You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you, and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.
She indeed saw coming upon you the anger of God; and she said:
“Hear, you neighbors of Zion!
God has brought great mourning upon me,
For I have seen the captivity
that the Eternal God has brought
upon my sons and daughters.
Jeremiah's amanuensis Baruch, who was also a prophet, personified the devastated city of Jerusalem (which was built on the hill called Zion) as a desolate woman. After the Babylonian army had systematically exported every useful person and razed its building, palace, buildings, homes, and walls, he saw her not only grieving her losses but admitting that the people and its rulers had been justly punished by the LORD:
For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God.
This image of a grieving woman is not unfamiliar to Christians. With his last gasp the Crucified urged us to regard his mother as our mother, even as he directed her to see us as her children. She is the sorrowful mother who grieves for our sins.
Among the many apparitions of Mary throughout the centuries -- which began with her appearance to Elizabeth -- American Catholics may be familiar with Our Lady of La Sallette. In 1846 two cowherd children saw a woman grieving the sins of their rural neighbors. The agrarian people were neglecting their religious duties and often swearing blasphemies as they suffered crop and herd failures. The Beautiful Lady said these calamities were punishments for their sins. They would prosper if only they would pray faithfully as they knew they should.
It would be easy to dismiss that story and the "outdated" belief that God punishes bad behavior. But it's not so easy to dismiss a relentless pandemic that is exacerbated by polarized politics, a spate of fires and hurricanes caused by climate change, mass shootings, and a surge of suicides among children. The very children who were not aborted and apparently wanted now take their own lives. Could these punishing events be the inevitable consequences of a sorely violated covenant with God? 
OLC Shrine
Carey, Ohio
The Beautiful Lady weeps for the sins of her people. Whether she is Jerusalem, Mary, the Church, or Mother Nature, she begs the LORD to stay his punishing hand and permit us time to turn away from sin and live by the Gospel.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.