,לֹא־יָבוֹא עוֹד שִׁמְשֵׁךְ
:וִירֵחֵךְ לֹא יֵאָסֵף
,כִּי יְהוָה, יִהְיֶה־לָּךְ לְאוֹר עוֹלָם
וְשָׁלְמוּ, יְמֵי אֶבְלֵךְ
Lo yavo ode shimshaech
v'yir'achech lo yae'a'saef;
kee Adonai yiyeh lach l'or olam,
v'shalmu y'mei ev'laech.
Your sun will not go down again,
your moon will not depart;
for Adonai will be your light for ever,
and your days of mourning ended.
[Isaiah 60:20]
God of spirit and flesh, we/I have turned to You for comfort in these days of grief. When the cup of sorrow passed into our/my hands, Your Presence was with us/me. Now we/I rise up to face the tasks of life once more. There will be moments of woe and loneliness. May the continued sense of Your Presence be for us/me a source of comfort, and let the pain of our/my loss subside. May the memory of our/my loved one be more and more a cause of joy and gratitude. Teach us/me, O God, to give thanks for all that was deathless in the life or our/my dear companion and friend, and which now is revealed to us/me more clearly in all its beauty.
For the ties of love that death cannot sever; for the friendship we shared along life's path; for those gifts of heart and mind which have now become a precious heritage--for all this and more, we are/I am grateful. Now help us/me, O compassionate God, not to dwell on sorrow and pain; help us/me, instead, to find within our hearts/my heart the courage to return to the tasks of life, and its joys. Amen.
