THE GIFT OF TEARS
We have all watched a "tear-jerking " movie or read a good book depicting situations that bring us to tears of compassion. We may have found ourselves swelling with tears at the Consecration of the Mass as we think of all the sacrileges done today, or just in giving thanks for such a gift as the Eucharist.
But the Gift of Tears given to some of our Saints like St. Francis, St. Patrick, St. Anthony, St. Paul , and of course Our Lady as Our Lady of Sorrows is so intense and constant that, as in St. Francis case, it helped cause him to loose his sight.
The following paragraph is from the life of St. Ignatius: "He sometimes cried so much at Mass that he could not go on, nor even talk for some time, and he was afraid that his gift of tears might cause him the lose of his eyesight. Gonclaves de Camara said, " When he did not weep three times during Mass, he considered himself deprived of consolation."
From an article in Catholic Digest, January, 1989 ( also in the Omnibus - Legend of Perugia) : Talking about Lady Jocapa from " Legend of Perugia,...,reports that "she had received the gift of tears and fervor from God, to the extent that she seemed another Mary Magdalene."
From the Bible : Amos 5:16 "They shall summons the farmers to wail and professional mourners to lament,...." . Jeremia 9:16 "thus says the Lord of Hosts: Attention! tell the wailing women to come, summons the best of them: 17 let them come quickly and intone a dirge for us, that our eyes may be wet with weeping, our cheeks run with tears."
There were professional mourners that were hired to mourn .
Jeremia 13:17 "If you do not listen to this in your pride, I will weep in secret many tears; my eyes will run with tears for the Lord’s flock, led away to exile."
Jeremia 14:17 "Speak to them: 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."
Acts 20:31 St. Paul says "Watch, therefore, and remember that for three years night and day I did not cease with tears to admonish every one of you."
Rom 26-27 "The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expresses in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the spirit means, for the spirit intercedes for the Saints as God Himself wills."
Now I thought, these groanings were meant for the gift of tongues since he goes on to explain that the spirit knows their meaning. But these groaning could certainly be sighs of mourning lifted up to God. When we mourn deeply we do not use words, we use feelings and thoughts.
From Liturgy of the Hours Book IV pg. 215 a Sermon by St. Leo the Great, Pope
"After preaching the blessings of poverty, the Lord went on to say: Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted, But the mourning for which he promises eternal consolation, dearly beloved, has nothing to do with ordinary worldly distress; for the tears which have their origin in the sorrow common to all mankind do not make anyone blessed. There is another cause for the sighs of the Saints, another reason for their blessed tears. Religious grief mourns for sin, one’s own or another’s; it does not lament because of what happens as a result of God’s justice, but because of what is done by human malice. Indeed, he who does wrong is more to be lamented than he who suffers it, for his wickedness plunges the Sinner into punishment, whereas endurance can raise the just man to glory."
From Liturgy of the Hours Book IV pg. 413 Letter to Proba by St. Augustine : (just before he goes into the discourse on the Our father) : " Excessive talking should be kept out of prayer but that does not mean that one should not spend much time in prayer so long as a fervent attitude continues to accompany his prayer. To talk at length in prayer is to perform a necessary action with an excess of words. To spend much time in prayer is to knock with a persistent and holy fervor at the door to the one whom we beseech. this task is generally accomplished more through sighs then words, more through weeping than speech. He "places our tears in his sight" , and "our sighs are not hidden from him", for he has established all things through his Word and does not seek human words."
On the Lord’s Prayer : pg 416-415 "We need to use words so that we may remind ourselves to consider carefully what we are asking, not so that we may think we can instruct the Lord of prevail on him.
Thus, when we say ; Hallowed be your name, we are reminding ourselves to desire that his name, which in fact is always holy, should also be considered holy among men. I mean that it should not be held in contempt. But this is a help for men, not for God.
And as for the saying: Your kingdom come, it will surely come whether we will it or not. But we are stirring up our desires for the kingdom so that it can come to us and we deserve to reign there.
When we say: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are asking him to make us obedient so that his will may be done in us as it is in heaven by his angels.
When we say: Give us this day our daily bread, in saying this day , we mean "in this world". Here we ask for a sufficiency by specifying the most important part of it; that is, we use the word "bread" to stand for everything. Or else we are asking for the sacrament of the faithful, which is necessary in this world, not to gain temporal happiness but to gain the happiness that is everlasting.
