The Valley of Tears and God


The Beautiful Vesperal Hymn to the Blessed Virgin, Salve Regina rightly proclaims this world as a "vale of sorrows". In this world,  we can never be too happy. If we are wealthy, we worry about our wealth being stolen.  If we're poor, we cry out, why we don't possess wealth. But the truth is, this world,  after the Fall of our First Parents were devoid of Happiness.  For man was made for God and God alone is the Happiness of Man. But the fallen man is so busy trying to seek Happiness in things that he's forgotten his Creator. 





"He was sent to His Own, and they did not accept Him", says St. John The Evangelist and Apostle; in The Prologue of His Gospel. Man has always sought that Happiness but before God The Son came down only a few sought Him as He is. So the non-Israelites or the Gentiles sought Him in things and creation. And because God The Holy Ghost had yet not descended, Man had not the Truth and thus, made God's for themselves.  But as St. Paul tells the Greeks, all pagans had an Altar for the "Unknown God" Who's Form none had seen, Who's Word none had heard. 



"God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" and "He was like us in all things but sin". He knew what it meant to weep, He knew loneliness,  He knew how to feel betrayed,  He knew how much a friend's denial hurts, He felt the agony of being wrongly accused.  We often harp about our pains. We blame others and even God. But, we do forget that this world is passing by. We're not here to stay. As the beautiful hymn sung by Jim Reeves goes, "the world is not my home, I'm just passing by", we ought to remember this. 



Our Lady of Lourdes said to little St. Bernadette,  "I can provide you with happiness not in this world,  but only in the next". Saints endure this agony with bravery.  They become like Christ and hence resound with St. Paul,  "we proclaim Christ Crucified!". St. John of The Cross writes,  "whenever something disappointing happens to you, look at Christ Crucified and be silent". As Christians we are called to despise the world.  We are called to renounce the pomps of Satan. 


 

"For those who believed in His Name, He gave them the power to become the sons of God ". We must never love this world.  We must rather flee from it for "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" in the Celestial City where "God shall wipe away every tear".



Our Lord still asks, "What seekest thou?" Will answer like Sts. Andrew and John, "where dost Thou stay?" Or are we ro become like Pilate and ask, "Truth?! And What is Truth?"


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