The Fruit of Sorrows

The tragedies of this world take on their full meaning when one looks at life from a realistic point of view... We should not struggle against what has been decided by God. Men are only instruments, and if this seems obscure to those living in the world, it is not so for those who must share in this work of mercy. Certainly, it is not easy, and we must endure a very painful ordeal, but with the trial come graces, and then sadness is turned into joy.

Believe me, Mama, there is no injustice willingly accepted that does not bear fruit a hundredfold, and receive its just reward, prodigal beyond our comprehension. Do not think that all the sorrows that have overwhelmed our family in recent years are useless. On the contrary, they are necessary, in order that just reparation may be made, and that through this the love of Christ may be given us in all its fullness. The law of life is that some pay for others, young branches full of sap are cut back and old, unproductive boughs left in their place. This seems unjust, and it would be, if compensation far outweighing anything life could offer were not given to these victims, who are by the very fact privileged. Joy, then, not sadness! If life is worth living and if you feel weary and exhausted to the point of death, it is because your soul is famished for the life-giving nourishment which will yield unending joy.

It is only recently that I have come to understand the meaning of the cross. It is at once prodigious and atrocious: prodigious because it gives us life, and atrocious because if we do not accept to be crucified all life is denied us. This is a great mystery, and blessed are the persecuted.

--Jacques Fesch

This Tremendous Lover

For the heart of the Crucified burned with a more intense love of God than the world has ever known, and the Son's heart was torn by the offenses that men offer to His heavenly Father. And in that same heart there was a fire of love for men, of love for each man and for every man; and the Lover's heart was torn by the thought of the coldness of those whom He loved and the loss they were incurring by their refusal to love Him. On the previous Sunday we heard the lament that wrung tears from the eyes of God: and thou wouldest not; on the cross on Friday the same love wrings every drop of blood from that divine heart. Truly, we must call Him, "This Tremendous Lover."

-- M. Eugene Boylan, O. Cist. R., This Tremendous Lover

Wartime Christmas, Joyce Kilmer

Led by a star, a golden star,
The youngest star, an olden star,
Here the kings and the shepherds are,
Akneeling on the ground.
What did they come to the inn to see?
God in the Highest, and this is He,
A baby asleep on His mother's knee
And with her kisses crowned.

Now is the earth a dreary place,
A troubled place, a weary place.
Peace has hidden her lovely face
And turned in tears away.
Yet the sun, through the war-cloud, sees
Babies asleep on their mother's knees.
While there are love and home—and these—
There shall be Christmas Day.

The Mysteries Revealed to Children

In this temporal life we are led along a narrow path, at the end of which is a little door opening onto true life. In order to pass through that door we must first let ourselves be crucified on the cross which stands at the entrance. If suffering and fear turn us away, we will not enter.

It is true that for the most part our advice is not asked -- otherwise how few of the elect would pass through! But with trial comes faith, and with faith, graces, which are not distributed parsimoniously but with profusion. The yoke becomes sweet and the sorrow is turned into joy. What is hidden from the eyes of men becomes luminous for those whom the Lord is drawing. "Do not fear those who can kill the body and who after that can do no more."

Do you know this word of Christ: "I give you thanks, Father, for having revealed these things to little ones and having hidden them from the wise." It is true. All that is despised by the world becomes precious for the Lord's sake. What a troop of lame men, thieves, and assassins must surround him!...

These are great mysteries we are living through. Do not let us struggle against redemption, under the pressure of egotistical thoughts. The ways are numerous and varied, but the end is one. In the same way a mountain nine thousand feet in height, with a base fifty miles in circumference, has only one summit, yet there are hundreds of ways leading to it. Each one follows his own path and sees only what is within his range. If you climb up the northern side you can't see the southern, but once the top is reached the same panorama stretches out before all.

Jacques Fesch (died 1957) was a murderer who experienced a profound conversion before his execution in a French prison.

Psalm 126

When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion
   we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
   and our tongue with rejoicing.

Then they said among the nations,
   "The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us;
   we are glad indeed.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
   like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
   shall reap rejoicing.

Although they go forth weeping,
   carrying the seed to be sown,
they shall come back rejoicing,
   carrying their sheaves.

