What do the Fathers say about holy tears and the tears of the afflicted?

First : Tears are a divine gift to those who love holiness. St. Augustine says, “The holier a man is, and the fuller he is of holy desire, so much the more abundant is the tearfulness of his supplication. Are not these the utterances of a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem: ‘My tears have become food day and night’ (Ps. 42:3), and ‘All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch,’ and, ‘My sighs do not cease’ (Ps. 6:6)?”⁵⁴² St. John of Thebes says, “The abundance of sorrowful tears is a gift from God, given through the diligence of the entreaties of him who seeks them.”

Second : He who weeps wisely acquires great joy and eternal glory . St. Ambrose says, “Whence did he gain that great joy except that he greatly wept, and, as it were, at the price of his tears obtained the grace of future glory for himself.”⁵⁴³

St. Basil the Great says, “‘You have turned for me my mourning into joy’ (Ps. 30:11). The joy of God is not found in just any soul but, if someone has mourned much and deeply his own sin with loud lamentations and continual weepings, as if he were bewailing his own death, the mourning of such a one is turned into joy … But the prophets make lamentation for us, summoning us to mourn, in order that, becoming aware from the prophetic words of our own sins, we may bewail our destruction, afflicting our flesh with hardships and toils. By such a person, the mourning garment, which he put on when bewailing his sin, is rent,

539 Caesarius of Arles, Sermons: Volume III (187-238) 215.2 (FOTC 66:114).

540 Caesarius of Arles, Sermons: Volume II (81-186) 162.2 (FOTC 47:380).

541 Caesarius of Arles, Sermons: Volume II (81-186) 162.5 (FOTC 47:383).

542 St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God 20.17 (NPNF I/2:436).

543 St. Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Widows 6 (NPNF II/10:397).

and the tunic of joy is placed around him and the cloak of salvation, those bright wedding garments, with which, if one is adorned, he will not be cast out from the bridal chamber.”⁵⁴⁴

Third : Blessed joy is a gift to those who mourn . The scholar Origen says that weeping alone in repentance leads to blessed laughter.⁵⁴⁵ St. John Climacus says, “He who wends his way in constant mourning according to God does not cease to feast daily.”⁵⁴⁶

Fourth : Holy tears are heavenly bread . St. Macarius the Great says, “For the tear that is really shed out of much affliction and anguish of heart in the knowledge of the truth, with burning of the inward parts, is indeed a food of the soul, supplied from the heavenly bread, of which Mary pre-eminently partook, when she sat at the feet of the Lord and wept, after the testimony of the Savior Himself. He says: ‘Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her’ (Luke 10:42). O those precious pearls in the flow of blessed tears! O that immediate and ready hearing!”⁵⁴⁷

Fifth : Tears lead us to the city of peace . St. Macarius the Great says, “Labor to enter into the holy city, the Jerusalem that is at peace, that is above, above all, where also is Paradise. You have no other way to be admitted to these wonderful and blessed types, unless you pour out tears day and night, like him who says: ‘Every night I wash my bed, and water my couch with my tears’ (Ps. 6:6). You know well that they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. The prophet says boldly, ‘Lord, put my tears in your bottle; are they not in Your book?’ (Ps. 56:8).”⁵⁴⁸

Sixth : Tears are a source of consolation . Anthimus of Jerusalem says, “You see my tears before your eyes, O You who knows all hidden things, and You have fulfilled your promise: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’ (Matt 5:4).”

St. John Chrysostom says, “Nothing is sweeter than these tears; sweeter are they than any laughter. They that mourn, know how great consolation it possesses. Let us not think this a thing to be deprecated, but one to be even exceedingly prayed for; not that others may sin, but that, when they sin, we may be heart-broken for them.”⁵⁴⁹

St. Augustine says, “He who weeps here receives his consolation, for he fears to weep again.” He also says, “Let tears be my portion now, so that my soul may be stripped from her

544 St. Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms 14.7 (FOTC 46:224).

545 See Origen, Homilies on Jeremiah 20.6 (FOTC 97:233–235).

546

John Climacus: Ladder of Divine Ascent . Trans., Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell (Paulist Press, 1982) 7.37: p. 118.

547 A. J. Mason, Fifty Spiritual Homilies of St. Macarius the Egyptian , trans., A. J. Mason (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1921) 25.8: p. 183.

548 A. J. Mason, Fifty Spiritual Homilies of St. Macarius the Egyptian , trans., A. J. Mason (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1921) 25.7: p. 182.

549 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Colossians 12 (NPNF I/13:316).

illusions, and my body may be clothed with true health, which is immortality. Let no one say to me: ‘You are happy,’ because whoever says this to me wishes only to mislead me.”⁵⁵⁰

He also says, “A long journey without tears shows no evidence of a desire to return to one’s home. If you desire what you have not, pour out your tears. Tell God, ‘I have laid my tears before your face’ (cf. Ps. 56:8); ‘My tears have been my food day and night’ (Ps. 42:3). They have become my food; I was comforted when I wept, and they nourished me when I was hungry. Who among the righteous was bereft of these tears? He who does not have these tears will not mourn over his sojourn.”

