“Jesus grieves for us…” Painting, using a rag by: Ronald Raab, CSC October 9, 2017
Jesus grieves for us…
In the center of the storms that ravage our homes and landscape…
In the middle of such destruction and uncertainty…
In the core of our hearts as we let go of our belongings…
In the divisions we find in our souls as we bury the dead…
Waiting for us to awaken to the real and unknown destruction…
Waiting for us to reach out to our neighbors and enemies…
Waiting for us to begin rummaging through the rubble…
Waiting for us to find him in the letting go…
Standing with us as we argue over weapons and rights…
Standing with us as we search for causes and reasons…
Standing with us when we are blind to mental illness…
Standing with us when we become obsessed with control…
Embracing us when we weep at graves of the young and talented…
Embracing us when we think you have abandoned us…
Embracing us when we encircle our lives with entitlement and self-righteousness…
Embracing us when we turn our faith into national politics…
Loving us when we disregard our children and people…
Loving us when we toss hope aside…
Loving us when we think we can survive on our own…
Loving us when we are discouraged and so lost…
Forgiving us when we argue over skin color and language…
Forgiving us when we hoard our wealth, knowledge and expertise…
Forgiving us when we abuse power, control and superiority…
Forgiving us when we have lose our identity of your Kingdom…
Jesus, grieve for us…
Broken But Not Divided 
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you.
Saw this piece on your easel today–wondered what meditation would accompany it–OMG–yes, Lord, help us internalize and grieve for our part and place in this precarious thing called the “human condition”. —Thank you, Ron for helping us see it through His eyes. A
Thank you Ron for the beautiful picture and the words accompanying it.
The use of repetition in this litany draws me closer to the heart of Jesus, my true home. Thank you for doing that in so many ways!
I really needed that prayer today!
Very powerful, Ron, a beautiful painting of Jesus joining us in our pain. “In him, all our sorrow, in him, all our joy.” I can hear Fr. Nick singing, “Keep in mind, that Jesus Christ has died for us, and is risen from the dead. He is our saving lord, he is joy for all ages.”