When we say: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,
we are reminding ourselves of what we must ask and what we must do in order to be worthy in turn to receive.
When we say: Lead us not into temptation, we are reminding ourselves to ask that his help may not depart from us; otherwise we could be seduced and consent to some temptation, or despair and yield to it.
When we say: Deliver us from evil, we are reminding ourselves to reflect on the fact that we do not yet enjoy the state of blessedness in which we shall suffer no evil. This is the final petition contained in the Lord’s Prayer, and it has a wide application. In this petition the Christian can utter his cries of sorrow, in it he can shed his tears, and through it he can begin, continue, and conclude his prayer, whatever the distress in which he finds himself. Yes, it was very appropriate that all these truths should be entrusted to us to remember in these very words."
This leads us to the "Tau Cross" and Franciscan spirituality.
From "Catch Me a Rainbow" pg. 154 : " "Go through the city, through Jerusalem," says the Lord, "and put a mark (T) on the foreheads of those who groan and lament over the abominations practiced there." Then I heard him say to the others: "Follow him through the city and kill without pity; spare no one ... but touch no one who bears the mark!" Ezekiel 9:4-6
Pope Innocent III reflected the spirit of St. Francis when he wrote: "The TAU has exactly the same form as the cross on which our Lord was crucified on Cavalry(T). Only those will be marked with this sign and will obtain mercy who have mortified their flesh and conformed their lives to that of the crucified savior.
St. Francis often used the TAU to sign his name. Dedicated to the crucified Lord, Francis uses the TAU to identify with Jesus. Throughout Franciscan history the TAU has been a sign of commitment for us. It reminds us of the love that Jesus has for us."
Love is the key to the Gift of Tears, as it is the key to everything.
From Omnibus, Book of Sources : pg. 700 Bonaventure, Major Life. "He (Francis) would not think himself Christ’s lover, if he did not compassionate the souls whom he redeemed. He used to say that nothing should take precedence over the salvation of souls, because it was for souls that the only begotten Son of God hung upon the Cross. It was for souls that he wrestled in prayer, for souls that he was so active in preaching, and it was for them that he went beyond all limits in giving good example. .... It was solely for the sake of others that "he kept to the paths that are hard to follow" (Ps 16,4). He used to say, "I may speak with every tongue that man and angels use; yet, if I lack charity (1 Cor 13,1-3) and fail to set others an example of virtue, I am of little use to them and none to myself." "
From "The Beatitude of Tears" by Glinda Johnson-Medland - Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. : "Not so long ago, I lost an unborn child that my husband and I had spent seven years waiting for. I grieved for that tiny person as I had never grieved before. I wondered if I would lose my sanity with the passing of her life. The morning was more difficult; for if grieving is our internal work, mourning is our public face.
I had never realized how much grief is stifled in the United States. Many people did not understand my deep sorrow over the unborn life, or they sought to assure me that this loss was for the best. When I began to cry in church, I was offered allergy medicine by one person, eye drops by another, but never a tissue -- never a hand of understanding.
I began to see grieving in the eyes of all those around me; grief over lost ones, lost ideals, lost youth, lost love. What frightened me was how little mourning I saw, as if all the grief were trapped behind the eyes of the knower."
We as Franciscans then are called by the TAU, the symbol of suffering, to be that hand of understanding to each other - through the love which we are reflecting. This causes us pain. We tend to shy away from this pain by the offering of tissue or medicine, to protect ourselves from this pain, justifying to ourselves that we have enough of our own pain.
From Bonaventure, Major Life : "This is the essence of the life of penance, and we take upon ourselves the sign of the TAU, the sign of those who weep and mourn their faults. ....
We can come to the conclusion, without any doubt, that this messenger of God - so worthy to be loved by Christ, imitated by us and admired by the world - was God’s servant Francis, if we consider the height of his extraordinary sanctity.
For even while he lived among men, he imitated angelic purity so that he was held up as an example for those who would be perfect followers of Christ. We are led to hold this firmly and devoutly because of his ministry to call men to weep and mourn to shave their heads, and to put on sackcloth, and to mark with a TAU the foreheads of men who mourn and grieve, signing them with the cross of penance and clothing them with his habit, which is in the form of a cross."
