Mass for the Dead on the Anniversary

Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. Ps. To You we owe our hymn of praise, O God, in Sion; to You must vows be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to You all flesh must come.

O God, the Lord of mercies, grant to the souls of Thy servants and handmaids, the anniversary of whose burial we commemorate, an abode of refreshment, the beatitude of rest, and the brightness of light. Through our Lord.

In those days: The most valiant man Judas, making a gathering, sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, for if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead; and because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.

Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance; an evil report he shall not fear.

O Lord, absolve the souls of all the faithful departed from every bond of sin. ℣. And by the help of Your grace may they be worthy to escape the sentence of vengeance. ℣. And to enjoy all the beatitude of the light eternal.

Day of wrath and doom impending,
David’s word with Sibyl’s blending,
Heaven and earth in ashes ending.
O what fear man’s bosom rendeth,
When from heaven the Judge descendeth,
On Whose sentence all dependeth.
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth,
Through earth’s sepulchres it ringeth,
All before the throne it bringeth.
Death is struck, and nature quaking,
All creation is awaking,
To its Judge an answer making.
Lo, the book exactly worded,
Wherein all hath been recorded,
Thence all judgment be awarded.
When the Judge His seat attaineth,
And each hidden deed arraigneth,
Nothing unavenged remaineth.
What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceding
When the just are mercy needing?
King of majesty tremendous,
Who dost free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us.
Think, kind Jesus, my salvation
Caused Thy wondrous Incarnation,
Leave me not to reprobation.
Faint and weary Thou hast sought me,
On the cross of suffering bought me,
Shall such grace be vainly brought me?
Righteous Judge, for sin's pollution
Grant Thy gift of absolution,
Ere that day of retribution.
Guilty now I pour my moaning,
All my shame with anguish owing,
Spare, O God, Thy suppliant groaning
Through the sinful woman shriven,
Through the dying thief forgiven,
Thou to me a hope hast given.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
Rescue me from fires undying.
With Thy sheep a place provide me,
From the goats afar divide me,
To Thy right hand do Thou guide me.
When the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me with Thy Saints surrounded.
Low I kneel with heart's submission;
See, like ashes, my contrition,
Help me in my last condition.
Ah! that day of tears and mourning,
From the dust of earth returning.
Man for judgment must prepare him,
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.
Lord all-pitying, Jesus blest,
Grant them Thine eternal rest. Amen.

At that time, Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews, All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me, and him who comes to Me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me. Now this is the will of Him Who sent Me, the Father, that I should lose nothing of what He has given Me, but that I should raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father Who sent Me, that whoever beholds the Son, and believes in Him, shall have everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

O Lord, Jesus Christ, King of glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and the deep pit; deliver them from the lion’s mouth, that hell engulf them not, nor they fall into darkness, but that Michael, the holy standard-bearer, bring them into the holy light * which You once promised to Abraham and his seed. ℣. We offer You, O Lord, sacrifices and prayers of praise; accept them for those souls whom we this day commemorate; grant them, O Lord, to pass from death to the life * which You once promised to Abraham and his seed.

Be propitious, O Lord, by Thy supplications for the souls of Thy servants and handmaids, whose anniversary is kept to-day, for whom we offer Thee the sacrifice of praise, that Thou wouldest join them to the companionship of Thy saints. Through our Lord.

May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord, with Your Saints forever, for You are kind. ℣. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them: with Your Saints forever, for You are kind.

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that the soul of Thy servant and handmaid, the anniversary of whose burial we commemorate, may be purged by this sacrifice and obtain alike forgiveness and everlasting rest. Through our Lord.

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