Day Five

Meditation

Any type of loss – death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or a child leaving home, for example – can spiral us into grief. Grief is a natural response to loss, but it can become all-encompassing and devastating. It separates us from the world and locks us in a vacuum of sorrow. We can become so lost in our grief that we lose our ability to function normally and our sense of reality. Grief  can go on for days, months, or even years. Some people seem never to be able to work through their grief.

Words of Pope Francis

… From this place we learn how to live our lives, the trials of our Churches and of the whole world, in the light of Easter morning. Every injury, every one of our pains and sorrows, has been born on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd who offered himself in sacrifice and thereby opened the way to eternal life. His open wounds are the cleft through which the torrent of his mercy is poured out upon the world. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the basis of our hope!

Prayer to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots,

The loss and grief that I bear right now seems more than I can handle. At times, my pain overwhelms and crushes me. No one else seems to truly understand what I’m going through, and I often feel all alone in my pain. And yet, I know that I am truly not alone, that in your compassion you stay with me, always ready and waiting to share my sorrow.

Help me please, to believe and feel that you are here, very close to me, accompanying me in my loss and grief. Assure me of your nearness, and help me to surrender this knot of [name the knot] into your willing and capable hands. Show me step-by-step how to let go of the pain and reach for the joy of the Resurrection, and to share your compassion with others who need you as much as I do. Mother, with you, I want not to wallow in the sorrow of the Cross, but rather to proclaim its victory.

I also want to unite my prayers with those of Pope Francis, asking that lasting peace may be granted to the world. Amen.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be for peace in our hearts, homes, and the world and for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Resolution:

Make a concrete resolution to take one step toward peace in your heart today.