This "T" (TAU) is the habit that we wear as Secular Franciscans. (Heavy Habit ! )
From Omnibus pg. 668 , Bonaventure, Major life : "In his present state of weakness man is incapable of imitating the crucified Lamb of God perfectly and avoiding all the stains of sin. And so Francis taught his friars by his own example that those who are trying to be perfect must cleanse themselves daily with tears of contrition. He had attained extraordinary purity of soul and body, yet he never ceased from purifying his spiritual vision with floods of tears and thought nothing of the fact that it was costing him his sight. As a result of his continual weeping, he developed serious eye-trouble, but when the doctor advised him to restrain his tears if he wanted to avoid losing his sight, he replied, "Brother doctor, we share this world’s light in common with the flies; we must not refuse to enjoy the presence of everlasting light merely to save it. Our bodies were given the power of sight for the sake of our souls; the sight which our souls enjoy was not given us for the sake of our bodies." He preferred rather to lose his sight than to check the fervor of his spirit and restrain the tears which sharpened his spiritual vision and enabled him to see God."
From Omnibus pg. 848 Bonaventure, Excerpts: "My dearly beloved, the angels are always reminding us of all that God has done for us. Who created us? Who redeemed us? What have we done? Whom have we offended? If we would only remember this, we would realize that we have no excuse but to weep. Such heartfelt contrition was the gall with which St. Paul bathed his eyes, and St. Peter, too, went out and wept bitterly (LK 22, 62). This was the gall which bathed the eyes of Mary Magdalen, because she also wept bitterly, and St. Francis wept so bitterly that he lost his sight. In our turn, we also should bathe our eyes in this bath, that we may have sight.
With this spirituality Francis wrote the "Canticle of the Sun" as he was losing his eye sight.
From Omnibus pg. 1020-24 Legend of Perugia , The Canticle of The Sun #43 : "During His stay in this friary, for fifty days and more, blessed Francis could not bear the light of the sun during the day or the light of the fire at night. He constantly remained in darkness inside the house in his cell. His eyes caused him so much pain that he could neither lie down nor sleep, so to speak, which was very bad for his eyes and for his health. There were so many mice running around here and there, around him and even on him, that they prevented him from taking a rest; they even hindered him greatly in his prayer. When he ate, they climbed up on the table, so much so that he and his companions were of the opinion that it was a diabolical intervention, which it was. "
He felt sorry for himself and asked for the strength to bear his infirmities patiently! Then he heard a voice in spirit ask: If he were given a sharing in God’s kingdom as conpensation for his suffering would he rejoice.
Continuing from Legend of Perugia : He "sat down, concentrated a minute, then cried out: " Most high, all-powerful, and good Lord ...." And he composed a melody to these words which he taught his companions.""
He wanted Bro. Pacificus, a poet and master of song, to go through the world with a few pious and spiritual friars to preach and sing the praises of God. He called them "servants of God" having in mind the Friars Minor who had been given to the world to save it. He called these praises "The Canticle of the Sun".
Continuing from Legend of Perugia #44 : "At the time when he was very sick - the "Praises of the Lord" had already been composed - the bishop of Assisi excommunicated the podesta. In return, the podesta had it announced to the sound of the trumpet in the streets of the city that every citizen was forbidden to buy from or sell anything whatsoever to the bishop or to transact any business between them. Blessed Francis, who was very sick at that time, pitied them. It pained him to see that no one, religious or lay, intervened to reestablish peace and concord between them."
He called them together with the notables of the commune and had one of his companions sing the Canticle of Brother Sun to them having confidence that the Lord would put humility and peace in their hearts and that they would return to the former friendship and affection. And so after singing the Canticle of the Sun with tears of forgiveness they reconciled, and embraced each other.
Perhaps each of us or each fraternity should read the Canticle of Brother Sun at each meeting each month.
( Revised version pg. 1923 Omnibus)
From "Our Lady Speaks to Her Beloved Priest", Marian Movement of Priest, message to Fr. Stefano Gobbi from Our Lady from 1973 to 1999 :
#283 Zompita(Udine), January 24, 1984 - MY SIGNS -:
(l) I am covering you with my very own splendor; I am clothing you with my virtues; I am signing you with my seal; I am revealing to you the secrets of divine wisdom; I am leading you each day along the road of perfect love.
