Grieving many things today

Grief is a strange reality. It slips up on you without any warning. I came home and experienced the loss of a special friend in my life. It is still a little too raw to speak about now, but I am trying to hang on to the memories, the joy we shared and the good times and memories that cannot be stolen from us.

God is good, all the time. God seems to put in my hands just want I need to hear or experience when I need it. I will share with you, hoping it touches your heart with a call to action. It is a meditation called, "Litany of Remembrance" by Joyce Rupp. I want to acknowledge her as the source and share pieces of it with you. I ask that you say this prayer for all children and creatures of this earth who are victims or are treated unkindly, unjustly. May our prayer through God's mercy free them in whatever way they need.

Joyce Rupp writes: "I remember the children of the world. As Jesus called to the children to come to him, so I gather in prayer the children of my world who are hurting. I embrace them with loving kindness and with a desire to mend the systems that bring such pain to their young lives. I remember the children:

... who will go hungry today,
... whose parents are on drugs,
... who have no one to teach them to read,
... who are handicapped and unattended,
... who do not know love,
... who live in filth and degradation,
... who have no friends,
... who are not listened to,
... who have never been sung to or read to or taken by the hand or experienced earth’s mystery and beauty,
... who do not have anyone to tuck them into bed at night,
... who are shunned or mistreated because of their color, their religion, or the place where they live,
... who have no awareness of their inner goodness,
... who have stopped believing in love,
... who are filled with anger and hate,
... who are receiving a poor education,
... who are ill or in pain,
... who are grieving the death of a loved one,
... who are suffering from AIDS or drug-related diseases,
... who feel lonely, desolate, and unloved,
... who are filled with fear for their lives,
... who hear only harsh words and hostile language,
... who have been bruised, beaten, and mutilated,
... who are victims of incest, rape, and pornography,
... who hide in fear from the sounds of war,
... who are ill and have no medical attention.

Yes, I pray for the children of my world today and I pray for each man and woman of this world, including myself, that we will do our part to create better living conditions for these children. Show us the way and prod us into action, God of justice and compassion!"

Joyce Rupp is one of my favorite spiritual writers, I encourage you to ready anything by her. I think I need to return to one of her books, one I turn to in times of loss, Praying our Goodbyes.