tears in spiritual life - Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius

CHAPTER TWO
TEARS IN THE MINISTRY
✥ The Reasons for tears in the ministry
1. Perhaps the most famous are the tears of Jeremiah the
Prophet. These were recorded in a whole book amongst the
holy books of the Bible called, ‘The Book of Lamentations’.
It contains many prayers of sighing and grief. Jeremiah
says, “Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us; look, and
behold our reproach! Our inheritance has been turned over to
aliens ... We have become orphans and waifs, our mothers are
like widows”. (Lam 5:1-3).
He also says, “The joy of our heart has ceased; Our dance
has turned into mourning...Because of this our heart is faint;
Because of these things our eyes grow dim...Why do You forget
us forever, and forsake us for so long a time? Turn us back to
You, O LORD, and we will be restored; renew our days as of
old, unless You have utterly rejected us” (Lam 5:15-22).
He explains in this book, the weeping of the kingdom of
Judah saying, “For these things I weep; my eye, my eye
overflows with water; because the comforter, who should
restore my life, is far from me” (Lam 1:16). “My eyes fail with
tears, my heart is troubled.” (Lam 2:11) . “My eyes flow and
do not cease, without interruption, till the LORD from heaven
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