Prayer For a Departed Child - W115

Losing a child is one of the most difficult experiences a parent will ever face. The grief over a tiny life full of promise, whether born or unborn, being cut short is profound. For those surrounding the devastated parents, it is impossible to know what to say to give consolation.

This icon plaque features an icon of Our Lord Jesus, lovingly cradling in His arms the soul of a child. In the Orthodox Faith, we trust that the Creator who fashioned this young life will receive it back to Himself. This image is a reminder and a comfort to those who are grieving this loss.

Together with the icon, the words of Saint Ephrem the Syrian from his poetic collection Hymns on Paradise are an encouragement. We are reminded that God loves and embraces these little ones who have committed no sin, with a beautiful image of their new life in Paradise:

Now Paradise sees the children, whom it had buried amid laments, pasturing like lambs in Eden. Exalted in their ranks, glorious in their splendours, they are like kindred of the Angels.

If you, or someone you love, is facing the incredibly hard reality of losing a young child, we hope that this memorial plaque will be a comforting reminder of a God who loves and welcomes the little children to Himself in eternal blessedness.