“Because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.” Grief is not a feeling we seek. But grief is thrust upon us. Besides the griefs we feel when we lose a loved one there are other, more general, griefs which can overwhelm us. We grieve what we have lost. We have lost the family we had hoped for, the Church we grew up in, the country that we trusted in. The amount of loss, the amount of grief can at time be more than we can bear. Jesus instructs his disciples (us) that grief is not an enemy to be resisted at all cost but part of the pattern of life. We grieve what we have lost but with hope because God takes that grief and does something new. Jesus says that the “Advocate,” the Holy Spirit, will come to us and transform our grief into joy. So we should allow ourselves, and those around us, to grieve, each in their own way. But our grief can be filled with hope because of the ongoing presence and action of the Holy Spirit.
MAY272025
By Church Staff
