John of Forde
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On TearsWe cannot mistake whose voice it is; it is the tender voice of Jesus speaking to sinners... Yes, it is Jesus who speaks to those who pass by the way, and asks them to see "if there is any sorrow like this." Yes, there are no tears like the tears of Jesus, no sorrow like the sorrow of Jesus. His sorrow breaks open the hardened heart of the sinner, and he repents. His tears draw a spring of tears from the rock of the desert. It is truly impossible for any soul not to be pierced sooner or later by contrition, and it was for this that Jesus shed tears. It is an established fact that Jesus grieved and wept, and over and above, offered his own self as a victim of reparation to his eternal Father for all those whom he foreknew and predestined to be restored through penance...
"I shall make you drunk with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh." It is as if he lamented from the depths of his heart, speaking to the throngs of sinners who would be justified by the sacrament of penance. It is as if he says: I restore on your account what you have stolen; I do penance first for your sins. You, too, will be sorry, but it will be because of the tears of my penance rather than because of your tears, that you will be justified. If you too are to feel contrition, my tears will have to be your drink; if you are to do real penance, my tears will have to make you drunk. The pools of Heshbon, then, are the deep compassion of God which made him do penance for sinners in the past and the unfettered, secret inspiration of all repentance.
On the Song of Songs; CF 45:165-6
