Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. // Genesis 4:4
Several years ago, an acquaintance of mine named her son Abel. I had never met anyone with this name, so I asked her to share how she and her husband chose that name. She explained to me her admiration of Abel in the book of Genesis. Abel offered his very best to the Lord. This mother desired for her first-born son’s life to be a pleasing offering to God. I appreciated her fresh perspective of this passage.
I was familiar with the sad account of Cain killing Abel, but had never given much thought to the hearts of these brothers. Cain and Abel both made offerings to God, but one was more pleasing to the Lord. Abel offered his first fruits and found favor with God. The offering of first fruits is a sign of Abel’s humility, generosity, and trust.
In the pursuit of holiness, I want to grow in these virtues of humility, generosity, and trust. I want to offer my first fruits and find favor with God. When I pray the Morning Offering, I offer to God “my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.”
I know that my little offerings of distracted prayers, imperfect work, pleasant joys, and painful sufferings are piddly in comparison to Jesus’ offerings to His Father. This is one of the reasons why I have made Daily Mass a priority for the most of my adulthood. When my little offerings are united to the heart of Jesus, this becomes an act of worship to the Father. The Father truly delights in this offering. The Father wants us to experience the favor that He finds in being His beloved. What will you offer to Him today?
Rose Coleman is an elementary school teacher with a heart for pilgrimage. She traveled the globe on a ship during college and spent some years in the convent as a religious sister. She was a contributing author to All She Had, Blessed Conversations: Rooted, and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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