Vatican City, Feb 12, 2020 / 12:49 pm
During his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis discussed the second beatitude, Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted, emphasizing the value of compunction.
Mourning "is an attitude that became central to Christian spirituality," the pope said Feb. 12 at the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
The desert fathers calld this "an inner pain that opens up to a relationship with the Lord and with one's neighbour; a renewed relationship with the Lord and with one's neighbour," he said.
Mourning can have two aspects, Pope Francis said: "for death or for the suffering of someone" and "tears shed over sin – for our own sin, when the heart bleeds for the pain of having offended God and one's neighbour."