February 2024 WATERritual
Pray with Us for World Cancer Day
By Diann L. Neu and WATER Staff
Watch the WATERritual here on YouTube.
Preparation: Have near you a bowl of water and a stone.
Welcome and Call to Gather
We come together for “Pray with Us for World Cancer Day” which is commemorated on February 4 each year. Sooner or later cancer has an impact on all of us, either personally or through a loved one. Cancer is a critical health and social issue for everyone.
World Cancer Day beckons us to raise awareness of cancer, to be united with all who have or have had cancer, and to pray desperately for a cure for cancer.
For thousands of years cancer has been recognized as a disease. In the past century, medical scientists have made remarkable breakthroughs in cancer diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Today, more people who receive a cancer diagnosis are living longer, surviving, and even thriving. from Cancer: Sarcoma, Carcinoma, Lymphoma, and Leukemia (webmd.com)
In this ritual, we will pray with those who have or who have had cancer, their friends, colleagues, communities, and families. We will remember those who have gone before us and assure those living with cancer that they are not alone. We will pray for a cure, and a future where this life-threatening disease no longer exists.
This ritual invites participants to remember those who are living with cancer and those who have died from cancer. It invites us to pray and take action for a cure.
Centering Prayer
Take a deep breath… and another one… and another…
To create our sacred space, let us invoke spirit guides to be here with us.
Invoking Spirit Guides
Great Spirit, life force that animates all elements of the natural world, You generate cosmic creative energy, and connect us to people, plants, animals, land forms, and celestial bodies.
Come, be with us here, and with all who need you now.
Kwan Yin, Buddhist Bodhisattva of China, You harken to the cries of the world, and appear with infinite compassion and mercy.
Come, be with us here, and with all who need you now.
Mary, Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth and mother of Jesus, You proclaim the holiness that dwells within you, and comfort those living with cancer.
Come, be with us here, and with all who need you now.
Brigit, Celtic Goddess and Saint of Healing, You spread your cloak of mercy to heal ailments of body and spirit, and perform many miracles of healing using water from your sacred wells.
Come, be with us here, and with all who need you now.
Saint Mother Théodore Guérin, founder of the Sisters of Providence at St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, You assure us that if we lean upon Providence we will be well supported, and receive healing miracles.
Come, be with us here, and with all who need you now.
Song: “Mi Shebeirach” by Debbie Friedman, Jewish folk singer who died from complications of pneumonia in 2011 at age 59
Mi shebeirach avoteinu
M’kor hab’racha l’imoteinu
May the source of strength
Who blessed the ones before us
Help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing
And let us say Amen
Mi shebeirach imoteinu
M’kor habrachah l’avoteinu
Bless those in need of healing with r’fuah sh’leimah
The renewal of body, the renewal of spirit
And let us say Amen
Litany of Remembrance
Surrounded by Spiritual Guides and Healing Spirits, let us remember some of the brave and courageous people with cancer whose lives touch ours. There are so many. Write their names in the chat if you wish.
Dr. Susan Love, renowned American surgeon, pioneering advocate of preventive breast cancer research, died July 2m 2023 of recurrent leukemia.
We remember you, Susan.
Audre Lorde, poet laureate of New York State in 1991, influential Black writer on feminist, racial, lesbian, and sexual issues, died of breast cancer November 17, 1992.
We remember you, Audre.
Pauli Murray, pioneering American civil rights activist, lawyer, gender equality advocate, scholar, Episcopal priest, and author, died of pancreatic cancer July 1, 1985.
We remember you, Pauli.
Madeleine Albright, native of Prague, Czechoslovakia, American diplomat and political scientist who was the first woman to be United States Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001, died from cancer on March 23, 2022.
We remember you, Madeleine.
Daughters of mothers who have cancer, who face their own fears of having cancer.
We remember you, Daughters.
Family, friends, and colleagues who are living with or have died of cancer.
We remember you.
Those who will die today of cancer, and those who will survive.
We remember you.
Listen to People Living with Cancer
People with cancer have wisdom to share. Let us listen to some of their words.
“An individual doesn’t get cancer, a family does.”
—Terry Tempest Williams, naturalist, writer, environmental activist
“When death stalked me, I recognized it. Death was a powerful presence I had met again and again in prisons and execution chambers, on the streets, and in the cat holes of the homeless, in the deadly decisions and unctuous proclamations of the bureaucrats of the state and the church… but I clung to the assurance that closes Psalm 23, ‘Surely grace and mercy have run after me my whole life long.’”
—Murphy Davis, Presbyterian minister
“But when this happens to you—and I think other people would identify with this—suddenly, colors are brighter. You see everything.”
