NationStates Jolt Archive

I thought I would start a thread for all of us who miss Zooke and would like to have a formal service to commemorate her passing. I will start with a couple of prayers from the Baha'i Faith, any other prayers or thoughts are welcome.

O my God! O Thou forgiver of sins, bestower of gifts, dispeller of afflictions!

Verily, I beseech Thee to forgive the sins of such as have abandoned the physical garment and have ascended to the spiritual world.

O my Lord! Purify them from trespasses, dispel their sorrows, and change their darkness into light. Cause them to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy splendors on the loftiest mount.

- 'Abdu'l-Bahá

O my God! O my God! Verily, thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with the fire of Thy love, hath been immersed in the depths of the ocean of Thy knowledge, hath been attracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon his supplications to Thee, and hath been assured of Thy pardon and forgiveness. He hath abandoned this mortal life and hath flown to the kingdom of immortality, yearning for the favor of meeting Thee.

O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his *46* existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of light in the world of mysteries.

Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Powerful, the Forgiver and the Bestower.

- 'Abdu'l-Bahá

(Compilations, Baha'i Prayers, p. 44)

Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters
he restores my sol. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
you prepare a tablebefore me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

This is my favorite psalm and it is fitting in time like this. Zooke forced me to continue with my studies and to strive for my goals that I have set forth in life. She was always compassionate to both sides of the aisle and wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

She surely will be missed :(

I don't want to rain on the parade, and people know that Zooke/sandy was very dear to me, but we already have a stickied memorial thread for her. We all know we miss her, but we already have a place where we have gathered to miss her, remember her and praise her life.

Let's not splinter, especially not into a postcount++ "copy&pasted prayer" thread. She deserves better, and she already has gotten better through an official stickied thread.

ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of those who depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity; We give thee hearty thanks for the good examples of all those thy servants, who, having finished their course in faith, do now rest from their labours. And we beseech thee, that we, with all those who are departed in the true faith of thy holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[ Excerpted from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer (http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1789/Burial_1789.htm) ]

I'm sorry this doesn't meet your standards. The prayers no matter where they come from brought Zooke much joy. She like the very much what I posted.

MOURNER'S KADDISH

Exalted and hallowed be His great Name

Throughout the world which He has created according to His will,

May his kingship reign, and His redemption come forth and hasten the coming of His Redeemer

In your life and in your days and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and quickly say, Amen.

May His great Name be blessed in this world and in all worlds.

Blessed and praised exalted and extolled, honored, adored and lauded be the Name of the Holy 0ne be He.

Way beyond all the blessings, hymns, praises and consolations uttered in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and a good life for us and for all and say, Amen.

He who makes peace in His heaven, may he make peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

I'm sorry this doesn't meet your standards. The prayers no matter where they come from brought Zooke much joy. She like the very much what I posted.

I am not in any position to speak of what Zooke would or wouldn't have liked, but we already have a thread for this. A good thread. Where people have not only posted prayers, but have actually written things with their own words to express their own emotions at this, and where we have banded together to process this loss. Splintering it like this into a quasi-spammish thread bound to only prolong the mourning process I just feel is not the right way to honour her. Especially as we already have a place to honour her.

"O Allah! grant protection to our living and to our dead and to those of us who are present and those who are absent, and to our young and our old folk and to our males and our females; O Allah! whomsoever Thou grantest to live from among us, cause him to live in submission and whomsoever of us Thou causest to die, make him die in faith; O Allah! do not deprive us of his reward and do not make us fall into a trial after him."

[ From the Muslim "Service for the dead (http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Discover/Book/Prayer-Book/Dead.htm)." ]

NOTE: "The Holy Prophet stood up when he saw the bier of a Jew pass by. This he did to show respect to the dead, and then enjoined his followers to stand up as a mark of respect when a bier passed by, whether it was that of a Muslim or a non-Muslim."

I'm going to keep this thread going for a little while. I asked Eut. about it days and and he was ok with it as is Zooke's family. It is not meant to be a debate. Just a Memorial Service that a friend wants to do for her.

Suffer me, O my God, to draw nigh unto Thee, and to abide within the precincts of Thy court, for remoteness from Thee hath well-nigh consumed me. Cause me to rest under the shadow of the wings of Thy grace, for the flame of my separation from Thee hath melted my heart within me. Draw me nearer unto the river that is life indeed, for my soul burneth with thirst in its ceaseless search after Thee. My sighs, O my God, proclaim the bitterness of mine anguish, and the tears I shed attest my love for Thee.

I beseech Thee, by the praise wherewith Thou praisest Thyself and the glory wherewith Thou glorifiest Thine own Essence, to grant that we may be numbered among them that have recognized Thee and acknowledged Thy sovereignty in Thy days. Help us then to quaff, O my God, from the fingers of mercy the living waters of Thy loving-kindness, that we may utterly forget all else except Thee, and be occupied only with Thy *48* Self. Powerful art Thou to do what Thou willest. No God is there beside Thee, the Mighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

Glorified be Thy name, O Thou Who art the King of all Kings!

- Bahá'u'lláh

(Compilations, Baha'i Prayers, p. 45)

אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים שׁוֹכֵן בַּמְּרוֹמִים, הַמְצֵא מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה עַל כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה בְּמַעֲלוֹת קְדוֹשִׁים וּטְהוֹרִים כְּזוֹהַר הָרָקִיעַ מַזְהִירִים אֶת נִשְׁמַת פלוני בן פלוני שֶׁהָלַךְ לְעוֹלָמוֹ, בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁנָדְבוּ צְדָקָה בְּעַד הַזְכָּרַת נִשְׁמָתוֹ, לָכֵן בַּעַל הָרַחֲמִים יַסְתִּירֵהוּ בְּסֵתֶר כְּנָפָיו לְעוֹלָמִים, וְיִצְרֹר בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים אֶת נִשְׁמָתוֹ, ה' הוּא נַחֲלָתוֹ, וְיָנוּחַ בְּשָׁלוֹם עַל מִשְׁכָּבוֹ, וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן

God, filled with Compassion,
grant a full and perfect rest
under the wings of Your sheltering Presence
-- among the lofty, holy and pure,
radiant as the shining firmament --
to the souls of those who have gone to thier world.
Make them welcome to their eternal home.
May they rest in Your Edenic Garden of Delight.
Please, Master of Mercy,
envelop them in Your comforting, protecting wings forever;
Bind up their souls in the Bond of Life.
For You are their Portion, their Inheritance.
May they rest securely in Peace, and we say:
Amen.

I don't want to rain on the parade, and people know that Zooke/sandy was very dear to me, but we already have a stickied memorial thread for her. We all know we miss her, but we already have a place where we have gathered to miss her, remember her and praise her life.

Let's not splinter, especially not into a postcount++ "copy&pasted prayer" thread. She deserves better, and she already has gotten better through an official stickied thread.

Agreed.

Stick to the official thread and don't copy and paste stuff here.

^bump^