DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted. – Matthew 5:4

I find these words of Christ so Beautiful, and then, in an even deeper look, all the more Beautiful.  Nowadays after experiencing so many farewells to Loved Ones, I know what it is like to grieve and what it is like to be comforted.  But even beyond that tender experience of mercy, I find that in my mourning and my being comforted I have learned how to comfort more Beautifully.

Oh so many funerals and memorial services I have conducted over the decades.  Some were the most meaningful moments in my life; but others were somewhat hollow of heart.  I recall all those awkward, rather shallow platitudes of comfort shared by so many well-intended souls to those who were struggling with their loss.  “He is in a better place…”  “Let me know how I can help…” All those phrases we use when we do not know what to say.  But it was noble … that they tried …

Yet, there were those wordless embraces that were filled mercy.  There were those quiet tears that came in the quiet moments.  There were those almost subconscious touches of the hands when the loneliness was deep.  There were those moments when the burden of the grieving was shared.

In experiencing comfort we can learn how to comfort.  In experiencing grief we can learn what the grieving do need.  In being embraced by compassionate angels, we can learn the Divine/human language of compassion.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz