Daily Mass for the Dead
Introit
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.
Collect
O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Your servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins, that by loving prayers they may obtain the forgiveness they have ever desired. Who lives and reigns.
Collect (for deceased bishops or priests)
O God, Who, in the apostolic priesthood, didst cause Thy servants to be honored with pontifical (or sacerdotal) dignity, grant, we beseech Thee, that they may be joined in fellowship with Thine apostles for evermore. Through our Lord.
Collect (for deceased brethren, relatives, and benefactors)
O God, the bestower of pardon and lover of man's salvation, we beseech Thy clemency, through the intercession of blessed Mary, ever-virgin, and all Thy saints, that the brethren, kindred, and benefactors of our congregation who have passed out of this world may together enjoy everlasting happiness. Through our Lord.
Lesson
In those days, I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth. Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them.
Gradual
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.
Tract
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.
Sequence - Dies Iræ
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.
Gospel
At that time, Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews, I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. If anyone eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My Flesh for the life of the world. The Jews on that account argued with one another, saying, How can this man give us His Flesh to eat? Jesus therefore said to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has life everlasting and I will raise him up on the last day.
Offertory
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.
Secret
Look mercifully, we beseech You, O Lord, upon the sacrificial gifts we offer You for the souls of Your servants and handmaids; and since You have given them the merit of Christian faith, also grant them its reward. Through our Lord.
Secret (for deceased bishops or priests)
Receive, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the sacrifices we offer for the souls of Thy servants, bishops (or priests); that Thou mayst command those whom on earth Thou didst invest with the episcopal (or sacerdotal) dignity to be joined to the fellowship of Thy saints in the heavenly kingdom. Through our Lord.
Secret (for deceased brethren, relatives, and benefactors)
O God, Whose mercy is boundless, mercifully receive the prayers of our lowliness, and grant, through these sacraments of our salvation, to the souls of our brethren, kindred, and benefactors, to whom Thou didst grant the confession of Thy name, the remission of all sins.
Communion
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.
Postcommunion
May the prayers of Your suppliants be helpful to the souls of Your servants and handmaids, we beseech You, O Lord, that You may free them from all sin and make them sharers in Your redemption. Who lives and reigns.
Postcommunion (for deceased bishops or priests)
May Thy clemency, which we implore, O Lord, benefit the souls of Thy servants, bishops (or priests), that by Thy mercy they may attain to everlasting fellowship with Him in Whom they hoped and believed. Through our Lord.
Postcommunion (for deceased brethren, relatives, and benefactors)
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty and merciful God, that the souls of our brethren, kindred, and benefactors, for whom we have offered this sacrifice of praise to Thy majesty, being purified of all sins by the virtue of this sacrament, may, by Thy mercy, receive the beatitude of perpetual light. Through our Lord.