The acclamations of the crowd increased as the procession neared the town. Jesus, seeing the city, wept: not at the thought of the cruel death awaiting him there (which he had long desired); but at the thought of the blindness of the inhabitants who would persist in rejecting him; and consequently, were to be chastised.
A year before, he said, “I have a baptism with which to be baptized; how anxious am I until it is completed!” (Lk 12:50) Their eternal censure drew from his lips: “If you had only recognized the things that make for peace; but now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Lk 19:42)
Let us learn from these tears of Jesus: 1) To be less involved with our petty miseries and be more concerned about so many hardened sinners; and to use prayers and mortifications for their conversion; 2) to keep alive a spirit of repentance; and 3) to fear above all, as the saints did, failure to cooperate sufficiently with the grace of God.
Jesus loved Jerusalem tenderly. His heavenly Father had made it the home of his chosen people, the place of his Temple; and called it the Holy City, the City of God.
How the thought of its total destruction must have grieved his Sacred Heart when he made the fearful prophecy, “For days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God!” (Lk 19:43-4)
Jesus still hoped by this terrible warning to convert the unbelieving Jews. The prophecy was not fulfilled for thirty-eight years, when the Romans, the instruments of God’s vengeance, besieged Jerusalem; and, after reducing it by famine, laid it to waste exactly as Jesus had described.
The destruction of Jerusalem is a figure of the desolation caused by mortal sin in the faithless soul, which loses all its beauty in the eyes of God; becomes a hideous ruin, deprived of all the rights bestowed in holy baptism, of sanctifying grace, peace, and happiness, of all acquired merits, and finally, the reward of heaven.
Oh merciful God may this desolation spare us! Let this thought increase our zeal and fervor.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp739-41
Joy despite troubles and weakness
As we confront our shortcomings, which seemingly increase at almost every turn, the joy that children of God experience sometimes becomes clouded. Yet for a child of God, weaknesses are also a reason to rejoice. They offer an occasion to experience our Father God’s mercy and goodness.
Mothers are thrilled to give their newborns all the care needed, and then some, with no repugnance at the helpless child’s limitations. They teach the young child to talk, to read, and to pray; they would truly suffer if the child were to foolishly try to be independent.
The fact that a toddler needs practically everything spurs his mother’s love and generosity. If they truly love their parents, good children show they need them.
In the spiritual realm however, there is no need for airs: we weaklings are always in need of God, in everything. And he loves us “just as we are”, insisted St Josemaria Escrivá, that is, weak, fragile, barely worth anything.
Thus he wrote: “To know we are made of clay, [the broken pieces] riveted together again, is a continual source of joy. It means acknowledging our littleness in the eyes of God: a little child. Can there be any joy to compare with that of the person who, knowing himself to be poor and weak, knows also he or she is a child of God?” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 108) When we feel our weakest and neediest, we are to revel all the more in our divine filiation.
Our peerless joy born of being and knowing to be a child of God does not rest on our virtues, on the satisfaction of right-doing, but solely on our helplessness.
“Don’t be afraid to know your real self. That’s right, you are made of clay. Don’t be worried. For you and I am children of God ... We are chosen by a divine calling from all eternity: ‘The Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him’ (Eph 1:4).” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 160)
Such is our life: struggling to please our Father, giving him joys, like his Son Jesus Christ, in whom he is well pleased. That is the reason for the cheerfulness in the lives of children of God, trying to behave as such.
Joy stems from divine filiation which cannot disappear. Only grave sin weakens our filiation. So long as we consequently struggle, our cheerfulness cannot end.
Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez-Carvajal and Peter Beteta, “Children of God”, 1997, 135-6
A happy soul is closer to God
Joy is indispensable to a Christian’s life. A joyful soul has wings to fly towards God. A happy soul is closer to God and is able to undertake works of service for other people.
In contrast, sadness paralyzes one’s desires for sanctity and apostolate. It is a great evil because it clouds our vision. Our Christian joy will be a source of strength in time of trial.
We must bring this joy and peace to everybody God has placed beside us. Our homes should be ‘bright and cheerful’, because Christ is at its head. To be disciples of Christ means we are living those human and supernatural virtues intimately tied to joy: generosity, cordiality, spirit of sacrifice, sympathy, making life pleasant for others, etc.
Our joy should accompany us to where we work, to our colleagues, to people we meet by chance on the street. Many of these people are sad and troubled. We should help them see the joy of living in Christ.
The smiling face of the Lord should shine through our life and works. His perfect peace was shown during his Passion and Death.
Let us turn to Our Mother Mary, ‘Cause of our joy’. She will lead us to the path of true peace and joy should we ever lose our way. We will then understand that the path to joy is the same as the path to God.
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 5:312, 316-7
• Our Lady of Walsingham, in England, greatly honored by Edward I, who, as he was playing one day at chess, rose up instinctively from his seat, and at the same time a large stone became loose in the roof, and fell upon the chair where he had been sitting. From that time he particularly honored Our Lady of Walsingham. — Thomas Walsingham, History of England under Edward I. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Walsingham (England, 1061). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (http://mariedenazareth.com); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
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