How can we bless what we have been given when the act of giving has resulted in continual taking away?
Is there holiness in the bounty that breaks and bereaves?
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And where is the restitution for the unmarked season of loss and of mourning?
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O, Compassionate One,
Release us from the bonds of privilege and fortune
And instead, let us sanctify the act that not does steal away but that atones and makes right.
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In the joy of plenty, let us not turn away from the presence of persecution and the pain of history.
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And help us find the audacity to mark moments and days of this life, which benefit all human beings living on the earth.Â
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 Amen.Â
