Give us some comfort, most merciful God!
Answer our prayers
with words of encouragement,
with hope amid our distress.

How long will the suffering continue?
Why do the good grow weak
and sicken
and die?

The young fall ill,
their bones break,
their eyes grow dim
they fade away

like flowers
leaving behind tears
and the sweet fragrance
of their memories.

The wise ones depart;
our elders, our advisors,
our safe havens,
our anchors:

the ones we always
could rely on;
the ones we never
thought would leave.

They are gone too soon,
leaving us unprepared.
We weren’t ready
to let them go.

But we would never
have been ready to let them go;
just as we are now unable
to imagine life without them.

How do we go on,
how can we face another day,
how do we live
with that empty space
where our loved ones
used to be?

We mourn not for those
who now rejoice with You
but for ourselves;
for the ache in our hearts,
for our now-impossible dreams,
our unrealized plans,
for the words we left unsaid.

Give us some comfort, most merciful God.
Answer our prayers
with the gift of peace
and lift us from our sorrows.

Lead us through each day
with the light of Your sustaining love,
that we may give
and receive
reminders of the joys,
forgiveness of the hurts,
hope for tomorrow,
and compassion
for one another.

Amen.