The Healing Journey

June 25, 2023

“Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.”
– Thomas Moore

In 1863, a French Jesuit, Francois Rene Blot, published a small book titled, “In Heaven We’ll Meet Again,” which consisted of seven letters of consolation that he wrote to a young mother grieving the loss of her daughter.

In his letters, the priest acknowledged the profound grief when a loved one dies, but he also reminded her that eternal life is a cause for joy because we will all be reunited with our loved ones in relationships that are perfect and have no regrets or selfishness. He cites the testimony of saints, many of whom had mystical visions of heaven and witnessed the eternal bliss that our lost ones enjoy.

Writing to him several years later, the mother said: “I consecrated myself by a vow to our good Mother at the most terrible moment of my grief, and she came to my help. Although I did not remain standing, like her, at the foot of the Cross, I seated myself there and left it not. It was she who obtained the grace for me to do so.”

In his preface to a later edition, the priest responded: “May all mothers from whom death tears a child also invoke and imitate her who beheld her only Son crucified. May all those … have recourse to the Comforter of the Afflicted and at least seat themselves at the foot of the Cross, if they cannot stand.”

He urges all those who have suffered a loss to turn to Our Lady of Sorrows for consolation and to remember that Jesus in his sacrifice on the cross defeated death so that all of us could eventually join him after our life in this vale of tears.

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Never hesitate to ask for help, especially from Our Lady of Sorrows.