Purgatorian Consoler/General Devotions for the Dead

Purgatorian Consoler (1868)
by Michael Müller

General Devotions for the Dead

3870334Purgatorian Consoler — General Devotions for the Dead1868Michael Müller

Prayers for the Faithful Departed

I. Method of Hearing Mass for the Dead.

MAKE YOUR INTENTION.

O God of all mercy, I come to offer Thee the blood of the Lamb without spot for the souls which Thou lovest, and which sigh only after the blessedness of seeing Thee and glorifying Thee. Just as are the punishments which Thou inflictest, open to them this day, I beseech Thee, the boundless treasure of the satisfaction of Thy divine Son; and bestow upon them in this holy sacrifice wherewithal to discharge the debt which they still owe to Thy sovereign justice.

If you are intending to communicate, and wish to offer your Communion for particular Souls, say:

I beseech Thee, O Lord, to apply to the souls of N. N. the indulgences which I shall be able to obtain by the communion I am about to make.

WHILST THE PRIEST IS AT THE FOOT OF THE ALTAR.

We confess our sins, God; and we acknowledge that, if Thou hadst regard only to our iniquities, no man could be justified in Thy sight, and endure the severity of Thy countenance. Woe to us if Thou judgest us without mercy! To appease Thy justice, we have recourse, after the example of Thy saints, to the unbloody sacrifice of Him Who was pleased to be nailed to the cross for us, and Who never ceaseth to make intercession with Thee in our behalf. Forgive us our sins; forgive also our brethren departed the sins which they committed against Thee, whilst they abode in this land of exile. Let Thy mercy prevail over Thy justice, since Thou hast promised graciously to hear those who shew mercy, and be Thou faithful to Thy promises.

INTROIT.

Eternal rest give unto them, Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. Ps. To Thee is due the hymn, God, in Sion; and to Thee shall the vow be paid in Jerusalem. Oh, hear my prayer: to thee all flesh shall come. Eternal, &c.

AT THE KYRIE.

O Jesus, shew Thyself a God of mercy; have

pity on the souls that groan in the place of suffering and expiation.

Collect

O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, give to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins; that through pious supplications, they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired. "Who livest and reignest, &c.

EPISTLE.

"Brethren, we will not have you ignorant concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them who have slept through Jesus, will God bring with Him For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept. For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words.” 1 Thes. iv. 12-17.

GRADUAL.

Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.

V. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance: he shall not be afraid for any evil report.

Release, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from the bonds of their sins.

V. And by the assistance of Thy grace, may they merit to escape the sentence of condemnation.

V. And enjoy the bliss of eternal light.

THE SEQUENCE.

The day of wrath, that dreadful day,

Shall the whole world in ashes lay,

As David and the Sybil say.

What horror must invade the mind,

When the approaching Judge shall find,

Few venial faults in all mankind!

The last loud trumpet’s wondrous sound

Shall through the rending tombs rebound,

And wake the nations under ground.

Nature and death shall with surprise

Behold the trembling sinner rise,

To view his Judge with conscious eyes.

Then shall with universal fear,

The seven-seal’d judgment book appear,

To scan the whole of life’s career.

The Judge ascends His awful throne,

Each secret sin shall here be known.

All must with shame confess their own.

Ah, wretched! what shall I then say,

What patron find, my fears t’ allay,

When even the just shall dread that day?

Thou mighty, formidable King!

Of mercy unexhausted spring! Save me! O save! and comfort bring.

Remember what my ransom cost ;

Let not my dear-bought soul be lost,

In storms of guilty terrors tost.

In search of me why feel such pain ;

Why on Thy cross such pangs sustain,

If now those sufferings must be vain?

Avenging Judge, Whom all obey,

Cancel my debt, too great to pay,

Before the sad accounting day.

O’erwhelmed, oppressed with doubts and fears,

Their load my soul in anguish bears;

I sigh, I weep—accept my tears.

Thou, Who wast moved at Mary’s grief,

Who didst absolve the dying thief,

Dost bid me hope, O grant relief.