#542 Capoliveri(Livorno, Italy) ; April 14, 1995 - Good Friday
TEARS and BLOOD - :
(d) Then, after He has emitted his last breath, the Roman centurion, with lance in hand, pierced his side, from which flow blood and water, symbols of the sacraments of your rebirth. From this fount the Church is born, born in the cradle formed by the blood of the Son and the tears of the Mother.
(e) Tears and Blood. They are the price of your ransom. They are the signs of an immense suffering. They are the gift of divine Mercy which has come down to renew the whole world.
(f) Today you are living a new Good Friday. And how much Blood flows down from the weeping eyes of your heavenly Mother! It is the blood of children killed in the wombs of their mothers. It is the blood poured out by the victims of violence and hatred, of fratricidal struggles and wars. And again copious tears flow down from my motherly eyes in the face of a humanity which bears within itself the reason for its own condemnation.
(h) How can a child not be moved before its mother who is weeping? How can you, my beloved children, not be moved before your heavenly Mother who is weeping tears of blood?
.... And unite your sorrow with mine, to implore once again the miracle of divine mercy upon the world."
(A) But above al, it is the sacrileges which today form, around my Immaculate Heart, a painful crown of thorns. In these times, how many communions are made, and how many sacrileges perpetrated! It can be said that there is no longer any Eucharistic celebration where sacrilegious communions are not made. If you only saw with my eyes how great this wound is which has contaminated the whole Church and paralyzes it, halts it, and makes it impure and so very sick! If you only saw with my eyes, you too would shed copious tears with me.
# 231 Ponta Grossa (Parana, Brazil ) ; September 15, 1981 Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows : Mother of All Sorrows :
(h) Today more than ever, I am the Mother of All Sorrows and tears are falling from my merciful eyes. Listen to me, and do not withdraw yourselves from the love of your sorrowful Mother who wants to lead you all to salvation.
(i) Beloved children, at this time you are becoming the sign of my immense sorrow. In your hearts carry, with me, the suffering of the world and the Church, in this its new hour of agony and of redemptive passion. It will be only from this suffering of ours that a new era of peace for all can be born."
# 40 February 23, 1974 It will Begin with My Priests:
(e) That which most touches my Heart is to hear them (priest) cry like little children. Can a mother not be moved before her little child who is crying?
(f) Behold: when everything will have come tumbling down, all that will remain will be the strength of their tears that will compel me to intervene in an amazing and terrible way. And my triumph will begin with these beloved sons, my priests."
Remember St. Francis saw the friars as given to the world to save it. He also saw a time of tribulation and scandal upon the friars and a destroyer would be sent. But in the end the whole world would be turned to Christ by their preaching. Francis was promised that "When the angels present their souls before God, He will show them the fruit and reward of their labours, namely, the many souls that have been saved by their prayers and Tears."(Omnibus Mirror of Prefection #70,71,72 and Celano II #158
So with every tear that we shed for ourselves and others, offer them to Our Blessed Mother to help fill the bucket in which she is collecting the water (tears) to quench the flames of Divine Justice.
In conclusion: Mother Angelica’s Family Newsletter of September 2000 No. 174 was all about a Mothers love and our Lady of Sorrows. She said, "So let us turn to Our Lady of Sorrows and ask her to aid us in the struggles of life. Family, we are pilgrims in this vale of tears. Only in Heaven will be able to rejoice. Let us walk along with courage, and with Our Lady accept and see every suffering as coming from the hand of God for a definite good. The Mother of Sorrows is our Mother, and she will never abandon us. She will make us great saints, and through her prayerful intercession, and the activity of her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, we will be transformed into an image of her Son. I love you, Family."
In the prayer " Hail Holy Queen", we cry to Our Mother in this vale of tears, mourning and weeping as the poor banished children of Eve, that is, in our sinfulness. So let us say that prayer with this new enlightened meaning of mourning -
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To you do us sent up our sighs,
Mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then most gracious Advocate,
Your eyes of Mercy towards us.
And after this, our exile,
Show unto us the Blessed fruit of your womb,Jesus
Oh clement, oh loving, oh sweet Virgin Mary ,
Pray for us, Oh Holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
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