—Lynn Redgrave, actress
“When it’s over I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement…
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
—Mary Oliver, poet, “When Death Comes”
“You need to live BIG through something bad.”
—Sean Patrick, founder of HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation
Song: “How Can I Keep from Singing,” Quaker song, American gospel tune
My life flows on in endless song,
Above Earth’s lamentation,
I hear the real, tho’ far-off hymn,
That hails a new creation.
Refrain: No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that rock I’m clinging.
Since love prevails in heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?
Although the tempest loudly roars,
I know the truth, it liveth.
And though the darkness ’round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth. Refrain.
Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear its music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing? Refrain.
I lift my eyes, the cloud grows thin.
I see the blue above it.
And day by day this pathway smooths,
Since first I learned to love it.
Refrain: No storm can shake my inmost calm,
I hear the music ringing.
It sounds an echo in my soul,
How can I keep from singing?
Reflection | Sharing
How have you given support to someone with cancer, or how have you received support in your cancer journey?
Blessing with Water
In the center of our table is a bowl of water representing a sacred well. Holy wells through the ages have been believed to have healing powers that cure ailments. Water is a healing and regenerative force. It facilitates life. It is spoken of as the source, the healer, the transformer, the spring of ancient wisdom.
Come, hold your bowl of water. Look at the well and visualize the healing powers of the water. Visualize your healing powers. (Pause).
Touch the water with your hands (Pause), then touch your hands, saying:
Bless my hands that I may touch with love, and heal.
Touch your eyes, saying:
Bless my eyes that I may see joy even in the midst pain, and heal.
Touch your ears, saying:
Bless my ears that I may hear the cries of the world, and heal.
Touch your mouth, saying:
Bless my mouth that I may speak with care, and heal.
Touch your heart, saying:
Bless my heart that I may be compassionate, and heal.
Touch your feet, saying:
Bless my feet that I may walk my path courageously, and heal.
Touch your breasts, lungs, abdomen, ovaries, kidneys, or they used to be, saying:
Bless my breasts, lungs, abdomen, ovaries, kidneys, or where they used to be, that I may love myself, and heal.
Touch your whole body, saying:
Bless my whole body that I may be filled with grace, and heal.
Stones of Solidarity
In Celtic mythology, stones have healing qualities. They activate the power of holy wells. They symbolize your healing powers and the healing powers of this and other communities. Hold your stone.
Dip your stone in the water for every person who hears the words: “You have cancer.” Spirit of Life, give strength to face the unknown, patience to go through the tests, and courage to make the decisions that are best for her.
We are here with you; you are not alone.
For every one living with cancer, there are family and friends who are shocked and grieving. Dip your stone in the water for all mothers and fathers, partners, children, and siblings, friends and colleagues who wait and watch. Holy One on the Journey, give them strength to be with their loved one.
We are here with you; you are not alone.
Early detection is the best protection. Dip your stone in the water for all involved in cancer research whose life and work make early detection, careful diagnosis, and the hope of healing possible. God of Many Names, guide their minds to discover the ways of cancer.
We are here with you; you are not alone.
The days of treatment are so long, the chemotherapy and radiation so scary, the face in the mirror is so strange. Dip your stone in the water for all who fight the exhaustion, the fear, the loss of hair and appetite; for all who fight back, who stay the course, and look fear in the face with courage and even with humor. Divine Courage and Laughter, be near.
We are here with you; you are not alone.
Many people with cancer do not have access to treatment. Dip your stone in water so that knowledge and research will be shared with all in need, regardless of socio-economic conditions.
We are here with you; you are not alone.
Faith, prayer, and community are sources of help and healing. Dip your stone in the water for all the prayers and visits, the phone calls and cards, the food and kind acts that bring comfort and healing. Divine Hospitality, surround us with community.
We are here with you; you are not alone.
There will be a cure; there must be a cure! Dip your stone in the water for all who believe in and work toward the day when cancer does not take the lives of women, men, children, and animals. O Divine Healer, send your healing spirit to bring a cure for cancer now.
We are here with you; you are not alone.
Take Action
Let us put our prayers into action. Here are some possible ways.
- Call a friend who is living with cancer and ask them how they are.
- Pray for people you know who have cancer.
- Plant a seed ribbon in memory of someone who has transitioned.
- Walk or run to raise awareness and funds to close the cancer care gap.
Song: “You’ll Never Walk Alone” performed by Susan Boyle
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Sending Forth
Let us go forth honoring the faces of cancer.
Let us go forth to raise awareness of cancer and close the cancer care gap.
Let us go forth to be one with all who have or have had cancer.
Let us go forth to pray for a cure for cancer.
Remember, we are not alone.
© 2024, Diann L. Neu, from forthcoming book Healing Waters: Spiritual Practices for Well-being with Cancer and Illness
