The Healing Journey

March 03, 2025

Mother Angelica, the founder of Eternal Word Network, knew suffering in her life, she experienced loss and she felt grief, but she also had hope that this life was not the end of everything. She was a strong woman who could get testy and was never at a loss for an opinion.

She once wrote: “I get a little distressed when I see people at funerals trying to comfort the family and friends of the deceased by pointing out that their loved one is in a ‘better place.’ I know they mean well, and most people are at a loss for what to say at a time like this. But that is surely not the point.

“We all know that the one who died is in a better place (or at least we hope so). We all know that we are going to see them again. We all know that this present life is but a temporary city. We’re not dimwits. We’re just heartbroken. And to deny our grief at this time—to throw ourselves into an attitude of false acceptance—is not what God asks of us.

I’m not putting down people who have a genuine acceptance of their loved one’s death. I’m simply cautioning against masking your grief in order to seem like a ‘better Christian.’ The fact that you feel grief does not mean that something is wrong with your faith.”

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Feeling grief isn’t an indication that your faith is weak.