We welcome you to Solace: Soul Plus Grief . I'm glad you're here . I'm Candy Lucas , a Jesuit trained Catholic chaplain and spiritual director , and I've been involved with a bereavement ministry since 2009 . We know that loss can make profound changes in people's lives .
We understand how difficult it is to travel this path of grief and how important and monumental the loss of a loved one can be . So we created this podcast to help you walk with God as you grieve your losses , understand what's happening in your heart and soul as you grieve , to be available in the best way we can to accompany you on this journey .
You're always welcome in this circle of healing , love and support . Today , my Bible fell open to Psalm 71-- I seek refuge in you , o Lord . May I never be disappointed , as you are beneficent . Save me and rescue me . Incline your ear to me and deliver me . Be a sheltering rock for me to which I may always repair .
Sheltering rock for me to which I may always repair . Decree my deliverance , for You are my rock and my fortress . My God , rescue me from the land of the wicked , from the grasp of the unjust and the lawless , for You are my hope , o Lord , God my trust . From my youth , while yet unborn , I depended on You .
In the womb of my mother , You were my support . I sing your praises always . I have become an example for many . Since You are my mighty refuge , my mouth is full of praise to You , glorifying you all day long . Do not cast me off in old age , when my strength fails . Do not forsake me , for my enemies talk against me .
Those who wait for me are of one mind , saying God has forsaken him . Chasten him and catch him , for no one will save him . O God , be not far from me , my God , hasten to my aid . Let's pray . I will hope always and add to the many praises of You my mouth tells of your beneficence , of your deliverance .
All day long , though I know not how to tell it , I come with praise of your mighty acts , o Lord , god , I celebrate your beneficence , yours alone . You have let me experience it , God . From my youth until now , I have proclaimed your wondrous deeds , and every hour , and even in hoary old age .
Do not forsake me , God , until I proclaim , until I proclaim your strength to the next generation , your mighty acts to all who are to come , your beneficence high as the heavens . O God , you who have done great things .
O God , who is your peer , You who have made me undergo many troubles and misfortunes , will revive me again and raise me up from the depths of the earth . You will grant me much greatness and you will turn and come for me . Then I will acclaim You to the music of the lyre for your faithfulness . Oh my god , I will sing a hymn to you with a harp .
Oh , holy one , my lip shall be jubilant as I sing a hymn to You , my whole being , which You have redeemed All day long . My tongue shall recite your beneficent acts , how those who sought my ruin were frustrated and disgraced . Grief goes on . This is one of its gray days .
The weather outside is turning and it reminds me of the changes in our life --that some go quietly , some with abandon , some with fanfare . I am afraid I am only seeing the rim of the crater of my grief . I have found myself contemplating this death for so long that the happening , the reality of it , is hard , hard to appreciate .
I've been taking a course on female artists and individuation and I'm thinking it came at the most perfect time , because I'm not sure if individuation is possible while our parents live . Until we are alone , unmoored from the past . Can we really be separate from it ? Can I be separate from my mother , who died so long ago ?
Can I be separate from my father , who died recently , when they are the source of my life ? My first trunk on my family tree that has now withered and been removed . What direction does it lead when its trunk is no more ? These are the questions I struggle with these days , but I am encouraged every day by God's new word to me .
T hat concludes another episode . A new one drops every Friday . Please join us on Spotify , Amazon Music or Apple . Thank you for joining us . Spiritual direction is always available . See my contact email in the show notes . This is Candee Lucas , your host , chaplain and spiritual director . Go with God . Namaste , vaya con Dios .