Rejection

Let us thank God a thousand times if in the sadness which invades us it seems to us as if we are rejected by the world. The depression and suffering, the bitterness with which we seem sometimes to be soaked, were the lot of our Lord on earth.
Blessed Charles de Foucauld

Psalm 39: 8-13

Set me free from all my sins,
do not make me the taunt of the fool.
I was silent, not opening my lips,
because this was all your doing.

Take away your scourge from me.
I am crushed by the blows of your hand.
You punish man's sins and correct him;
like the moth you devour all he treasures.

Mortal man is no more than a breath;
O Lord, hear my prayer.
O Lord, turn your ear to my cry.
Do not be deaf to my tears.

In your house I am a passing guest,
a pilgrim, like all my fathers.
Look away that I may breathe again
before I depart to be no more.

The Holy Name of Mary, St. Bernard of Clairvaux

If the winds of temptations surge, if you run aground on the shoals of troubles, look to this star, call upon Mary! If you are tossed by the winds of pride or ambition or detraction or jealousy, look to this star, call upon Mary! If anger or greed or the allurements of the flesh dash against the boat of your mind, look to Mary! And if you are troubled by the enormity of your sins, confused by the foulness of your conscience, terrified by the horror of the Judgment, so that you begin to be swallowed up by the pit of sadness, the abyss of despair, think of Mary! In dangers, in straits, in perplexity, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be always in your mouth and in your heart, and, if you would ask for and obtain the help of her prayers, do not forget the example of how she lived. If you follow her, you will not go astray. If you pray to her, you will not despair. If you think of her, you will not be lost. If you cling to her, you will not fall. If she protects you, you will not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is favorable to you, you will reach your goal. Thus you will experience personally how rightly it was spoken "And the Virgin's name was Mary."

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (died 1153) is considered the last of the Fathers of the Church and is a Doctor of the Church.

Psalm 54

O God, by your name save me,
   and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
   hearken to the words of my mouth.

For the haughty have risen up against me,
   the ruthless seek my life;
   they set not God before their eyes.

Behold, God is my helper;
   the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O Lord, for its goodness.

Psalm 38: 10-11, 14-16, 22-23

O Lord, you know all my longing:
my groans are not hidden from you.
My heart throbs, my strength is spent;
the very light has gone from my eyes.

But I am like the deaf who cannot hear,
like the dumb unable to speak.
I am like a man who hears nothing,
in whose mouth is no defense.

I count on you, O Lord:
it is you, Lord God, who will answer.

O Lord, do not forsake me!
My God, do not stay afar off!
Make haste and come to my help,
O Lord, my God, my savior!

Psalm 31, pt. 2

Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I am in distress.
Tears have wasted my eyes,
my throat and my heart.

For my life is spent with sorrow
and my years with sighs.
Affliction has broken down my strength
and my bones waste away.

In the face of all my foes
I am a reproach,
an object of scorn to my neighbors
and of fear to my friends.

Those who see me in the street
run far away from me.
I am like a dead man, forgotten,
like a thing thrown away.

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord,
I say: "You are my God.
Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love."

Deliver us

Deliver us from evil.

Very significant for me, not only from the Our Father, but from Dr. Dooley.

Jeremiah 14: 15, 17

Thus says the Lord: Speak to them this word:
Let my eyes stream with tears
day and night, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms
the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.

Luke 6:20-26

Raising His eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward
will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way."

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses truly I know them;
my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.

Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.

The Intercession of Michael, from The Apocalypse of Paul

When those who were in this very place saw me weeping with the angel, they cried out and themselves wept, saying: "O Lord God, have mercy on us!" And after that I saw heaven opened and the archangel Michael coming down from heaven, and with him the whole host of angels, and they came to those who were placed in the punishments. And seeing him they cried out again with tears, and said: "Have mercy on us, archangel Michael, have mercy on us and on the human race, for because of your prayers the earth continues. We have now seen the judgment and known the Son of God. It was impossible for us to pray for this previously before we came to this place. For we did hear that there was a judgment before we came forth from the world, but tribulations and a worldly-minded life did not allow us to repent." And Michael answered and said: "Listen when Michael speaks: It is I who stand in the presence of God every hour: As the Lord lives, in whose presence I stand, for one day or one night I do not cease from praying continually for the human race, and I pray for those who are still on earth. They, however, do not stop committing iniquity... and they do not help me in what is good while they are placed on earth. And the time during which you ought to have repented you used up in vanity. But I have always thus prayed and now I beseech that God may send dew and that rain may be appointed over the earth, and I continue to pray until the earth bring forth its fruit; and I say that if anyone has done even only a little good I will strive for him and protect him until he escapes the judgement of punishments. Where are your prayers? Where is your repentance? You have squandered time contemptibly. But now weep, and I will weep with you, and the angels who are with me together with the dearly beloved Paul, if perchance the merciful God will show mercy and give you ease." And when they heard these words they cried out and wept much and said all together: "Have mercy on us, Son of God." And I, Paul, sighed and said: "Lord God, have mercy on what you have fashioned, have mercy on the children of men, have mercy on your own image."

