It’s the day that Jesus was beaten and whipped and mocked.
It’s the day that Our Lord was forced to carry a huge cross to through the streets of Jerusalem.
It’s the day that Our Savior was crucified and died.
Good Friday was a very sad day.
Remembering these events can make Good Friday a sad day for us here today.
In times of sorrow, we often seek consolation. We look for something to make us feel better. It’s only natural. The poem for today, however, talks about finding consolation IN our sorrow. It discusses how difficult times can actually benefit us in some ways. I won’t go any farther on that point because I don’t want to give away too much, but I think this poem has a great deal of wisdom in it about handling afflictions.
The poem for today is titled “Solace in Sorrow” and it was written by Aubrey Thomas Hunt de Vere. De Vere was a 19th century Irish poet and essayist who converted to Catholicism at the age of 43. He was friends with such great writers as Wordsworth and Tennyson. He is best known for his sonnets which were highly praised by Wordsworth.
I hope you enjoy the sonnet below that was written by de Vere. May it guide you in finding “solace in sorrow.”
Solace in Sorrow
By Aubrey de Vere
Count each affliction, whether light or grave,
God’s messenger sent down to thee. Do thou
With courtesy receive him ; rise and bow,
And ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave
Permission first his heavenly feet to lave.
Then lay before him all thou hast, allow
No cloud of passion to usurp thy brow
Or mar thy hospitality, no wave
Of mortal tumult to obliterate
The soul’s marmoreal calmness. Grief should be
Like joy ; majestic, equable, sedate,
Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free;
Strong to consume small troubles, to commend
Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts lasting to the end.
* * *
Did you enjoy this classic sonnet for Good Friday? I hope you did. I thought that it offered some good insights on how to deal with trials.
Tomorrow is the last poem in this series for Holy Week. I look forward to seeing you back here then.