Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Luke (7: 11-17) in which Jesus feels great compassion for a widow whose only son just died; he tells her not to cry and brings the son back to life by touching the bier on which his body was carried, saying ‘Young man, I tell you to get up!’.

Fr Paul says the story of the widow’s son is told with typical Lukan delicacy. He stresses in the Gospel that this was her only son. We are also told by Luke that she was a widow so now, after the death of her husband and son, she is a woman in the world without a man, and in those times that meant she had no one to care for her. Her situation was hopeless and, we hear, Jesus feels for her.

At the end of the Gospel, we are reminded of the Old Testament stories by the acclamation that a great prophet has arisen.

In Luke Jesus is often characterized as a prophet: his foreknowledge and his prophesying are stressed; and, finally, his Ascension is described in terms reminiscent of Elijah’s ascent into heaven.

Our Gospel today sees Jesus gives to the gift of life to the son and he also gives the gift of life to the mother. He saw a woman in need, he felt for her, and he helped her.

For our reflection today, Fr Paul invites us to think about our own lives… ‘How do we respond when we see someone in distress or need?’