WORD OF THE WEEK

I CAN remember vividly the time when I called to see a young woman to arrange the funeral of her husband. He had been killed in thick fog while driving his van on a motorway.

The tragic event had received considerable coverage on the national news, making most of the nation aware of the tragedy. Now she was left alone to bring up her two children.

A week or two later I decided to call round to see her again. She, somewhat to my surprise, was pleased to see me. What she then told me shocked me beyond belief.

She explained that, since her husband’s tragic accident, all her friends had abandoned her. Not one came to see her.

Just a few weeks before, virtually the whole nation was aware of what had happened, now no one wanted to know!

Sadly, in my experience, this was not an isolated event. It can happen that if someone is experiencing intense grief, their friends are afraid they will not be able to respond in a way that can bring a little comfort.

Sometimes, too, they feel unable to handle the pain. How important it is that we act with compassion to those who suffer. It will be impossible for us to take their pain away, for the most we can do is offer comfort and consolation.

In such an encounter we will often feel the pain of those who are acutely wounded.

If someone has acted towards us with compassion, we will know that we are not alone in our suffering and that will be a blessing to us, even if we remain deeply sad.

That’s why, when we are called to respond to another’s grief, we promise that we won’t run away. We will be there for them.

Praise be to God “who consoles us in all our troubles, so that we in turn may be able to console others in any trouble of theirs.” (2 Corinthians 1:4)