St. Ambrose says, “Jeremiah knew that repentance was a great remedy, which he in his Lamentations took up for Jerusalem, and brings forward Jerusalem itself as repenting, when he says: ‘She weeps at night, and her tears are on her cheeks. She has no comforter from all her lovers … The ways of Zion mourn’ (Lam. 1:2, 4). And even more, he says: ‘For these things I weep; my eye, my eye overflows with water; because the comforter, who should restore my life’ (Lam. 1:16) … But let those who repent learn how they ought to carry it out, with what zeal, with what affection, with what intention of mind, with what shaking of the inmost bowels, with what conversion of heart: ‘See, O Lord, for I am in distress; my soul is troubled; my heart is overturned within me’ (Lam. 1:20) and again he says: ‘The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground and keep silent; they throw dust on their heads, and gird themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground. My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled; my bile is poured on the ground’ (Lam. 2:10– 11).”⁵⁵¹

Seventh : The inner fountain overflows with holy tears . Sirach says, “He who pokes his eye will cause tears to fall, and he who pierces a heart reveals its feeling” (Sir. 22:19). In his writings, the scholar Origen interprets the eye and the heart here to refer to the inner life. A believer ought to drink from his inner springs, that is, from his discernment and emotions. When the Word of God, through His incarnation, dwelt among us to establish His kingdom within us (Luke 17:21), He directed our gaze to our own depths where we can see Him working within us. He came, not to belittle us, but to honor us by making us one with Him and showing us His exalted works. Origen⁵⁵² calls us to “poke” the eye and “pierce” the heart by praying with faith, asking for God’s work within us and to be filled with His blessings as it is written in the Psalms: “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps. 81:10).

In Origen’s discourse on the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer, he asks us to drink living water from our inner springs and wells. He says, “Let us attempt to do also that which wisdom admonishes saying: ‘Drink the waters of your own springs and wells, and let your spring be your own’ (Prov. 5:15, 17). Therefore, you also attempt, O hearer, to have your

550 See Youhanna al-Helw (al-Khouri), A Philosopher’s Thoughts on the Spiritual Life (Arabic) (Beirut Catholic Press, 1970): pp. 279–281.

551 St. Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Repentance 2.6.45–47 (NPNF II/10:351) amended.

552 Origen, Homilies on Exodus 4.5 (FOTC 71:266–267).

own well and your own spring, so that you too, when you take up a book of the Scriptures, may begin even from your own understanding to bring forth some meaning, and in accordance with those things which you have learned in the church, you too attempt to drink from the fountain of your own abilities. You have the nature of ‘living water’ within you. There are within you perennial veins and streams flowing with rational understanding, if only they have not been filled with earth and rubbish. But get busy to dig out your earth and to clean out the filth, that is, to remove the idleness of your natural ability and to cast out the inactivity of your heart. For hear what the Scripture says: ‘Prick the eye and it will bring forth a tear; prick the heart and it brings forth understanding’ (Sir. 22:19). You too, therefore, cleanse your natural ability that sometime also you may drink from your own springs and may draw ‘living water’ from your wells. For if you have received the word of God in yourself, if you have accepted ‘the living water’ from Jesus and have accepted it faithfully, ‘a fountain of water springing up into life eternal’ will arise in you, in Jesus Christ himself, our Lord.”⁵⁵³

Eighth : The Lord attends to the tears and cries of those who are oppressed. Sirach highlights God’s concern for ministering to oppressed groups. The Lord’s ears listen to the supplications, tears, and cries of orphans and widows. “Do not the tears of a widow run down her cheeks as she cries out against him who caused them?” (Sir. 35:15). Fulgentius of Ruspe says, “We overcome the adversary if we fight with tears and prayers and continuing humility of heart. It is written that: ‘The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds … And it will not desist until the Most High responds’ (Sir. 35:21). Therefore, the weeping of the humble contributes greatly to the destruction of carnal concupiscence. The tears which come from compunction of heart both conquer the enemy and gain for us the gift of triumphal happiness.”⁵⁵⁴

Ninth : Tears prepare our bridal garments. St. John Climacus says, “He who is clothed in blessed and grace-given mourning as in a wedding garment knows the spiritual laughter of the soul.”⁵⁵⁵

Tenth : Holy tears ought not to inspire pride in us . St. Nilus of Sinai says, “When you shed floods of tears during prayer, do not exalt yourself for this, as though you were above many others. It is that your prayer has received help from above, so that, having zealously confessed your sins, you may incline the Almighty to mercy by your tears.”⁵⁵⁶

Eleventh : Tears of heavenly wisdom. St. John Chrysostom says, “When we entreat a sinning brother, we ought to weep, grieving and groaning; when we exhort any one, and he gives us no heed, but goes on perishing, we ought to weep. These are the tears of heavenly

553 Origen, Homilies on Genesis 12.5 (FOTC 71:183–184).

554 Fulgentius of Ruspa, Letters 4.9 (FOTC 95:337).

555 St. John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent , trans., Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell (Paulist Press, 1982) 7.40: p. 118.

