It is acceptable and healthy for Christians to mourn when a loved one dies. Grief is a normal, very human reaction to loss, and it reminds us how deeply we loved the person who passed from this life to the next. Jesus wept after Lazarus died, though he knew he would soon raise Lazarus from the grave. The Blessed Virgin Mary—Our Lady of Sorrows—experienced anguish at the Cross of her beloved Son, though she believed in the promise of the Resurrection.
“As Christians, we know we shouldn’t despair or give up hope. That doesn’t mean we can’t sorrow and weep and be sad when a loved one is departing from us.”
The more we love, the more we choose to open ourselves to the possibility of suffering: “Blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4). Those who mourn never “get over it” but instead must learn to frame loss in its greater context. We may always miss a loved one’s touch, voice, or presence—and it’s okay to miss those things. We can experience deep sorrow and yet still choose joy, holding fast in hope and constant prayer that our loved one will enjoy eternity with God in heaven. Until the day God draws us fully to himself, he continues to accompany us every step of the way, including in the throes of grief.
