Grief anchors us firmly in the flesh and blood of life. Death robs us of the sight and voice and touch of a loved one, and one day it will bring an end to our own delight in the beauty of a sunset and the cheerful morning song of a robin. Life and all the good things it holds are a pleasure. Death brings an end to the things that we have come to know and to trust in this world. Grief mourns their loss, both in the passing of another and in the foreshadowing of our own death.
Monks grieve their losses.
Gratitude for all the good things in life that God has given includes gratitude for the gift of life itself. Whatever is authentically human is part of God s gift of life, and so monks value grief as an expression of something deeply human. It is a very human response to loss. It also safeguards against the denial of death that has come to be so much a part of contemporary culture. Anyone who feels free enough to grieve openly is also free enough to hope confidently.