Explanation of the Second Beatitude
This commandment states the following: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
The mourners spoken of in this commandment are ordinary people who sincerely repent and wholeheartedly grieve over their sin. It is known that if a person suffers and weeps because of pride, passions, or self-love, such suffering torments the soul and brings no benefit. But if a person endures suffering as a trial sent by God, then his tears cleanse the soul, and after suffering the Lord will certainly send him joy and consolation. However, if a person refuses to repent and suffer for the Lord’s sake and does not mourn his sins, but only wants to rejoice and be merry, such a person will not receive God’s support and protection in this life, nor will he enter the Kingdom of God. Concerning such people the Lord said:
“Woe to you who laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25).
Thus, by “those who mourn” Christ meant people who truly grieve over their sins and ask God for forgiveness with tears. To such people the Lord says:
“I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and make them rejoice after their sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13).
A person who has become “poor in spirit,” that is, a person who has freed himself from soul and bodily lusts, cannot but mourn the sinful state of fallen humanity. Such a person is horrified and caused to weep by the godlessness of the sinful world, captive to its own pride and vanity. Such a person weeps out of compassion for the sinful world of lost people, as the Lord wept over Jerusalem. Such people are blessed, that is, happy, because they mourn with Christ out of feelings of compassion for the sinful world. Blessed sorrow for sinners and tears of compassion for them are an integral part of a person’s spiritual development and moral life. But such sorrow is not tinged with darkness and hopelessness, but is permeated with the light of hope and faith that Christ will help people to be delivered from their sins and will bring them consolation.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4).
According to the teaching of Jesus Christ, when a person sincerely weeps over his sins, it testifies to his genuine repentance and indicates that the person is striving for the salvation of his soul. The Apostle Paul said:
“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For godly sorrow produces a repentance leading to salvation, without regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:9–10).
Saint John Climacus, who lived in the 7th century, following the advice of the Apostle Paul, wrote: “Mourning for God is the lamentation of the soul, a disposition of a pained heart that with fervor seeks what it thirsts for… Mourning is a golden sting, by whose wound it lays bare the soul from every earthly love and attachment… With effort hold fast to the blessed joyful sorrow of holy compunction, and do not cease to practice this work until it places you above everything earthly and presents you pure before Christ” (The Ladder, Step 7).
Jesus Christ is ready to help every grieving and suffering person. His heart is always open to our sufferings, sorrows, and cares. The Lord shows great care for all who mourn and suffer, sending them His help and consolation, softening their hearts, saving their souls.
“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:5).