Pope: Tears of a mother's pain become seeds of life
and hope
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday continued his
series of reflections on Christian hope, speaking of the inconsolable pain of a
parent losing a child. The Pope focused his words on the Old Testament figure
of Rachel, wife of Jacob, who is described by the prophet Jeremiah as weeping
bitter tears for her children in exile
In the book of Genesis, we learn that Rachel died in childbirth,
giving life to her second son, Benjamin. But the prophet Jeremiah talks about
her inconsolable grief at the loss of her children who’ve been sent into exile.
There are no words or gestures, the Pope said, that can
console a mother faced with the tragedy of losing a child.
There are many mothers today, he went on, who are crying and
inconsolable, unable to accept the senseless death of a child. Rachel’s pain,
he said, encapsulates the suffering of all mothers and the tears of all people
who weep for an irreparable loss.
This story, the Pope said, teaches us how delicate and
difficult it is to console another person’s grief. Before speaking of hope, he
said, we must share in their tears and if we can’t find words to do that, then
it’s better to keep silent, offering only a gesture or a caress instead.
And yet God responds to Rachel’s tears, the Pope said,
promising that her children will return to their homeland. The bitter tears of
the woman who dies in childbirth become the seeds of new life and generate new
hope.
In a similar way, he said, the death of Christ on the Cross
offers life and hope to the innocent children of Bethlehem who are murdered by
King Herod in the days following Jesus’ birth.
Pope Francis spoke of his own reaction to people who ask
difficult questions about why children suffer. “I don’t know what to reply”, he
said, “I simply say, ‘Look at the Cross: God gave us his Son, he suffered and
perhaps you will find a reply there”.
The Son of God entered into our human suffering, the Pope
concluded, sharing our pain and welcoming death. From the Cross, he gave new
life to Mary, making her the mother of all believers. Through Mary’s and
Rachel’s tears, he fulfills the words of the prophet and generates new
hope.
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