Grief and Prayer Practice
When times are toughest, I call on friends to light a candle and pray with me for nine days in a row. We ask for Divine help and an open heart each day. Sometimes my situation changes quite noticeably over that time, and always the Spirit transforms my perspective. The combination of focus, relationship, support, repetition, and physical or ritual action makes it extra powerful for me.
Consider joining me in a prayerful practice like this one for the Middle East, or join in another form that has purpose and power for you. I’ve been in prayer, taking action and making donations, learning about history and nonviolence, and today I will start this nine day practice with whomever will join me— to grieve daily with Israel and Palestine, and to pray for peace.
If this image will support your prayer or inspire peace-building,
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Update:
These are the comments I made about each day's prayer.
Day 1, Grateful to know so many are joining us— prayer and grief in community. Invite your friends too, if that feels right.
Hol and I made our prayer outside— it felt good to sit together on the Earth with our grief and prayer for peace. 💔🙏🏼
Hol and I made our prayer outside— it felt good to sit together on the Earth with our grief and prayer for peace. 💔🙏🏼
Day 2, grief and prayer for peace. Candle is alongside a ceramic tile I bought on an incredible trip to Ramallah and Jerusalem in 2001. The Palestinians, Jews, and Christians I met were among the most gracious people I’ve ever known.
Day 3, breathing with suffering, breathing out peace. Also reading more about nonviolence today. 🙏🏼
Day 4, I took my prayers outside and this marvelous tree drew me in. We’re old friends now, she having seen so many more years than I… so we cried together for all the violence and loss around the world. As I prayed for ceasefire in Palestine and many places, I wondered what is still possible for peace and healing.
Right then I saw that many cardboard “ornaments” had been hung in the lowest branches, covered with suet and seeds. That simple hospitality for the birds struck me as a sign or reminder that our kindnesses matter along with our prayers, service, and our voices speaking truth.
Day 5, I wrote and sketched my grief and prayer today, and thought I’d take a good risk and share it. I was thinking/praying that sometimes tragedy can awaken us, when we say, “Enough!”
Also, by “peace” in the sketch I also mean justice, since I believe they are mutually necessary.
Day 6, Silent prayer with the candle tonight, for grief, for peace.
Yesterday and today I’ve been reading a favorite poet, Naomi Shihab Nye. As an Arab American whose father was Palestinian and mother American, some of her poems cut right to the heart of this moment (though these were written in other violent times). See photo of “During a War,” in the ‘You and Yours’ anthology.
You may already know— or want to know!— her more famous poems, “Kindness,” and “Gate A-4.”
Mourning all those lost or hostage in every place, on every side of violence. Cease fire now, in Gaza and around the world. God have mercy.
Day 7, Spent time with articles and images from Aljazeera dot com today, to stay aware and open to the heartbreak. I’m gathering impressions for art and prayer… weeping often. Writing to congresspeople again. Finding protests for peace, but I suspect staying with an art-making process is what Spirit is asking of me as my contribution to peace-building.
What are you noticing as you grieve and pray?
Day 8, I won’t try to explain today how these prayers and holding this vigil is making some kind of an alchemy in me… but here I am in the midst, grateful to show up for it, in the company of all of you. 🙏🏼❤️
Day 9, Words don’t want to come in my prayers or as I write. My first candle went out… My body is curved over in grief tonight.
I don’t yet have art for this, I will keep listening.
I can say clearly:
Stop the violence.
Every life and limb is sacred.
Bombs don’t make anyone more safe.
Cease fire.
Mercy, mercy, mercy.
I find hope knowing others are still grieving, speaking out. Thank you.
And then these two poems that came to me today say so much of what I wish I could:
Day 10, Dear ones, thank you for being with me in these prayers! It was good to feel the strength of our presence together. I hope these prayers and all that follow are keeping our hearts and voices open on behalf of all of us, all humanity, we who mourn, we who are oppressed, and we who are lost to or injured by violence. 🙏🏼💔
I feel my prayer this next week leaning toward resilience and humanizing, and visions of what nonviolence and peace can look like. I’ll take a pause from posting to gather myself and see what rises. If something comes through to post, I’ll make a new one.
With gratitude, for peace. 🙏🏼