May God bless the departed souls!

A few days ago, two major tragedies struck India. Two accidents, gruesome in their nature, took away numerous lives: The Mangalore Plane crash and the Bihar Train derailing. My heart goes out to the departed souls; may they rest in peace. My prayers are with their families; may they find comfort in their hours of grief. Death is inevitable eventually, but the suddenness of parting with near and dear ones, moreover hale and hearty joyously bubbling people, pierces ones heart apart. But such is fate and we cannot fight it out. In God’s will we must abide and in his mercy we must rejoice.

I would like to put down a small prayer for all the departed souls:

When sorrow comes, as come it must,
In God a man must place his trust.
There is no power in mortal speech
The anguish of his soul to reach,
No voice, however sweet and low,
Can comfort him or ease the blow.


He cannot from his fellow men
Take strength that will sustain him then.
With all that kindly hands will do,
And all that love may offer, too,
He must believe throughout the test
That God has willed it for the best.

We who would be his friends are dumb;
Words from our lips but feebly come;
We feel, as we extend our hands,
That one Power only understands
And truly knows the reason why
So beautiful a soul must die.


We realize how helpless then
Are all the gifts of mortal men.
No words which we have power to say
Can take the sting of grief away -
That Power which marks the sparrow's fall
Must comfort and sustain us all.

When sorrow comes, as come it must,
In God, a man must place his trust.
With all the wealth which he may own,
He cannot meet the test alone,
And only he may stand serene
Who has a faith on which to lean.

- Edgar A. Guest