556 Nilus of Sinai, “153 Texts on Prayer” in Early Fathers from the Philokalia , trans., E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer (Faber and Faber Ltd., 1954) 7: p. 130.

wisdom. When however one is in poverty, or bodily disease, or dead, not so; for these are not things worthy of tears.”⁵⁵⁷

Twelfth : Tears flow from physical eyes, but they are begotten of the soul. St. John Chrysostom says, “Nothing is sweeter than tearful eyes. For this is the noblest member we have, and the most beautiful, and the soul’s own. And therefore we are so bowed therewith, as though we saw the soul itself lamenting.”⁵⁵⁸

Thirteenth : We need the Lord to look upon us so that we may shed acceptable tears before Him. St. Ambrose says, “Look at us, Lord Jesus, so that we learn to weep for our sin.”⁵⁵⁹ St. Augustine says, “‘Good,’ says he, ‘are the tears which wash away sin. They upon whom the Lord at last turns and looks, bewail. Peter denied Him first, and did not weep, because the Lord had not turned and looked upon him. He denied Him a second time, and still wept not, because the Lord had not even yet turned and looked upon him. The third time also he denied Him, Jesus turned and looked, and then he wept most bitterly’ … It cannot therefore be said that it was with His bodily eyes that the Lord turned and looked upon him by a visible and apparent admonition. That, then, which is described in the words, ‘The Lord turned and looked upon Peter’ (Luke 22:41), was effected internally; it was wrought in the mind, wrought in the will. In mercy the Lord silently and secretly approached, touched the heart, recalled the memory of the past, with His own internal grace visited Peter, stirred and brought out into external tears the feelings of his inner man. Behold in what manner God is present with His help to our wills and actions; behold how ‘He works in us both to will and to do.’”⁵⁶⁰

Fourteenth : We need the tears of the Church . St. Ambrose says, “We see how easily divine mercy is moved by the tears of the widowed mother, especially as she is doubly heartbroken because the child is her only son. The very great crowd of mourners that accompany her show, at the same time, how honoured she is in her widowed state … She, by her tears has merited the resurrection of the young boy who is her only son.”⁵⁶¹ In this scene, St. Ambrose sees a vivid image of the Church’s motherhood who weeps unceasingly for us, beseeching her Christ to restore her only son by uttering the words of life: “So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother” (Luke 7:15).

St. Ambrose continues, “And if your sins are so heinous that not even your tears can wash them away, then let Mother Church weep for you. She cries out for each of her children, just as a widowed mother would do for her only son. Her heart fills with compassion, she is overcome with a kind of spiritual sorrow that is part of her nature, when she sees her children

557 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Colossians 12 (NPNF I/13:317).

558 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Colossians 12 (NPNF I/13:317).

559 St. Ambrose of Milan, Commentary of St. Ambrose on the Gospel according to Saint Luke , trans., Ide M. Ni Riain (Dublin: Halcyon Press, 2001) 10.89: p. 341.

560 St. Augustine of Hippo, On the Grace of Christ 49 (NPNF I/5:233) amended.

561 St. Ambrose of Milan, Commentary of St. Ambrose on the Gospel according to Saint Luke , trans., Ide M. Ni Riain (Dublin: Halcyon Press, 2001) 5.89: p. 146.

driven to their death by deadly vices. We are the very heart of her heart — for there is, too, a spiritual heart. Paul had one, for he says: “Yes, brother, give me this joy in the Lord. Restore to me my heart in Christ” (Philem. 20). We are the heart of the Church, for we are members of her body, of her flesh and of her bones. So let her weep, this tender Mother, and let the multitude surround her. Let not only one multitude, but multitudes beyond counting, weep together with this Mother. In that way you will rise, even in death, and you will be set free from your tomb. The pall bearers will stop, and you will begin to speak words of life. All will tremble with fear, for by the example of one, many will be corrected. They will then praise God, who in His kindness has given us such great remedies against death.”⁵⁶²

Fifteenth : Tears and spiritual fruit. St. Macarius the Great says, “As the rain when it falls upon the earth takes the place of a key in the lock thereof, and opens [it] and brings forth to sight the growth of seeds and roots which are in it, so are the soul and the mind of him that receives and tastes the things that fall from heaven.”⁵⁶³