Almost a year ago, the Pope was reflecting on the Beatitudes as part of his daily reflections. The second Beatitude is: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”.

He explained to those present at the General Audience, that in the Greek language in which the Gospel is written, such mourning is described by the desert fathers with the Greek word “penthos” which he added, is “an interior sorrow that can open us up to an authentic relationship with God and with each other.”

Pope Francis went on to say that the Bible speaks of this type of sorrow: for “the death or suffering of someone.” Grief, the Pope pointed out “is a bitter road, but it can be used to open one’s eyes to life and to the sacred and irreplaceable value of each person.”

For whom or for what do you grieve? It is bitter, but it can open our eyes to the sacredness of life and the irreplaceable value of each living being.

Obtained from https://www.ccvichapel.org/post/grief-dolor

On the header, photo by ÉMILE SÉGUIN 🇨🇦 on Unsplash.