Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
24TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/White)
St. Robert Bellarine, bishop & doctor/
St. Hildegard of Bingen, virgin & doctor
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 100: 1b-2, 3, 4, 5: We are his people; the sheep of his flock.
1st Reading: 1 Corinthians 12: 12-14, 27-31a
As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptized in one Spirit, to form one body, and all of us have been given, to drink from the one Spirit.
The body has not just one member, but many.
Now, you are the body of Christ, and each of you, individually, is a member of it. So God has appointed us in the Church. First apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, administration in the Church and the gift of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Can all perform miracles, or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, or explain what was said in tongues? Be that as it may, set your hearts on the most precious gifts, and I will show you a much better way.
Gospel: Luke 7: 11-17
A little later, Jesus went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people.
As he reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.
On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Don’t cry.”
Then he came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!”
And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us. God has visited his people.”
This news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.
REFLECTION:
“He had pity on her.”
We have reflected on the point that Jesus would perform miracles for people who have explicitly expressed their faith.
Nonetheless, the Gospels also record miracles performed by Jesus for people who did not explicitly express their faith.
Today’s Gospel narrates the widow of Naim, narrating how Jesus raised her son back to life. In this story, Jesus was not merely generous. Jesus appeared to be benevolent. The widow was silent. We need not elaborate on the poor condition of widows in Jesus’ time. Jesus had pity on her. Jesus must have had felt the strong faith of the widow even if she did not explicitly express it.
Concerning this widow who then lost a son, we may presume that she must be a woman of strong faith. She must have already placed her life in God’s loving hands.
Furthermore, the passage tells nothing of the widow’s reaction after her son was raised to life. We can only presume that she would have been overjoyed.
A great joy then, so as a great faith, can always be expressed even in silence.
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