“Those who are worn out and crushed by this mourning, let your hearts consider this:
this is the path that has existed from the time of creation and will exist forever.
Many have drunk from it and many will yet drink.
As was the first meal, so shall be the last.
May the master of comfort comfort you.
Blessed are those who comforts the mourners.”
Found at Jesuit Resources
“Bless those who mourn, eternal God, with the comfort of your love that they may face each new day with hope and the certainty that nothing can destroy the good that has been given. May their memories become joyful, their days enriched with friendship, and their lives encircled by your love.”
(Vienna Cobb Anderson)
Found at Jesuit Resources
“Bless those who mourn, eternal God,
with the comfort of your love
that they may face each new day with hope
and the certainty that nothing can destroy
the good that has been given.
May their memories become joyful,
their days enriched with friendship,
and their lives encircled by your love.”
Found at Jesuit Resources
Gracious and Heavenly God,
Three in One,
The Beginning and the End.
You know our hearts before we even speak,
snd we know that not everyone feels joy during this season.
so many have lost so much this year:
Loved ones,
Jobs,
Security,
and so much more.
And for many, this year, the cold feels a bit more bitter,
the wind blows over lonely hearts
and chills our joy.
On this Christmas Eve,
as we grieve with those who grieve,
and we await the coming dawn
showing us the arrival of our Savior
and the presence of Love.
Help us to remember your sweet words
and feel your sweet presence.
Sometimes we just need to be reminded.
Turn our sorrow into joy,
bring beauty from the ashes
as only you can do.
And be near the grievers.
Lift up the broken-hearted.
Heal us.
For you have told us that
you will never leave nor forsake your people
and tonight as we lay our heads down
in the midst of our long year,
heavy with the weight of our sorrows,
hold us until the dawn breaks
and hope arrives.
A Litany For Weeping by Kaitlin Curtice. Sojo.net. 11.08.18
We think that there are no more tears left,
that we can’t,
as a people,
possibly mourn this deeply, this often.
So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
We are numb,
staggering with disbelief,
scared and wondering if shalom
still exists.
So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
We try to make sense of hate,
try to trace the line
of white supremacy.
We see that though we’ve come so far,
it’s not so far that we’ve come.
So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
We name those who have died
from unjust institutions
and the carrying on of hate.
We raise our fists and
beat our chests.
So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
We hope to be brave,
but we are tired.
We hope for freedom,
but there are so many in shackles.
So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
We fight with weapons of
peace and humility.
We fight with the power
of listening.
We breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
And when tomorrow comes,
and the day is new,
we cannot deny reality.
We live our own belovedness,
and the belovedness of others.
So today, in all our places, we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
And so we breathe and weep with him.