All the Lonely People

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people

All the lonely people

Where do they all come from?

All the lonely people

Where do they all belong?

"Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles

Ave Maria!The above words immediately came to mind when I learned earlier this month that the Holy Father's universal prayer intention for November is:

"Lonely People ~ that all who suffer loneliness may experience the closeness of God and the support of others."

Then, in God's perfect timing, this prayer by the wise and gifted writer Sister Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., appeared in my daily reading a few days ago:  

Companion of the Lonely

by Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M.

Fragments of Your Ancient Name

You hold the hand of lonely ones

As they walk in their dark valleys

Of empty isolation and strayed love.

The widowed, the childless, the lost,

Aged ones never visited, the rejected,

The dying with no one by their side,

Refugees in camps,disabled veterans,

Children abandoned by their parents,

And all those who have not been loved.

We can be your companionship for them.

Today: I reach out to someone lonely.

So this month we pray with Pope Francis that lonely people will know "the closeness of God", which often manifests itself through "the support of others". And we remember Sr. Joyce's invitation to be our dear Lord's companionship for all the lonely people. "Where do they all belong?" We find the answer when we "reach out to someone lonely," whether in action or in prayer. All those lonely people belong in our hearts, where God's love abides and burns for us and for them forever.