The Power of Tears
Lessons from St. Monica - 27th August, 2016
1 Cor 1: 26-31; Lk 7: 11-17
This saintly Mother has always been a point of great admiration for me personally. What a great example she is, as a mother and as a child of God! There are three lessons that this saintly mother can teach us:
1. The grace of tears: Pope Francis encourages people to pray for the 'grace of tears' when pleading to God to help others, when recognising their own sinfulness, when contemplating the greatness of Christ's love and when experiencing God's mercy. Monica had the grace of tears and she prayed with tears every time she prayed for her husband and her son.
2. The power of tears: When the widow of Nain cried, the Lord could not resist his compassion for her. He was moved to the point of a miracle. Just so, Monica saved her son, by the sheer power of her tears.
3. The witness of tears: Tears become a witness, witness to the love of God. The genuine tears of a loved one speaks volumes about the immeasurable love that God has for a person. Tears are not signs of weakness, they are signs of inner strength to remain with a person who is suffering or struggling!
Let us pray for the gift of tears, as Pope Francis recommends!