Labor Pains

"Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”" John 16:20-23

Last Friday, this was the Gospel reading for daily Mass. In brief, Father was preaching during his homily about the "labor pains" we go through in this life in order to bring about the joy of God. It was a beautiful homily. I noticed, however, that I started to focus on the woman who is in labor, how much I longed for that pain, knowing I would not bear it with my little Gianna Clare, who we had just miscarried. I began to cry, to mourn the loss of these pains, and then the loss of the joy of having her in my arms and then no longer remembering the pain because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. I knew that I was at a crossroads in my thinking...I could continue to feel sorry for myself, or I could turn my thoughts to God and see what He wanted to teach me through this scripture & Father's homily. So, praise God, I wiped my tears and turned my thoughts to Him who loves (something I am not always able to do). I began to think about the "labor pains" I was experiencing with the loss of Gianna Clare, and those I had felt with the loss of Ariana Faustina...the sorrow from never holding them in my arms, from never seeing their hearts beat, the difficulty of telling all those who had been excitedly praying for their safe arrival that they would not arrive, hearing the comments of the people who, with good intentions, offered words that hurt rather than healed...all the interior pains that one feels when one loses a precious loved one. I realized that my "labor pains" were not a physical pain, but the interior pain was just as real. And then I considered how the woman forgets her pain when she realizes that a child is born into the world: and how much greater the joy when we REALIZE that a child has been born, not into this world, but into the next, to heaven. May this joy be what causes us to no longer remember the interior pains of miscarriage.

I also do not want to post such an incredible scriptural passage (aren't they all?) without comment on "you will grieve, but your grief will become joy" and "So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. " God's beautiful promise of healing is repeated over and over again in scripture. We must strive eagerly for heaven so that our hearts can rejoice with God when we see Him in glory and no one will take our joy away from us!