Posts Tagged ‘bereavement’

 

Duet of Joy and Sorrow

Posted on: December 23rd, 2021 by Alden

“I consider it a spiritual awakening that I can hold grief and joy simultaneously, that they exist side by side,” I told Michael Liben on his “Bereaved but Still Me” podcast episode titled for this prayer/poem, “Duet of Joy and Sorrow” from latest book This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer. Hear me read the piece and talk about it with Michael by clicking here.

Duet of Joy and Sorrow

When the beginning ends,
And the ending begins,
So that the beginning
Can begin again . . .

In the moment
That the flame jumps
From match to candle,
Extinguishing the match
To bring light
Until the light is gone . . .

From the first cry of birth,
To the last sigh of death,
This precious life
Sings a duet of joy and sorrow,
The song of living,
Sung to music from beyond,
Sung to the rhythm of the heavens,
And the beat of your heart.

Let this day be for song.
Let this day be for joy and laughter.
Let this day be for blessing.
Let us bind our days with holiness and love.

© 2021 CCAR Press from This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer

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Postscript: Check out the “Bereaved But Still Me” Facebook page by clicking here.

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

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Photo Source: Photo by Rodrigo Souza from Pexels

Travel after an Unexpected Death

Posted on: July 2nd, 2017 by Alden

Air Plane in Blue SkyThis is a prayer to be said upon traveling to attend a funeral after an unexpected death. The blank line is for inserting the name of the deceased. This appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press.

Travel After an Unexpected Death
Today,
God of Old,
Is a day I never imagined
And never prepared to face.

God of the bereaved,
Bless us as we come together
At this moment of desolation and despair.
Give me the presence of mind
To be a source of wisdom and strength
In this hour of need.
Bless my/our family with consolation and endurance,
Comfort and peace.

God of old,
Bless the soul of __________________________ (full name).
May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst.

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day

Postscript: See also, “Travel to an Unexpected Family Emergency.”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

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