Gifts are often to help others. Sometimes they are simply gifts from God to strengthen a particular person. People can be moved to tears of repentances, of gratitude for repentance, of gratitude for God’s mercy.
Really such things as being moved to tears in contemplation of God, God’s goodness and greatness are not the experience of all Catholics. Any warm or touched feelings in prayer or worship are not essential. We need to
choose to honor and adore God with or without any emotion. People can become too attached to their own feelings, interpret that as God when it is simply their feelings, so best not to be too concerned about such things. We must continue to do our best to honor God (whether what we feel is wonderful or whether we feel nothing) but simply to welcome His graces with gratitude, and live lives of practical kindness to other people.
God bless you
In The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Saint John Climacos discussed three levels of tears:
“Contra-natural tears which arise when our will is thwarted, for example tears of anger, jealousy, or frustration
Natural tears which arise in response to emotional and physical suffering, whether such suffering is experienced by ourselves or by others with whom we feel sympathy. Examples are tears of grief, pain, or compassion. These tears seem to contribute to our healing.
Supra-natural tears are what mystics are referring to when they speak of the Gift of Tears.”
However some people combine natural tears and the supernatural tears when speaking of the Gift of tears. Some speak of St Francis’s tears, but he wept
for sins and for the Crucified Christ so often that he is said to have damaged his eyesight, which isn’t a good outcome for most of us who need to work for our living and to take care of the people around us! We need to live our Christian lives the best we can, without worrying about excessive emotions or spiritual consolations that we should not seek (though we may accept them if they come, without becoming attached to them).
As Jesus did not mention the gift of tears but made a point of telling us to love God and above all and others as ourselves, we do not normally need to concern ourselves with supernatural tears. We must live the commandments, the Sacraments, pray, repent our sins and resolve to amend, shoulder our responsibilities honestly and with dedication, and with charity to others, giving witness to Catholic truth in our lives. It can become a little misty when speaking of mystical things…but someone may kindly explain further to you than I’ve done. I probably can, but I think that the borders of what are supernatural tears and what not, can become blurred.
I don’t have any official information to share, but in my case, my tears are usually in reaction to a need, often of someone else instead of myself, and a feeling of compassion for them. I guess the gift would then be “used” for the good of others if I act on those compassionate feelings for the benefit of that person.