A woman in my parish has an adult son who has rejected his faith. She prays for him every day. She lights candles, says rosaries, and asks God again and again to bring him back. But nothing changes. Is God listening? Is He delaying? She told me once that she feels like the widow in Jesus’ strange parable — crying out for justice, but hearing only silence. And yet, she said, she is at peace. I asked why. She responded, “God is already answering. I just can’t see it yet.” She embodies something of the mystery in Jesus’ parable this week in Luke 18. A powerless widow demands justice from a corrupt judge. This isn’t about wearing God down until He gives in. It’s about faith in the justice that is already coming. The widow isn’t just persistent; she believes that justice is inevitable. And when Jesus points to the judge’s words — his fear of being “struck” — He hints at something deeper: God’s justice does not creep in gradually. It strikes. It comes like lightning. Blessed Mary is, of course, the ultimate widow demanding justice. At the foot of the cross she stands before what looks like the ultimate injustice — the brutal execution of her son. But she did not despair. She did not beg for a last-minute rescue. She knew that justice was not delayed. In fact, it was happening. The power of the cross was already unleashing justice upon the world — suddenly, decisively, like a blow that would topple every corrupt power, making even the most corrupt fear her strike. This parable asks us: will the Son of Man find faith on earth? Or will we mistake God’s silence for absence? The cross proves that justice is not slow. It is only hidden. The lightning has already struck. In the cross, justice is speedily being done. — Father John Muir
