The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?

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5:4 #2 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The specific Greek word for ‘to mourn’ used originally, is the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language. It is the word which is used for mourning for the dead, for the passionate lament for one who was loved.

For what do we mourn as if it were a type of death? When we are spiritually destitute and finally surrender all to our Source, we realize what a mess we’ve made of our lives. We mourn for our regrets, our mistakes, things we said or did wrong, perhaps hurting ourselves, or others. Words and actions we wish we could retract but we can’t, regrets that tear us up inside. We mourn that, in our ignorance, we blunder our way through life, too often missing out on what might have been our bliss if we’d seen or understood more clearly. It is when we look back on our lives at the moment of death and regret what we didn’t have the courage to go for and that it is now too late.

So, paraphrased:

Oh the God-like joy when we finally admit and mourn for our mistakes, for the shambles we made of our lives, because we are comforted by the realization that, mistakes and all, we are loved by God anyway, unconditionally, without judgment, which is precisely how we are to love ourselves, and others. There is no greater comfort than this. To be loved anyway. This is joy.

Research Sources

• William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
• The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz

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