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.

Third Saturday of Ordinary Time

David seized his garments and rent them, and all the men who were with him did likewise. They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the soldiers of the LORD of the clans of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

Mourning, weeping, and fasting for those who have wronged us isn’t something we all immediately think of, but David does exactly this for Saul... the man who tried to kill him. It’s easy to imagine mourning those who are our family and friends, like Jonathan was to David, but quite a different story for those who have persecuted us. However, just like David, we are all called to have compassion on our enemies as well as our friends. Just because someone does evil to us, doesn’t give us the right to deny their dignity, ignore their sufferings, or take pleasure in their pains. If we do any of these things, then we fall short of living out the commandment to love one another as Jesus loves us.

Are we willing to make sacrifices in order to help those who have harmed us in some way? Can we forgive the past transgressions of others and do what is right even to our enemies? How can we live out the beatitude to mourn with others?

O Lord, help us to treat our enemies as Jesus would treat them.

Amen.

Solemnity of All Saints

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

We all suffer the loss of loved ones. Some of us know what it's like to lose a parent, others know what it's like to lose a sibling. We know what it's like to lose an extended family member or friend. We might even have witnessed the death of someone firsthand. How we respond to these moments can define who we are and who we will be in the future. We can choose to mourn with and comfort others or we can be selfish and blame others (and God) for what has happened or avoid reality altogether. It is in comforting others that we are comforted, it is in mourning with them that we can heal. It is by being empathetic, sympathetic, and loving that we can become beacons of blessing to others and lights for the whole world. And it is through our prayers that we not only give glory to God, but also lead souls from Purgatory to Heaven.

How do we mourn? How do we comfort others? How do we pray to those in most need of God's Mercy on earth and in Purgatory?

O Lord, help us to mourn faithfully and comfort others with hope and love.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene

And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.

When we are in the midst of trials, we can forget that God is with us. In our weeping, mourning, or even complaining, we can become so focused on our own needs that we fail to remember that Jesus is there beside us. We also fail to see how others are acting Christ-like toward us. The angels in the gospel try to comfort Mary by challenging her to look beyond her own worry about the missing Jesus and to see the miracle of the resurrection. She is so distraught that she can’t recognize Jesus when he is standing in front of her. It isn’t until he calls her by name that she finally realizes who she is talking to and sees the empty tomb as not an obstacle to her devotion, but a miracle of God’s Providence.

When we are in physical, emotional, or spiritual pain, do we keep our eyes open to God’s presence? Do we trust in God’s Will even in the midst of our trials and tribulations? We are the people in our lives who have acted Christ-like to us when we were in need?

O Lord, open our eyes to your presence.

Amen.