International Widows’ Day: Messages in the Bible

International Widows’ Day, which is commemorated every June 23, is a date that seeks to focus on the rights and needs of those women who have been left helpless after the death of their husbands.

There are different passages in the Bible that focus on God’s view of them, and can offer comfort and hope in the face of pain over the loss of a loved one.

In the book of Deuteronomy, from the Old Testament, we see how God places special favor on widows: “For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, mighty and fearsome God, who is no respecter of persons nor does he allow himself to be bribed. He gives justice to the orphan and the widow, loves the stranger and gives him clothing and food (Dt 10:18).

Foreigners, orphans and widows occupy a special place in the heart of God. This is stated in the following passage: “Cursed is he who despises his father or his mother. And all the people will respond: Amen. Cursed be he who moves the boundaries of his neighbor’s property. And all the people will respond: Amen. Cursed be he who turns a blind man out of the way. And all the people will respond: Amen. Cursed be he who violates the rights of the foreigner, the orphan or the widow. And all the people will respond. Amen (Dt 27,16-19)

In the book of Isaiah there also appears a call to defend the widow: “Wash yourselves, purify yourselves, remove the evil of your actions from my sight! Stop doing evil, learn to do good! Seek the right, help the oppressed, do justice to the orphan, defend the widow!” (Is 1,17).

God showers special mercy on widows in their condition as sufferers, as demonstrated in the book of Zechariah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do true justice, practice mutual faithfulness and mercy. Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor, and do not think of doing harm to one another (Zech 7:10).

But widows also appear in the New Testament. The famous parable of “The Widow’s Offering” describes the condition of poverty, which was very common in women who had lost their husbands. In this framework, what this parable of Jesus highlights is the ability of this woman to give everything she had of herself, her example of generosity and selflessness:

“At that time, Jesus looked up and saw some rich people putting their donations into the treasury chest; He also saw a poor widow putting in two little coins, and he said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than everyone else. Because all of these have given her as a donation of what they had left, this one, on the other hand, has given what she needed, everything she had to live on” (Lk 21:1-4).

The Gospel of Luke recounts another moment of Jesus in which a widow appears. She is the widow of Naín, whose only son had also died. The Lord meets her, when he was walking with the local residents on his way to the young man’s burial. There, Jesus will work a miracle:

“Now it came to pass that he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As she approached the gate of the city, behold, a deceased person was being carried to bury, the only son of her mother, who was a widow, and a large crowd of people from the city accompanied her. Seeing her, the Lord took pity on her and said to her: Do not cry. He approached and touched the coffin. Those who were carrying him stopped; and he said: Boy, I say to you, get up. And he who was dead stood up and began to speak; and he gave it to his mother. And they were all filled with fear and glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited his people” (Luke 7:11-16).

This story was originally published on June 23, 2023. It has been updated for republication.