Q: I was at a Bible study last night and we were talking about apparitions of Mary when she is crying. Someone asked “Doesn’t it say there is no sadness in heaven?” I thought that was an interesting point.

A: Yes, and your friend is correct. There is no sadness for those experiencing the Beatific Vision of God. Tears displayed in a Marian apparition would therefore be metaphors expressing her concern, but not sadness, over things on earth (i.e., she is very concerned about these things and if she were in a state where sadness existed, she would be sad over them).

The same is true of the Bible’s expressions of sorrow, regret, repentance, grief, and anger on the part of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God, as the Source of all beatitude also cannot have his beatitude ruined by the sins of creatures. Sinners cannot hold heaven hostage by ruining its beatitude.