Psalms — Chapter 125

QUI SEMINANT IN LACRIMIS IN EXSULTATIONE METENT. Lapide: Psalm 125 — "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." One of the most beloved verses of the Psalter. Lapide: the seed (semen) = good works, prayers, penances, sacrifices sown in the "tears" of tribulation, spiritual dryness, suffering. The harvest = the joy of eternal life, the beatific vision. Lapide: no tear shed for God is wasted — each one is a seed in the ground of divine providence that will bring forth fruit in eternal joy. This verse is the theology of Christian suffering in a single image.