a blessing for collective grief

We are blindsided.

What we thought was impossible,
even unthinkable,
has brought us to our knees.

Things don’t make sense,
the innocent still suffer,
buildings still fall,
families still grieve.

Help us to know what to feel,
what to do,
how to grieve–together.

Blessed are we who let reality in
though our bodies shudder.

Blessed are we who ask and wait,
and ask again
for answers that may not come,
for hope that seems hard to find,
for comfort that is not easily found.
Along the way show us how to
live when we’ve lost the things
we cannot get back.

Remind us of our home and our refuge
when life’s cruelty and our fragility
are too difficult to should alone.

Be with us,
oh God of all comfort.