The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Rachel weeps for her children in every generation

When Pope Francis formally began his ministry as pope nearly four years ago, he pledged to protect the dignity of each person and the beauty of creation, just as St. Joseph protected the Blessed Virgin Mary and her son, Jesus. “To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love is to open up a horizon of hope,” the Holy Father said.

During his first World Day of Peace message, Pope Francis expressed it this way: “New ideologies, characterized by rampant individualism, egocentrism and materialistic consumerism, weaken social bonds, fueling that throwaway mentality which leads to contempt for, and the abandonment of, the weakest and those considered useless.” Despair is a consequence of the radical devaluation of the human person, the Holy Father teaches. Hope comes when human dignity is recognized and affirmed.

Last month, during one of his regular Wednesday audiences, Pope Francis spoke of the inconsolable pain of a parent losing a child. Recalling the Old Testament figure of Rachel, wife of Jacob, who is described by the prophet Jeremiah as weeping bitter tears for her children in exile, the pope reminded us that there are no words or gestures that can console a parent faced with the tragedy of losing a child.

Many mothers today are crying and inconsolable, unable to accept the senseless death of a child. Rachel’s pain, the pope said, encapsulates the suffering of all parents and the tears of all people who weep for an irreparable loss.

Rachel’s experience teaches us how delicate and difficult it is to console another person who is grieving. We who are called to be witnesses to the joy of the Gospel must first share people’s tears and if we can’t find words to do that, the Holy Father says, it’s better to keep silent, offering only a gesture or a caress instead.

God responds to Rachel’s tears, the pope said, promising that her children will return to their homeland. The bitter tears of the woman who dies in childbirth become the seeds of new life and generate new hope.

In a similar way, Pope Francis says, the death of Christ on the cross offers life and hope to the innocent children of Bethlehem who are murdered by King Herod in the days following Jesus’ birth. Hope does not explain the mystery of evil or take away the pain and grief sorrowing parents feel. When people ask difficult questions about why children suffer, the pope says, “I don’t know what to reply. I simply say, ‘Look at the cross: God gave us his Son, he suffered and perhaps you will find a reply there.’ ”

Every human being is wanted by God because every single person has been given the gift of life. This gift is a share in God’s own being that is more precious than anything we can possibly imagine. Life itself is the treasure given to us by God to be nurtured and protected and shared generously with others. Nothing on Earth is more valuable than human life. That’s why deliberately taking a human life by murder, abortion, euthanasia, infanticide or any other unjust means is such a grave sin. God alone gives life, and only he can take it back again.

The Son of God entered into our human suffering sharing our pain and welcoming death. From the cross, he gave new life to Mary, making her the mother of all believers. Through Mary’s and Rachel’s tears, he fulfills the words of the prophet and generates new hope.

No one is unwanted by God. That’s why we reverence all life, why we help the handicapped and care for the infirm and the elderly, why we encourage and assist women with unplanned pregnancies and why we speak out forcefully against all attempts to treat society’s unwanted human beings as somehow less valuable than they truly are in the sight of God.

All life is sacred—especially those who feel unwanted or who have been rejected by the unjust, unloving and inhuman laws, policies and social practices of this and every other age.

No one ever has to wonder, “Does God really want me?” God wants everyone.

“Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days” (Dt 30:16, 19–20).
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †