From: Luke 7:11-17

The Son of the Widow in Nain Restored to Life

[11] Soon afterwards He (Jesus) went to a city called Nain, and His disciples
and a great crowd went with Him. [12] As He drew near to the gate of the city,
behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. [13] And
when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
[14] And He came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said,
“Young man, I say to you, arise.” [15] And the dead man sat up, and began to
speak. And He gave him to his mother. [16] Fear seized them all; and they glo-
rified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited
His people!” [17] And this report concerning Him spread through the whole of Ju-
dea and all the surrounding country.

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Commentary:

11-17. “Jesus crosses paths again with a crowd of people. He could have
passed by or waited until they called Him. But He didn’t. He took the initiative,
because He was moved by a widow’s sorrow. She had just lost all she had, her
son.

“The evangelist explains that Jesus was moved. Perhaps He even showed signs
of it, as when Lazarus died. Christ was not, and is not, insensitive to the suffe-
ring that stems from love. He is pained at seeing children separated from their
parents. He overcomes death so as to give life, to reunite those who love one
another. But at the same time, He requires that we first admit the pre-eminence
of divine love, which alone can inspire genuine Christian living.

“Christ knows He is surrounded by a crowd which will be awed by the miracle
and will tell the story all over the countryside. But He does not act artificially,
merely to create an effect. Quite simply He is touched by that woman’s suffering
and cannot but console her. So He goes up to her and says, `Do not weep.’ It is
like saying, `I don’t want to see you crying; I have come on earth to bring joy and
peace.’ And then comes the miracle, the sign of the power of Christ who is God.
But first came His compassion, an evident sign of the tenderness of the heart of
Christ the man” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 166).

15. This mother’s joy on being given back her son reminds us of the joy of our Mo-
ther the Church when her sinful children return to the life of grace. “The widowed
mother rejoiced at the raising of that young man,” St. Augustine comments. “Our
Mother the Church rejoices every day when people are raised again in spirit. The
young man had been dead physically; the latter, dead spiritually. The young man’s
death was mourned visibly; the death of the latter was invisible and unmourned.
He seeks them out Who knew them to be dead; only He can bring them back to
life” (”Sermon”, 98, 2).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading	1 Kings 17:17-24 ©

The son of the mistress of the house fell sick; his illness was so severe that in the end he had no breath left in him. And the woman said to Elijah, ‘What quarrel have you with me, man of God? Have you come here to bring my sins home to me and to kill my son?’ ‘Give me your son’ he said, and taking him from her lap, carried him to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, do you mean to bring grief to the widow who is looking after me by killing her son?’ He stretched himself on the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, may the soul of this child, I beg you, come into him again!’ The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah and the soul of the child returned to him again and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. ‘Look,’ Elijah said ‘your son is alive.’ And the woman replied, ‘Now I know you are a man of God and the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth itself.’

Psalm	Psalm 29:2,4-6,11-13 ©

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me

and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,

restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,

give thanks to his holy name.

His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life.

At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

The Lord listened and had pity.

The Lord came to my help.

For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:

O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

Second reading	Galatians 1:11-19 ©

The Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews of my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors.

Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the other apostles; I only saw James, the brother of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Or	Lk7:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

A great prophet has appeared among us;

God has visited his people.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Luke 7:11-17 ©

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.