Lenten Watchfires: Mourning and Being Comforted Alongside Saint Peter

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This week we will travel with Saint Peter, the head of the Apostles and the first Pope. What a great lenten companion Saint Peter will be! I have always found him so human and relatable, he is always putting his foot in it so to speak and brings me great consolation that there is hope for me too. If you missed last week you can find it here: Lenten Watchfires: Rejoice and Be Glad and Saint Francis of Assisi.

What does “beatitude” mean?

The word “beatitude” means an extreme level of blessedness. We are being  blessed by God and are receiving great graces. The beautiful words of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount are called the Beatitudes to reflect how truly blessed we are. Some of them are hard to understand. How can we be blessed by going through hardship? Others seem easier to understand, at first glance. But by really spending time with these blessings we can understand our own lives better. So let’s keep journeying through these treasures that the Lord has given us.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

This is one of the hard Beatitudes to understand: how can we be blessed when we are sad? Isn’t sorrow something to avoid at all cost? Shouldn’t we always be happy and joyful? What if we started thinking differently and embraced our sorrows? How would that bless us? 

Have you ever had the opportunity to console someone who is sad and to be consoled when you are sad? Then I am sure you know what a blessing it is to be consoled when your heart is broken and you are hurting. But you also might know the joy of holding someone close to you and making them feel better and making them smile. Consolation brings blessing to both the sorrowful and the consoler, what an incredible treasure that is!

Mourning

All of us encounter times of mourning in our life, it is part of life. We lose loved ones, we have to leave a cherished home, saying goodbye to grandma and grandpa at the end of the weekend. We mourn because we love. Living on a farm we have encountered death and separation many, many times. When our beloved dog, Sandy, passed away due to old age, one of the children said: “I’ll never have a dog again, it hurts too much when they die”. Never mind that there were already two other dogs on the farm. But that is because she loved Sandy that it hurt so much.

But mourning brings us to being comforted and to allow God to show us how much he loves us. This brings to mind a quote from Saint Teresa of Avila, after she fell flat in the mud on a rainy day pushing a wagon out of a hole: “If this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder why You have so few of them!” But what she forgot in the moment and what we often forget is the comfort that the Lord has waiting for us in Heaven, and very often even here on earth.

Being comforted

This week look at the four suggestions of what we should mourn in our life. Spend some time thinking and praying over these. Then go to confession! Talk about being comforted! The Lord does forgive all of our sins as long as we repent, meaning we mourn our offenses. What an amazing consolation that is! You could not ask for better.
After spending time praying over what we should mourn mentioned on page 5, let’s examine our conscience and prepare ourselves for confession. Let’s make this confession our best confession. Let’s truly and deeply mourn our sins and offenses, ask for forgiveness and be comforted by Our Lord.

Saint Peter

Discover this amazing saint who became the first representative of Jesus on earth. He was not perfect, he had many faults but he also had great love. A love so great that he was willing to die for it. I love the representation of Saint Peter in the movie Jesus of Nazareth. I know The Chosen is all the hype but I find Saint Peter so human and relatable in Jesus of Nazareth that I would highly recommend watching it. We have also enjoyed the picture book St Peter’s Story by Marion Thomas, illustrated by Maria Cristina Lo Cascio. Holy Heroes’s Glory Stories are always phenomenal and St. Peter’s Glory Story will not disappoint. This is a wonderful audio rendition of the life of Saint Peter.

Going deeper

This week let’s mourn and be comforted. Let’s journey hand in hand with Saint Peter and discover the amazing comfort that the Lord will give us. Let’s pray, meditate and determine to move forward leaving our sins behind. We are one step closer to the glory of Easter Morning, let’s make sure our watchfires are burning bright and our souls brighter to welcome the Risen Christ.
I am praying for you.
Love,
Mattie