Breath of Life: A Prayer
This is a prayer that I wrote and prayed for an October 2006 Celebration of Life memorial service in which we membered and honored 500 hospice patients who died in previous six months. Our hospice serves about 1000 deaths each year. Two hundred and fifty people participated in the service.
Breath of Life,
You float white clouds across
the blue, October sky.
You rustle the autumn leaves:
Flame red, sunny yellow, earth-tone brown.
You feed the flames of the candles we light in your presence tonight.
Breath of Life,
As we breathe in, you inspire
our lungs and hearts and minds,
and give us life.
As we breathe out, we expire…
And give back the breath we borrowed
for a while.
O Breath of Life,
We breathe as one this night:
Some of us sigh with sorrow.
Some of us smile, serene.
All of us breathe together;
Together, we breathe you,
O Breath of Life.
Breathing in and breathing out,
We remember those who have expired:
Our loved ones, our family members, our friends.
Now their breath is free;
No longer constrained,
No longer labored,
Free as the autumn breeze…
Free for us to breathe.
The Breath of Life they once breathed,
Is now ours.
Breath of Life, breathe in us,
Inspire us with comfort and strength.
Fill us with hope and peace, until at last,
we too are free,
Free as the Breath of Life.
Breath of Life,
You float white clouds across
the blue, October sky.
You rustle the autumn leaves:
Flame red, sunny yellow, earth-tone brown.
You feed the flames of the candles we light in your presence tonight.
Breath of Life,
As we breathe in, you inspire
our lungs and hearts and minds,
and give us life.
As we breathe out, we expire…
And give back the breath we borrowed
for a while.
O Breath of Life,
We breathe as one this night:
Some of us sigh with sorrow.
Some of us smile, serene.
All of us breathe together;
Together, we breathe you,
O Breath of Life.
Breathing in and breathing out,
We remember those who have expired:
Our loved ones, our family members, our friends.
Now their breath is free;
No longer constrained,
No longer labored,
Free as the autumn breeze…
Free for us to breathe.
The Breath of Life they once breathed,
Is now ours.
Breath of Life, breathe in us,
Inspire us with comfort and strength.
Fill us with hope and peace, until at last,
we too are free,
Free as the Breath of Life.