I sorrow much

Favourite quote #8

Elizabeth Barret Browning wrote this beautiful verse about grief, which I find to be honest and true:

“When some beloved voice that was to you

Both sound and sweetness, faileth suddenly,

And silence, against which you dare not cry,

Aches round you like a strong disease and new –

What hope? what help? what music will undo

That silence to your sense?”

 

Favourite quote #9

If you’ve lost someone you love or are anticipating their loss (not only through death, but perhaps through distance or divorce of some form), Jesus said “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

How can He say “blessed”? I used to ask myself that all the time. I mean, what possible blessing is there in being bereaved?

My understanding of what Jesus meant when He said this is that when we suffer loss, He promises to hold us extremely, particularly close; even though we grieve, which we must, His very near and even tangible presence will be a blessing to us.

Favourite quote #10

Saint Augustine wrote in Confessions (Book 10, Ch. XL):

“I sorrow much, yet I am still closely held.”

~

 

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