Br. Pius Henry, O.P., on Good Christian Mourning

"The redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross gives us the hope of eternal life with God and the final resurrection - the hope of fully enjoying God's presence forever. In light of this wondrous hope, we Christians can find ourselves feeling guilty for our sadness. Instead of mourning the loss of a loved one, we think that we instead ought to be happy for the deceased's hopeful enjoyment of the beatific vision. This notion has led us often to forgo a mournful, tearful, dirge-filled funeral, for a forced 'celebration of life' in its place. A celebration of life can often overlook the importance of praying for the soul of the deceased - the tradition of the Church since her earliest days. Saint Thomas Aquinas writes that praying for the dead is an expression of charity (ST Suppl. q. 71, a. 2). But the process of celebrating one's life actually finds its fitting place in the sadness of mourning."

In a recent commentary, Brother Pius Henry, O.P., reflected on the role of mourning in Christian lives "with the joy for the gifts given to us through our loved ones here in this present life, and with the prayerful hope of enjoying them perfectly in the life to come."

To access Br. Pius' complete post, please visit:

Dominicana: The Purpose of Good Christian Mourning (2 JAN 24)