within the circumstances we have. It means telling the truth, acting justly, serving those in need and trusting God with the results we cannot control. Our first concern becomes faithfulness rather than self-protection.
Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop lived this form of trust. She saw that children in poor and isolated communities were being denied an education. Instead of accepting this need as someone else’s responsibility, she responded. With Father Julian Tenison Woods, she helped establish schools and founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
Her work did not unfold without hardship. She experienced poverty, misunderstanding, opposition and even excommunication, which was later lifted. Trusting God did not give her an easy life. It gave her the strength to continue serving without allowing adversity to have the final word.
Mary MacKillop’s well-known principle, “Never see a need without doing something about it,” reflects the movement of today’s readings. The widow sees Elijah’s hunger and acts. Elijah sees the widow’s desperation and brings God’s promise. Jesus sees the anxiety of his disciples and points them back towards the Father.
Christian trust is therefore never merely passive. It is not sitting still while expecting God to solve every difficulty. It is the freedom to do what love requires today without demanding certainty about tomorrow.
The Catechism describes charity as the theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God (CCC 1822). Charity gives life to all the virtues and directs our actions towards their true purpose (CCC 1827). Saint Mary’s trust became credible because it took the form of practical charity.
The Gospel Acclamation remembers the women who followed Jesus, cared for him and remained near the cross. Their discipleship involved presence, service and courage. Saint Mary of the Cross belongs within this long witness of faithful women whose love for Christ became care for others.
There may be needs around us that we cannot completely solve. The scale of a problem can persuade us that our contribution is too small to matter. The widow had only a handful of meal. Mary MacKillop began with the needs of children in scattered communities. God did not ask either woman to possess everything required for the whole journey. He asked for faithful use of what was available.
This is also how we can approach tomorrow. We do not yet have grace for every possible future problem. We have grace for the duties, decisions and acts of love placed before us today. Tomorrow will bring its own responsibilities and, with them, the grace needed to meet them.
The Father’s providence does not promise that we will avoid all suffering. The cross in Saint Mary’s religious name reminds us of that truth. Christian confidence rests not in the absence of hardship but in the presence of God, whose love remains faithful through hardship and can bring life from what appears empty.
The jar and jug did not become symbols of private abundance. They provided enough to sustain life through the drought. God’s provision often comes as sufficient grace for the next faithful step rather than complete knowledge of the future.
Today we can ask ourselves: What need has God placed before me? What small resource am I afraid to offer? What concern about tomorrow is preventing me from being faithful today?
The widow of Zarephath and Saint Mary of the Cross remind us that faith begins before the outcome becomes visible. We place what we have in God’s hands, seek his kingdom first and allow our trust to become love in action.
One line to carry today:
I will entrust tomorrow to God and faithfully offer what I have today.
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