In Luke’s Gospel this Sunday, we encounter one of the most moving scenes in the life of Jesus — the raising of the widow’s son at Nain. As the funeral procession approaches the city gate, Jesus is deeply moved by the grief of a mother who has lost her only son. In this touching story of compassion for a widow who has lost her only son, the divine power over life and death is seen only because it is called forth by human need. Jesus’ heart is stirred not by authority or duty, but by love and empathy. His miracle is an act of divine tenderness, showing that God’s power flows through compassion.
This Gospel passage speaks beautifully to the spirit of All Souls’ Day, when the Church remembers and prays for all who have died. Just as Jesus met the mourning widow and restored her son to life, God meets us in our own grief and promises that death does not have the final word. The story of Nain reveals that God’s response to human sorrow is not distant or abstract; it is immediate, personal, and life-giving. The same compassion that moved Jesus then continues to move through our prayers and remembrance today.
The remembrance of the dead at Mass is God’s way of involving us in the final transfiguration of those we love. Our prayers and our love are drawn into God’s healing and saving work. “May eternal light shine upon them.” These words are not simply a pious wish; they express a profound truth — that through our prayer, we share in the mystery of resurrection. God gives us a part to play, through prayer, in the dawning of that light.
On All Souls’ Day, as we remember our beloved dead, we echo the faith of the widow of Nain: that in Christ, life conquers death. Compassion opens the door to resurrection, and in love, we glimpse eternity.
Fr Stephen Berecz
