Have a Beatitude Lent — Part 2, mourning and meekness
Most Rev. Bishop John Iffert
Bishop of Covington
Last week I encouraged myself and you to focus during Lent 2026 on virtues that may help contribute to the establishment of the Kingdom of Peace. I wrote to you about choosing humility (poverty of spirit) as a Lenten practice. Today I propose to you mourning with those who mourn and meekness as paths toward peace.
Mourning our griefs and losses in healthy and holy ways acknowledges our own limits, fosters reliance on God, and can lead to a greater awareness of and identification with others who suffer. Joining others in mourning their losses fosters understanding, cultivates gentleness, and leads to accompanying others through the most sensitive and susceptible of times. It is an imitation of Christ who emptied himself out to join our human state and accompany us through the dark valley.
This Lent we might embrace this beatitude by finally seeking help in processing our own profound losses or traumas that have in some way held us captive. A skilled counselor or spiritual director (or both) can be incredibly helpful on this journey. Prayer that acknowledges our own pain and helps us turn to the assurance of God’s accompaniment may, over the long term, open us to sensitive accompaniment of others.
Considering the sufferings of those we count as opponents (or even enemies) can build the virtue of understanding. Meditate on the losses of someone on the other side of a local, national or international issue and take the time to respect their losses and pain. Is there a way to acknowledge their grief and consider how it might cause us to adjust our worldview, or at least the kinds of rhetoric we employ?
Offering practical, unrequested assistance to one who is mourning the loss of a loved one, of their own mobility and liberty, or of a forfeited dream, is a particularly profound kindness. Perhaps a Lenten effort might be to finally develop a concrete response that we can offer a neighbor at the time of a loss.
Many people offer gifts of food. When my mother died, a crafty friend made us a set of notecards and a lovely list for recording delivered food and gifts. The package came with a personal note offering to help us with the dozens of thank-you cards we would face in coming days. A non-judgmental cup of tea with a friend who feels isolated and needs a listening ear is an offering unto the Lord. Taking time this Lent to find a way to respond to a neighbor’s grief and preparing to put this compassionate response into motion, might be a terrific Lenten discipline.
Meekness is the most misunderstood of all human virtues. It is unfortunate that our English word rhymes with “weakness.” Meekness is nothing of the sort. It is the virtuous capacity to endure hardship, and even injustice, without giving way to our baser instincts and desires. Meekness helps us to maintain our higher and holier faculties. It helps us control our tongues for the sake of maintaining relationships. It empowers us to take deep breaths, avoid rage and the emotional backlash that stems from anger. Meekness helps us forego revenge and it promotes charity. Meekness is integrity and STRENGTH!
This virtue allows space for respect, the protection of the dignity of the other, and for considering the other’s perspective with a loving and appreciative eye. It keeps us from jumping to hasty conclusions and actions. Meekness allows us to avoid reacting from our woundedness and instead to see more as God sees and respond more from the heart and mind of Jesus.
To grow in meekness, pray for the gift, of course. It may also be fruitful to consider the last few times we have grown angry and reflect on what was at stake for us when we lashed out. A daily examen that focuses on moments of anger or pique — and the corresponding sense of self-righteousness that can flood us in anger’s wake — may lead us to consider more productive ways to respond. Developing a concrete plan — turning to God, taking a walk or counting to 10 — might help us develop the habit of meekness. If anger is a particular issue for us, we might enter a season of regular, weekly Confession with an emphasis on the moments we have lost our cool and our ability to respond from a Christ-centered place. Of course, daily reception of Communion with the intention of becoming conformed to the One who is meek and humble of heart would be a wonderful Lenten practice.
I have come to think that these three virtues — poverty of spirit, mourning and meekness — are first in Matthew’s list of Beatitudes because they are foundational to the development of all human virtue. They are building blocks along the way of becoming temples of God’s mercy and peacemakers after the heart of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we and our whole society might foster these virtuous capacities!
Whatever Lenten observance we choose, may it lead us to become instruments of the peace Christ wills for his people and his Church. May the Holy Spirit guide you and pour out blessings upon you in this sacred time.
