The Lament of the Dove

The Lament of the Dove: On the Value of Tears

Here for the first time in English is St. Robert Bellarmine's De Gemitu Columbae, translated by Ryan Grant with a foreword by Msgr. Charles Pope. The great Doctor of the Church calls every member of the faithful, lay, religious, and clergy alike, to weep for sin and to rejoice with Christ and the saints.

Grounding penance in Scripture, Bellarmine explores the sources of holy tears in twelve chapters, from the fall of the angels and the failings of clergy and laity to the pains of hell and purgatory. He then turns to the fruits of such meditation: the happiness of the faithful, the release of souls from purgatory, and the glory of God.

A rich and searching classic for Lent, for confession, and for anyone seeking true sorrow for sin and the joy that follows it.

Details: Paperback, 302 pages. Mediatrix Press, September 2026. ISBN 9781957066448.