Dear All,
We are looking back a bit today to All Souls Day – last Saturday. It isn’t an easy day for me in terms of making sense of it as it follows on immediately from All Saints. Who do we have in mind on All Souls Day that we haven’t had in mind on All Saints Day?
However, researching appropriate reflections for today led into reflecting on death – the death of those we feel close to & our own deaths, so we have chosen a bit of a mixture, hoping that one or more of them will resonate with you.
Today our blessing will be Rutter’s ‘A Clare Benediction’. Maybe we can pray it for anyone known to us who is nearing the end of their life.
Love to you all
Dying Leads to Love
Am I afraid to die? I am every time I let myself be seduced by the noisy voices of my world telling me that my “little life” is all I have and advising me to cling to it with all my might. But when I let these voices move to the background of my life and listen to that small soft voice calling me the Beloved, I know that there is nothing to fear and that dying is the greatest act of love, the act that leads me into the eternal embrace of my God whose love is everlasting.
Henri Nouwen
Mercy & Tenderness
I pray in this way for the people in my life who are deceased:
I remember what they looked like,
and then I picture them in the arms of God.
I see this Compassionate One carefully
and lovingly wiping away any tears
that might still be on their faces.
I notice how God offers them a great welcome.
I then entrust them into God’s care
and offer a prayer of thanks for the gift
of having had these people as part of my life.
JOYCE RUPP
Memories in Candlelight
This poem reflects on the tradition of lighting candles on All Souls Day. Each flame represents a life once lived, and even in the face of death, their memories continue to shine brightly.
In the silent hush of night,
Each candle casts its light.
Glowing for souls departed,
Love’s warmth, open-hearted.
They once danced upon this earth,
Echoes of laughter, tales of mirth.
Now they guide us from the skies,
Whispering secrets of goodbyes.
Though the winds may snuff the glow,
In our hearts, their memories flow.
Each flame a testament to say,
Love remains beyond All Souls Day.
Leaves fall softly to the ground,
Whispers of souls, a rustling sound.
Each one a tale, a life once played,
In nature’s dance, memories displayed.
Crimson, gold, and shades between,
Lives of joy, sorrow unseen.
All Souls Day, we look above,
Remembering moments, hearts full of love.
Though they’re gone, their essence stays,
In autumn’s breeze, in sunlit rays.
The leaves tell stories old and new,
Of souls departed, forever true.