PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO ARE BEREAVED OR WIDOWED.  

God, our Father, I remember in prayer ………….. whom I have loved, who had a special place in my heart and in my life and who is now no longer here with me.  Thank you Lord, for the times that you gave us to share together the gift of life. Thank you Lord for the blessings and also the crosses you granted us over the years because they brought us closer to you.   I pray for pardon and forgiveness for anything we did to hurt each other that still causes me pain. I pray that you will grant  …………. eternal rest and that my memories will be a source of comfort to me. I pray too that in time all those we loved will be reunited and live together with you in perfect joy. I make this prayer through Christ our Lord.Amen     From MARFAM prayers of life.

2  November.  Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. Each year the parish went as a group to the cemetery to visit the graves of their own beloved deceased family and friends.  After her husband died, year after year, Beatrice would debate with herself whether to go with them. At first she had felt a need for the company of others, then a remoteness, then pain again, and so until after a number of years she stopped going but still cherished his memories in her heart.  One year, she deeply mourned the death of her cat, who had been her constant companion during the difficult years and thanked God for this special gift too. These days she was reflecting on the wars that are featuring so much in the news and the deaths reported just as numbers. She decided to pray, fast and sacrifice especially for those killed in the awful violence of war. May they rest in peace.

 Reflect, share, Scripture.   We would not have you ignorant brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 1 Thes 4:13.   Pope Francis For those who believe in you, Lord, life is not ended but changed. Our loved ones are not lost in the shades of nothingness; hope assures us that they are in the good strong hands of God. AL 256.   God has joined us so closely to the world around us that we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement. LD 68.  Action and prayer:  Remember in prayer the needs of those we have loved and lost.