First
Reading
1 Kings 17:17-24
1. The widow said to Elijah, “The word of the Lord comes truly from your mouth.” Can you say this of any people you know? What is it about them that would allow you to make that judgment?
2. In this Old Testament story the widow assumed that her guilt was responsible for her son’s death. What do you think Jesus would say about the idea that the “sons bear the guilt of the fathers”?
Second Reading
Galatians 1:11-19
1. Paul says he “persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.” How does Paul fit in with the two dead men in today’s First Reading and Gospel? What caused Paul’s conversion? Could you say which transformation is greater or greatest in the readings?
2. Why do you think Paul went to Arabia and Damascus after he received the grace of conversion and instead of the option to “consult flesh and blood”? What do you think he wanted to do before going to Peter?
Gospel
Luke 7:11-17
1. What did you think when you read that Jesus was “moved with pity for her and said to her, ’Do not weep’”? Did anyone ask him to raise the young man from the dead or did he do it on his own? Could he have been thinking of his own mother? How does this scene make you feel?
2. Compare and contrast Elijah’s raising of the widow’s son with Jesus’ own raising of the widow’s son. If Jesus had pity on the woman in her sorrow, do you think he feels pity for all who suffer? Could God have had pity on us, having sent his Son to live with us and suffer with us and bring us all to the heart of the Trinity?
