Second Door
Blessed are those who mourn: the door where God Himself comes close
Today we walk through the second door. Jesus says, Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be consoled. At first hearing, this Beatitude sounds like a contradiction. How can mourning possibly be called blessed
Jacques Philippe helps us by saying that Jesus is not glorifying sadness itself. He is revealing what God does with sadness when we place it in his hands. Scripture promises that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes with the morning, and that God’s consolations delight the soul. The Beatitude is a promise that no suffering placed in God’s heart is ever wasted.
Philippe points out that mourning is part of love. We mourn because we care. We grieve losses, sin, injustice, disappointment, our own weakness, and the pain of others. The danger is not mourning. The danger is trying to escape sorrow by hardening the heart or distracting ourselves. Jesus does not tell us to silence tears. He tells us where to bring them.
The Catechism says that the Beatitudes sustain hope in the midst of tribulation and proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, even in the midst of persecution and suffering (CCC §
1728). This means consolation is not psychological optimism. It is the work of God in the soul. Philippe writes that God is the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation. He himself comes into the places where we hurt, not merely to remove pain, but to fill it with his presence.
A key insight in these pages is that we often look for consolation from people, situations, or success, and become discouraged when they do not satisfy. Philippe says that the true source of consolation is God alone. When we allow ourselves to be his children, we learn to say with the psalm, My tears have become my bread, yet the Lord will command his steadfast love for me. God wants to console us not from afar, but from within the heart.
Then Philippe takes us one step further. The consolation we receive is not meant to stay in us. He says that Christians are called to become consolers of those who suffer. The world is full of hearts in need of comfort today. Saint Paul says that God consoles us in all our afflictions so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. That is part of our baptismal mission.
So, this second door is very tender. Jesus does not promise that we will never mourn. He promises that no tear united to him will be meaningless. He also entrusts us with a mission. Consoled by God, we are sent to bring a quiet hope to others.
Exhortation
Bring your real sorrows to Christ without pretending and without closing your heart. Let him be the God of all consolation for you. Ask him to show you one person whose burden you can quietly help to carry.
Action item for this week
Name in prayer one grief or worry you normally hide or distract yourself from. Offer it simply to Jesus and say, Lord, I give you this sorrow. Console me as you know best. Then ask, Whom do you want me to console this week and do one concrete act of presence or kindness.
No shortage of sorrows and those who need consolation. Beautiful in Catholic world, does not remove suffering fills those with Himself. End up with terrible things because only remove suffering, get mercy killing and abortion.
Scott Adams lived out his dying publicly. Before Christ, over time, Christians became a source of consolation, bearing suffering while being consoled, this is the Chistian life. Saw him transition.
We have opportunity to console Christ in His Divine Humanity during His earthly sojourn. The indifference towards our Lord and it wounds Him in truly human way. Women, mother, grandmother, with our love prayers assist in consoling our blessed Lord.
Authentic human man, body & blood.
Simply removal of suffering is sufficient, error.
Europeans traveling to countries with mercy killing, devastation of loved ones getting the ashes. Suffering and consolation go together. Left emotional chasm of consolation. Poor people who get this.
Humility, first door, poverty of spirit, we are not in control. All we have to offer is our poverty.
Teaser for the next episode
Once we discover God’s consolation, our hearts begin to soften toward others. The next door opens onto a surprising strength that looks like gentleness. In the next episode we will walk through ‘Blessed are the meek’.