16 September 2025 - the only son of his mother

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.

Jesus would have had particularly acute sympathy for the widowed mother's loss of her only son. It was an all too specific reminder of the sorrow that awaited his own mother. Jesus couldn't help but be moved with pity for this woman and her grief. In saying "Do not weep", he said it not only to her, but also to all who ever suffered loss, and in particular, to his own mother. It was, in a way, his profound love for his mother that overflowed to the rest of the world, to this woman, and to all who faced suffering and sorrow. As a consequence the widow received her son back from the dead. The mother of Jesus received a foreshadowing of the fact that her own son would not remain forever in death, but, like this child, would also rise. The sorrow of Mary was comforted along with the sorrow of the world. Ultimately it was the same sorrow, at sin, and at the consequences of sin, even for the innocent. And the salve that could cure that sorrow was the same blessing, found in the resurrection, first of Jesus himself, and then all those who were united with him.

He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”

We may not remember the exact moment, but most of us have had an experience that was analogous to the resurrection of this child. We were all buried with Christ in baptism and made to walk in newness of life by the power of his Spirit. Yet there are others in our world who do not yet know this new life. There are many for whom Mary and mother Church still weep, and for whom they still intercede with Jesus to work this miracle of resurrection once more. We must do our part as members of the Church to help to ease the sorrow of loss in our world with the only thing that can truly be its remedy: new life in Christ. The world may mourn. But only we know the true depth of the sadness. Yet we also know the one who holds the power to cure it. Let us too spread the word that "God has visited his people".

Ike Ndolo - Awake, O Sleeper