Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, by a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes, but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears. Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead, bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread. That evening my wife died, and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.

When we suffer a loss in life, we mourn whatever has been taken away from us. Maybe it was a loved one, a possession, a job, or something else. No matter what, we cannot let ourselves be overcome by the loss. We must mourn and weep in light of what God is calling us to do. He doesn’t want all our energies to be spent on mourning and weeping. They will not bring back what is gone, nor will they lead us beyond our pain. Instead of focusing on the past, we must concentrate on the present in hopes of making a better future. This requires us to be able to detach ourselves from our losses and lean upon the Lord in our times of need and suffering.

Are there things in our lives that we have mourned for too long? How can we move past them and live more fruitful lives? What is God calling us to do now?

O Lord, turn our mourning into shouts of joy.

Amen.