Dilexit Nos §45

⁴⁵ The Gospel makes no secret of Jesus’ love for Jerusalem: “As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it” ( Lk 19:41). He then voiced the deepest desire of his heart: “If you had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace” ( Lk 19:42). The evangelists, while at times showing him in his power and glory, also portray his profound emotions in the face of death and the grief felt by his friends. Before recounting how Jesus, standing before the tomb of Lazarus, “began to weep” ( Jn 11:35), the Gospel observes that, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” ( Jn 11:5) and that, seeing Mary and those who were with her weeping, “he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved” ( Jn 11:33). The Gospel account leaves no doubt that his tears were genuine, the sign of inner turmoil. Nor do the Gospels attempt to conceal Jesus’ anguish over his impending violent death at the hands of those whom he had loved so greatly: he “began to be distressed and agitated” ( Mk 14:33), even to the point of crying out, “I am deeply grieved, even to death” ( Mk 14:34). This inner turmoil finds its most powerful expression in his cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ( Mk 15:34).