Thought of the Day August 26, 2019 Mourning for the sins of others

By 10:43 AM


Weeping for our sins can have a positive aspect as when our tears of sorrow turn into tears of inner joy. Someone has said that “the most beautiful tears are those that fill our eyes when, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, “we taste and see how good the Lord is” (Psalm 34:9). Tears of this kind must have fallen from Augustine’s eyes when in the “Confessions” he wrote: “How you loved us, good Father, to have not spared your only Son but to have given him up for all of us. How much you loved us!”
Pascal shed such tears on the night that he had the revelation of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who disclosed himself through the Gospel. Pascal wrote on a piece of paper (found sown into his jacket after his death): “Joy, joy, tears of joy!” Maybe the tears with which the woman who was a sinner bathed the feet of Jesus were not only tears of repentance but also tears of gratitude and joy.
There is another aspect to Jesus’ teaching on this Beatitude. Primarily, we are called to mourn for our sins, but also for the sins of others. In the refrain from of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we pray: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” This is the other side of the same coin.

About the Author

Jesus said that we are to go to the ends of the world, proclaiming the Gospel of Salvation. Our recent Holy Fathers have urged us to use the social media to accomplish this task. This is just one attempt to respond to both calls. Join me in this effort.

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