Forgiven Much, Loved Much, by St. Robert Bellarmine

To please God by penance it is not enough to say in words, "I am sorry for my sin." Rather, we need the deep and profound sorrow from the heart that can hardly be found without sobs and tears and sighs. It is amazing how severely the holy Fathers speak of true contrition. Saint Cyprian says in the sermon On Apostates, "Let us weep as abundantly as we have sinned greatly. Let careful and long treatment not be lacking for a deep wound. Let penance be no less than the sin. We ought to beg more insistently, pass the day in mourning, spend nights in watching and tears, fill every moment with tears and laments, lie on the ground and cling to the ashes, turn about in haircloth and dirt." Clement of Alexandria in Eusebius' History calls penance "a baptism of tears." Saint Gregory Nazianzen, in the Second Homily on Baptism says, "I welcome penitents if I see them wet with tears". . .

A heart truly contrite and humble really arouses the mercy of God our Father in a marvelous way. For the sweetness and goodness of the Father cannot refrain from going forth to the prodigal but truly repentant son, and embracing and kissing him. He will give him the ring of peace, wipe away the tears of sorrow, and fill him with tears of joy sweeter than all honey (Lk 15: 11-32).

Saint Robert (died 1621) was a brilliant Jesuit preacher and theologian noted for his rational argumentation.

"The Son of Man must suffer" by Father Philipon

In his divine wisdom... God preferred to bestir us rather to a deep and poignant awareness of our vocation as members of a crucified Christ. Hence, our weakness in doing good is intended to throw into sharper relief the sublime power of Christ, a power that enables us to support a life that is divine by grace in a vessel that is fragile, in a body inclined to sin and evil. The root of inclination to evil persists, and this provides us with opportunity for striving and conquering. Furthermore, in Christ lies the clue to the mystery of suffering. The adequate explanation must be sought in the contemplation of Christ crucified; only in the light of his suffering can we find the real meaning of human suffering. Thus, in the first place, according to God's own plan suffering is to be expiation and reparation. It is the way for sinful man to atone for his faults and those of his brothers. Suffering is also to be purification. It weans us from the fleeting and hollow pleasures of sin. A soul lifted by suffering, like Christ on Golgotha, above the things of earth turns to heaven and away from all that is not God. Also, suffering is to be meritorious and co-redeeming. That is why Saint Paul could say: "What is lacking of the sufferings of Christ I fill up in my flesh for his body, which is the Church." When a soul suffers out of pure and disinterested love without regard to itself, it is more useful to the Church militant and to the whole world than when it is engaged in a most brilliant and successful apostolate. Souls are saved by dying for them. It was not by his words, nor by his miracles, that Jesus saved the world, but by giving his life. To add to this, suffering is also to be sanctifying; through it we become like unto Christ in the highest degree possible on earth. God produces saints by conforming souls more and more to Christ crucified. Lastly, suffering makes us more like unto God, more nearly divine... To allow oneself to be crucified by suffering with Christ is to grow in the likeness to God. Who are the saints that regret having suffered? Suffering passes; having suffered, never.

Father Philipon (died 1972) was a twentieth-century French Dominican priest, theologian, and author.

Psalm 69

Save me, O God,
for the waters have risen to my neck.

I have sunk into the mud of the deep
and there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep
and the waves overwhelm me.

I am wearied with all my crying,
my throat is parched.
My eyes are wasted away
from looking for my God.

This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favor.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails:
rescue me from sinking in the mud;
save me from my foes.

Save me from the waters of the deep
lest the waves overwhelm me.
Do not let the deep engulf me
nor death close its mouth on me.

Job 16:20

My friends it is who wrong me;
before God my eyes drop tears.