Vatican City, Jan 4, 2017 / 04:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- While no words or gestures will ever be enough to comfort the pain experienced by those who have lost a child, Pope Francis said that God’s response to our tears is the offer of hope – hope in the promise of eternal life.

Reflecting on the Old Testament figure of Rachel, who in the Book of Jeremiah is weeping “for her children – they are no more!” the Pope focused his Jan. 4 general audience on God’s response to her mourning.