SOLACE: Soul + Grief
This podcast is sponsored by SOULPLUSGRACE serving the San José area, offering grief support and grief journeying with spirituality. I hope to help you travel through grief with God at your side.
"I am a trained Spiritual Director for those who seek to complete the 19th Annotation of St. Igantius’ spiritual exercises OR seek spiritual direction while grieving. I have also worked as a hospital/cemetery chaplain and grief doula. I believe all paths lead to God and that all traditions are due respect and honour. I take my sacred inspiration from all of my patients and companions–past, present and future; the Dalai Lama, James Tissot, St. John of the Cross, the Buddha, Saint Teresa of Ávila, and, of course, Íñigo who became known as St. Ignatius. I utilize art, poetry, music, aromatherapy, yoga, lectio divina, prayer and meditation in my self-work and work with others. I believe in creating a sacred space for listening; even in the most incongruous of surroundings."
BACKGROUND
- Jesuit Retreat Center, Los Altos, CA -- Pierre Favre Program, 3 year training to give the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
- Centro de Espiritualidad de Loyola, Spain -- The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola -- 30 Day Silent Retreat/
- Center for Loss & Life Transition – Comprehensive Bereavement Skills Training (30 hrs) Ft. Collins, CO
- California State University Institute for Palliative Care--Palliative Care Chaplaincy Specialty Cert. (90 hrs)
- Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City, CA -- Clinical Pastoral Education
- 19th Annotation with Fumiaki Tosu, San Jose, CA, Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
- Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA M.A. – Pastoral Ministries
CONTACT ME: candeelucas@soulplusgrace.com with questions to be answered in future episodes.
SOLACE: Soul + Grief
Soul Food: Religious Poetry for the Bereaved
Spiritual wisdom transcends cultural boundaries when we face grief and loss. Ancient prayers and poetry from Buddhist, Christian, Shinto, Islamic, and Jewish traditions offer comfort by acknowledging pain while providing perspective on life's impermanence.
• Dalai Lama reminds us that suffering comes from wanting permanence in an impermanent world
• Christian prayers acknowledge Jesus who also experienced grief and wept
• Buddhist metaphor of cherry blossoms shows beauty and brevity go hand-in-hand
• Shinto prayer connects us as brothers and sisters across oceans
• Merit Malloy's poem encourages us to find the deceased in our connections with others
• Biblical lamentations honestly express grief while maintaining hope
• Common themes include accepting impermanence and finding meaning in loss.
As you listen, consider sending me your thoughts and questions on grief, both spiritual and practical, so we can walk this path together.
Listen every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music for spiritual direction, art, and workshops shared through Santa Clara University, https://events.scu.edu/markey-center/event/332001-spiritual-accompaniment
You can reach us at: candeelucas@soulplusgrace.com.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION WHILE GRIEVING IS AVAILABLE
Art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/vasonaArts?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
and https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/candee-lucas
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2SFH4Z6
Music and sound effects today by: via Pixabay
I welcome you to Solace: Soul + Grief. My name's Candee Lucas and I'm a grief chaplain. I accompany those who are grieving any kind of loss and I ask that you let me accompany you today. You're always welcome in this circle of healing, love and support.
Candee:Remember, we are all on this journey together, passing through life, progressing to old age and eventually death. It is not sufficient to take care of the body. We need to take care of our emotions as well. From the Dalai Lama-- it is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not--. From Thich Nhat Hanh Prayer of Loss.
Candee:Dearest Jesus, who wept at the death of your friend and taught that they who mourn shall be comforted, grant us the comfort of your presence in our loss. Send your Holy Spirit to direct us lest we make hasty or foolish decisions. Send your Spirit to give us courage, lest, thou fear we recoil from living. Send your spirit to bring us your peace, lest bitterness, false guilt or regret take root in our hearts. The Lord had given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Candee:This is a Buddhist prayer. --With every breath I take today, I vow to be awake, and every step I take I vow to take with a grateful heart so I may see with eyes of love into the hearts of all I meet, to ease their burden when I can and touch them with a smile of peace. This life of ours would not cause you sorrow if you thought of it as like the mountain cherry blossoms which bloom and fade in a day--. This is a Shinto prayer for peace. --Although the people living across the ocean surround us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters. Why are there constant troubles in the world? Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans around us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of mountains--. And from the Quran --and verily, the hereafter will be better for you than the present--.
Candee:I give you this one thought to keep I am with you. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened ground. I am the gentle autumn rain when you awaken in the morning's hush. I am the swift, uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not think of me as gone. I am with you still in each new dawn. May their memories be a blessing.
Candee:When I die, give what's left of me away to children and old men that wait to die. And if you need to cry, cry for your brother walking the street beside you, and when you need me, put your arms around anyone and give to them what you need to give to me. I want to leave you something, something better than words or sounds. Look for me in the people I've known. Give me a way. Look for me in the people I've known. Give me away. I want to leave you something, something better than words or sounds, or loved. And if you cannot give me away, at least let me live in your eyes and not on your mind. You can love me most by letting hands touch hands, by letting bodies touch bodies and by letting go of children that need to be free. Love doesn't die. People do so when all that's left of me is love. Look for me in the people I've known and give me away.
Candee:That's a poem from Merit Malloy. In
Candee:the Book of Lamentations, book 3, verse 26. Let--Let us search and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to God in heaven. You have screened yourself off with a cloud that no prayer may pass through. My eyes shed streams of water. My eyes shall flow without cease, without respite, until the Lord looks down and beholds from heaven.
Candee:My eyes have brought me grief. Waters float over my head. I said I am lost. I have called on your name, o Lord. Hear my plea. Do not shut your ear to my groan, to my cry. You have ever drawn nigh when I called you. You have said do not fear. You have championed my cause, o Lord. You have redeemed my life. You have heard me, o Lord--.
Candee:That concludes this week's episode. You can find us on Apple, Spotify or Amazon. Feel free to send any questions you might have about grieving to my email i n the show notes I'll try to answer any questions you have in the future. Remember I'm always available for spiritual direction by Zoom to those who are grieving. Please reach out to me if you have this need. Be safe. Travel with God always at your side.
