There’s plenty to mourn about in this world. In fact, you would have to be pretty insensitive to not be mourning at times, if not for yourself then for all the injustices, the wrongs, and the general condition of the world.

To what extent is the ‘mourning’ referred to by Jesus in the second Beatitude an action of choice, I wonder? If the being ‘poor in spirit’ is about recognising your own poverty and ...