Prayers

THE WEEKLY PRAYERS

For the Dying
O ALMIGHTY and everliving God, the Preserver of Souls, Who dost chasten those whom thou lovest, and dost correct every son whom thou receivest; we implore Thee to look mercifully upon all those who are now in their last agony and who are at the point of death. May they be presented before Thee by the hands of the holy Angels, and admitted to the fellowship of Thy Saints and elect, so that no defilement of the flesh may hurt them; but let Thy pity and compassion absolve them from all their offences, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Departed
O LORD, the God of spirits and of all flesh, Who didst put death under Thy feet, didst destroy the power of the devil, and gavest Thy life for the world: grant rest, O Lord, to all the Faithful Departed, especially to all departed members of the Guild of All Souls, particularly (........)* and those being prayed for at this time by members of the Guild in other lands: bring them, we pray Thee, to that promised place of light and refreshment, whence pain and sorrow and sighing are driven away; and in Thy goodness and mercy pardon every sin committed by them in thought, word and deed; Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.

* Here insert the names of our Departed for the day or the week.

O LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who hast promised to come again in like manner as Thou didst go into Heaven; we pray Thee to hasten the time of Thine Advent, that sin and death may be overcome, and that we, with all the faithful Departed, may be perfected in blessedness in that day when Thou makest up Thy jewels; through Thy mercy, O our God, Who art blessed, and livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

Let us pray often for our Guild and for one another.

For the Increase of the Guild
GRANT, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, to the Guild of All Souls such an increase of members as shall best enable Thy servants to accomplish the work Thou hast set before them, and whether we be many or few, grant us so to live here upon earth that hereafter we may come to joys everlasting: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For a Happy Death
O GOD, Who while appointing all men once to die, hast yet concealed from them the moment and the hour of their death, grant that, spending all the days of my life in justice and holiness, I may be made worthy to depart out of this world in Thy holy love; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Of the Patron
O MOST MERCIFUL GOD, we beseech Thy Clemency, that as we venerate St. Michael, Thy most blessed Archangel, as the Patron of the Guild, so our prayers may be presented to Thee by his hand: and that as Thou hast bestowed upon him the crown of holy perfection, so Thou wouldest bestow upon us pardon and forgiveness of all our faults, and when we go hence wouldest admit us to the joys of Paradise, there to praise Thee, with all Thy Holy Angels and Saints, for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy Michael Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defence against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who roam the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Let us pray for all departed members being prayed for by the Guild of All Souls in other lands, especially in the Guild Chapel of Saint Michael and the Holy Souls at the Shrine of Our Lady, Walsingham, Norfolk.

O GOD, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful: grant unto the souls of Thy servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins; that through devout supplications they may obtain the pardon they have always desired. Who with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

REST eternal grant unto them O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the Faithful Departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

For Those Who No Longer Need Our Prayers
O God, the King of saints, we praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear; for the blessed Mary ever-Virgin; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs; and for all other thy righteous servants, known to us and unknown; and we beseech thee that, encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints In light; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A MONTHLY LITANY FOR THE DEAD

Kyrie eleison
  Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison

O Christ, hear us.
  O Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,
  Have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
  Have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.
God, the Holy Ghost, Perfecter of the elect, Holy Trinity, One God
  Have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Orders of Blessed Angels,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Holy Patriarchs and Prophets,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Holy Apostles and Evangelists,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Holy Martyrs,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Holy Bishops and Confessors,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Holy Doctors,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Holy Virgins,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
All ye Saints of God,
  Pray for the souls of the faithful departed.

Remember not, Lord, the offenses of Thy servants departed, neither take Thou vengeance of their sins: spare them good Lord, spare Thy people whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Most Precious Blood, and be not angry with them for ever.
  Spare them, good Lord.

From all evil,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
From Thy wrath,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
From the flames of fire,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
From the land of the shadow of death,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy wonderful Conception,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Holy Nativity and Circumcision,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Most Sweet and Holy Name,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Fasting and Temptation,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thine Agony and Bloody Sweat,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Cross and Passion,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Precious Death and Burial,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Descent into Hell,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Glorious Resurrection,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By Thy Ascension into Heaven,
  Good Lord, deliver them.
By the Coming of the Holy Ghost,
  Good Lord, deliver them.

That it may please Thee shortly to accomplish the number of Thine elect, and to hasten Thy Kingdom,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That it may please Thee to set free our parents, kinsfolk, and friends, from their sins, and from the punishment of them,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That it may please Thee to remember and to show mercy, unto all the faithful departed who are not held in remembrance upon earth,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That it may please Thee to grant unto all who rest in Christ, a place of refreshment, light, and peace,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That it may please Thee to wash away their sins in Thy Most Precious Blood,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That it may please Thee, through the prayers and alms of Thy Church, and especially through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to receive them into everlasting habitations,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That the Blessed Vision of Jesus may comfort them, and the glorious Light of His Saving Cross shine upon them,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That Saint Michael, the standard-bearer, may bring them into the holy light,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

That Thy Holy Angels may bring them into the land of the living, and the glorious Queen of the Saints, Holy Mary, present them before Thy Throne,
  We beseech Thee to hear us.

O Lamb of God, Who shall come again with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead:
  Grant rest to the souls of the faithful departed.
O Lamb of God, at Whose Presence the earth shall be moved, and the heavens melt away,
  Grant rest to the souls of the faithful departed.
O Lamb of God, in Whose Blessed Book of Life, all their names are written,
  Grant rest to the souls of the faithful departed.

The Antiphon
Deliver us, O Lord, and all Thy faithful, in that day of terror, when the sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars fall from heaven: in that day of calamity and amazement, when the heavens shall be shaken, and the pillars of the earth removed, and the glorious majesty of Jesus come, with innumerable angels, to judge the world by fire.

V. Deliver us, O Lord, in that dreadful day.
R. And place us with the Blessed, at Thy right hand for evermore.
V. O Lord, hear our prayer.
R. And let our cry come unto thee.

(Let us pray)
O God, Whose property is always to have mercy and to forgive: be merciful to the souls of Thy servants and handmaids, and forgive them all their sins, that they, being loosed from the bonds of death, may ascend into the life everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

V. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord.
R. And let light perpetual shine upon them.

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE. AMEN.

ADDITIONAL PRAYERS

Prayer to St Joseph for a happy death
O Blessed Joseph, thou didst give thy last breath in the loving embrace of Jesus and Mary. When the seal of death shall close my life, come with Jesus and Mary to aid me. Obtain for me this solace for that hour - to die with their holy arms around me. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I commend my soul, living and dying, into thy sacred arms. Amen.

Prayer to St Benedict for a good death
O Holy Father Benedict, blessed by God both in grace and in name, who while standing in prayer with thy hands raised to Heaven didst most happily yield thine angelic spirit into the Hands of thy Creator, and who hast promised zealously to defend against all the snares of the enemy, in the last struggle of death, those who should daily remind thee of thy glorious departure and thy heavenly joys, protect me, I beseech thee, O glorious Father, this day and every day, by thy holy blessing, that I may never be separated from our blessed Lord, from thy company, and from that of all the blessed, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Sacred Heart, Church of the Resurrection, New York Cty