Choose another tradition
People of every faith have turned to prayer and sacred words in times of loss. This collection gathers lines from many traditions side by side — the Qur'an, Christian mystics such as Julian of Norwich and Teresa of Ávila, Jewish mourning tradition, Sikh teaching, and well-loved prayers.
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You do not need to share a tradition to find comfort in its words. Many people find that the same truths — that love endures, that hardship is followed by ease, that we belong to one another — appear again and again across faiths.
Where a quotation is traditionally attributed but its origin is uncertain, it is marked as such.
If you belong to a faith community, a minister, imam, rabbi, priest or other spiritual leader can be a great support in grief — many are trained in bereavement care.
Verily, with hardship comes ease.
— Qur'an 94:5–6God does not burden any soul beyond what it can bear.
— Qur'an 2:286To God we belong, and to Him we shall return.
— Qur'an 2:156God is nearer to us than our own jugular vein.
— After Qur'an 50:16Verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest.
— Qur'an 13:28All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
— Julian of NorwichWhere there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
— Prayer attributed to St. Francis of AssisiGod, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
— Reinhold Niebuhr, The Serenity PrayerThe dead are invisible, not absent.
— Attributed to St. AugustineMay their memory be a blessing.
— Jewish mourning traditionLet nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you; all things are passing.
— St. Teresa of ÁvilaYesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
— Attributed to Mother TeresaIf we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
— Attributed to Mother TeresaHope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
— Desmond TutuEven if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.
— Attributed to Martin LutherEven in hardship, keep the spirit rising in hope.
— After the Sikh teaching of Chardi Kala