Dear Friends,
We began last week discussing the Beatitudes, which point us to a happy life, to a blessed life, and specifically, we reflected upon the Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Before pondering the next Beatitude, we should bring to light something St. Thomas Aquinas noticed. He said that there are four basic and general things that we often have as idols in our lives, whether we consciously or unconsciously know it. These are things to which we turn for happiness, contentment, or fulfillment, and ultimately, they never fulfill us; they leave us wanting more, yet even when we get more, we still are not satisfied. St. Thomas Aquinas said these four things are power, pleasure, wealth, and honor. Last week’s Beatitude in essence teaches that blessed are those not addicted to wealth.
We now reflect upon the next Beatitude Jesus teaches, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Connected to all of this is the issue of suffering. God uses suffering to reach all of humanity. Suffering is universal. Just as no one can escape poverty of whatever kind, similarly, no one can escape suffering, regardless of its form. Suffering shatters our defenses and leaves us with no possible way of escape, and therefore, it puts our faith, hope, and trust in the mystery of Jesus Christ to the test. Suffering is a pathway to the happiness, the blessedness of God’s Kingdom. Christ chose suffering as the means of drawing close to humanity. Jesus overcame suffering in His body, causing suffering to become the instrument of His designs for salvation and mercy.
We know that mourning comes from loss: loss of a loved one, of a relationship, of a job, of an identity, of purpose, of home. In other words, mourning or grief can be caused by sojourning in this life with all its wretchedness. At the same time, there is also grief we feel for our own sins and the sins of others. Pope Benedict XVI points out that regardless of the specific loss, mourning has two types: mourning which has lost hope and therefore eats away and destroys a person from within because of despair, or mourning which leads to an encounter with the truth, leading to conversion and is healing because it teaches a person to hope and love again. Tears and affliction make people more human: more mature, more profound, more authentic, more sympathetic to the suffering of others.
Going back to the first paragraph, this Beatitude teaches that blessed and happy are those not addicted to pleasure, which is not the same as joy or even happiness. Those detached from pleasure of any form have found a key to living well. With this Beatitude, Jesus is exalting the ability to feel deep, grieving emotion and to show grief to the world. Our Lord praises sorrow, the virtue of continuing to love in the midst of ruinous circumstances. True mourning is an act of faith out of the depths of vicissitude, longing for what ought to be. Blessed are those detached and not addicted to pleasure.
With all of this talk of suffering, sorrow, and mourning, where is the comfort, the consolation? Consolation, comfort implies that someone enters our solitude and suffering in order to share it with us. God consoles us not by abolishing our solitude, not by removing our suffering. In His Son, Jesus Christ, God enters into our suffering, into our mourning and shares in our suffering and mourning. We are not abandoned in our sorrows. The word “compassion” means “to suffer with,” and God is the most compassionate: He suffers with us. The word “comfort” essentially means “to strengthen.” Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be strengthened by the God who suffers with them.
We are saints under construction, made more human by our tears and afflictions and consoled by God.
Have a great week!
In Christ,
Fr. Matt