Catechesis Notes for the Week — Weep Not For Me — “Jesus turning to them said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.’” (Luke 23:28) “He suffers for our sake. For this reason, it grieves the Lord that His suffering should make us weep. He wants us to be happy, to praise God and give thanks for His grace, and to glorify Him and bear our witness, for it is through His Passion that we received God’s grace, and were freed from sin, and death, and became God’s dear children. But we are as slow to the one as to the other, for by nature we are contrary. When we should weep over our sins, we laugh; when we should laugh and our hearts be joyful because Christ, through His death, has won eternal life for us, we weep. For either we have no regard for such joy, because our hearts are bewitched by the merriment of this world, or we weep, lament, and pine as if Christ had never died, never paid for our sin, never stilled the wrath of God, and never redeemed us from death. Therefore, prayer is needed for both: first, that God through the Holy Ghost may touch our hearts, that He may make us loathe sin, may draw us away from it, and take away our trust in ourselves. Then, that He may kindle in our hearts His comfort in the midst of sin and give us a firm confidence in our Lord’s sacrifice and satisfaction.” – Martin Luther, 1545, Day by Day we Magnify TheeCP230326