Tony Worner, Leader of Formation at St Agnes’ Catholic reads from the Gospel of Luke (18: 1-8) in which we hear the parable of the persistent widow which Jesus tells his disciples to remind them of the need to pray continually and to never lose heart.

Last Sunday, Tony says, we heard of a widow in the first reading from the Book of Kings and then of the widow (who gave everything) in the Gospel of Mark. In fact, we hear all the Gospel writers mention a widow, several times in different contexts. A widow in ancient times was someone seen in the category of the most vulnerable. Someone who has lost the breadwinner of the family and who was surviving to feed and look after the family.

They were classed as the poor and needed to be looked after and supported. However, like all Jesus’ parables and stories, it is these outcasts that can teach us something. For they also appear as prophetic, active, and faithful. Anna, for example, the first widow in the Gospel, is a prophet who spreads the good news of Jesus’ birth. And last weekend, the widow who gives her last coins, is a model of faithful generosity. And then today, the widow who is persistent, active, and forceful enough to get the justice she demands even from an utterly unjust judge.

And so, Tony says, let us be persistent in our prayer, in our way of life and pray… Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen