Hajja Salesjana January February 2017

33 If you don't learn how to cry, you can't be good Christians. This is a challenge. - Pope Francis (in response to a question about why God allows suffering) The next time that you feel the tears welling up, don’t try to suppress them. Let the release of your tears also be a release of your heart’s prayer. Imagine Our Lord comforting you in your pain, sorrow, and frustration and remember the hope of heaven. The Word of God assures us that our struggles will not last forever. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” – Revelations 21:4 We need the mercy, the consolation that comes from the Lord. All of us need it. This is our poverty but also our grandeur: to plead for the consolation of God, who in his tenderness comes to wipe the tears from our eyes. How many tears are shed every second in our world; each is different but together they form, as it were, an ocean of desolation that cries out for mercy, compassion and consolation. At the foot of every cross, the Mother of Jesus is always there. With her mantle, she wipes away our tears. With her outstretched hand, she helps us to rise up and she accompanies us along the path of hope. Certain realities of Life are seen only with eyes that are cleansed by Tears.