Page:Ritual of the Order eastern star (1921).djvu/143

Rh weeping" of earth, may we gather with the loved ones gone before.

Let us unite in prayer.

Our Father who art in Heaven, in whom we live and in whom are all the issues of life and death; we come to Thee, in this hour of sorrow and ask that we may so learn the lessons of this hour, that when it shall be our turn to lay aside our mortality, that we may do it with trustful faith in Thee and hope of a glorious immortality. We pray Thee to look with tender compassion upon these Thy children, whose household has been broken by this providence. May they lie passive in the arms of Thy chastening love and realize that there is wisdom and goodness in all Thy appointments. Sanctify this bereavement to the good of us all. May it be the means of drawing us closer to Thee and of our loving and serving Thee forever. And as it has pleased Thee to call from the toils of earth the soul of our beloved sister, we commit her remains to the silent tomb. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, hopefully looking to a joyful reunion with her, in that land where separation and death are known no more, forever. .

Response. So may it ever be.