Wednesday 23 May

Acts 20:28-38, Ps 68, John 17:11-19

The gift of tears

Evagrius of Ponticus suggests that we “...pray for the gift of tears to soften by compunction the inherent hardness of your soul.”

Paul shed tears. I shed tears at the drop of a hat:

tragedies in the media;

random recollections;

soppy movies and poignant music;

a breath-taking sunset;

beginnings and endings;

admiration and love;

loss and injustice;

unemployment and fear;

frustration and self-pity.

“What is it that you cannot hear without shedding the tears of the soul?”, asks Joan Chittister.

These are the things we must not endure.

These are the things we must change.