Reject not my unworthy prayer,

Preserve me from the dangerous snare,

Which death and gaping hell prepare.

Give my immortal soul a place among Thy chosen right-hand race,

The sons of God, and heirs of grace.

From that abyss, Where flames devour and serpents hiss,

Deliver me, and raise to bliss.

Prostrate my contrite heart I rend,

My God, my Father and my Friend!

Do not forsake me in the end.

Well may they curse their second birth,

Who rise to a surviving death.

Thou great Creator of mankind,

Let all Thy faithful mercy

find. Amen.

Gospel.

"At that time, Martha said to Jesus: Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But now, also, I know that whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee. Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith to Him: I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: He that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live. And every one that liveth, and believeth in Me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this ? She saith to Him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God, Who art come into this world." John xi. 21-28.

OFFERTORY.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell, and from the deep pit: deliver them from the lion’s mouth, lest hell swallow them up, lest they fall into darkness : and let the standard bearer, St. Michael, bring them into the holy light: * as Thou promisedst of old to Abraham and to his seed.

V. We offer Thee, O Lord, a sacrifice of praise and prayers: accept them in behalf of the souls we commemorate this day; and make them pass, O Lord, from death to life. *As, &c.

AT THE SECRETA.

I will go down, O just Judge of the living and the dead, I will go down in spirit to that dread place where Thy hand is heavy on Thy children, the heirs of Thy glory. There I will sigh and lament, I will unite my prayers to the sacrifice of Thy dear Son, that Thou mayest shorten their pains, and change their sufferings into consolation, their humiliation into glory. Lord, in the grief that oppresses them, their soul cries unto Thee. Have mercy on me, for I acknowledge that I have sinned in Thy sight. One thing have I asked of Thee, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in Thy house for ever, to behold the fair beauty of Thy temple. I believe verily to see Thy face in the land of the living.

DURING THE PREFACE.

It is just and reasonable, right and salutary, to give Thee thanks at all times and in all places, Father almighty, eternal God, through Jesus Christ our Lord; through Whom Thou hast given us the hope of a blessed resurrection, to the end that, if the recollection of the sentence of death passed upon all men comes to sadden us, the promise of immortality may encourage and console our faith; for to those who are faithful to Thee, Lord, to die is to lose a mortal life to pass into a better, and when this their earthly tabernacle is dissolved, they obtain one in the heavens, which shall endure eternally. And therefore, with all the heavenly host, we sing a hymn to Thy glory, saying, without ceasing: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; His blood cries aloud for pardon, and its voice reacheth even to the throne of mercy.

DURING THE CANON.

O almighty God, Whose providence extendeth over all Thy creatures, for Thou art their Father, cast an eye of pity on the souls that love Thee, and whose bitterest pain is to be separated from Thee. Remember, my God, that they are the work of Thine hands, and the price of the sufferings, the death, and the infinite merits of Thy divine Son, Jesus. Wilt Thou not relent towards them for His name's sake ? We offer Thee, in their behalf, the precious blood which was shed for them on the Cross; the powerful intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Peter and St. Paul, and all the Saints; the humble supplications of Thy Church, and the prayers and meritorious works of all the faithful. Having this confidence, we hope all from Thy mercy, my God, for the souls which were dear unto us, and which Thou hast made it our duty to love and succor. Let Thy paternal tenderness disarm at length Thy justice. Open to them Thy heart; manifest to them Thy glory; shew Thyself to them as Thou art, and let flow into their souls that torrent of delights of which Thou art the everlasting source.

AT THE ELEVATION.

O holy Victim, immolated for the salvation of the world, listen favorably to our prayers. O precious Blood of our Saviour, which wast shed to take away our sins, sanctify us, and cry for mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.

CONTINUANCE OF THE CANON.

O Jesus, Who didst go down into Limbo to deliver thence the souls of the patriarchs and prophets who awaited Thy coming, visit the souls of Thy servants in their place of suffering. Moderate the heat of the furnace in which they are tried, with the dew of Thy grace. Thou hast said that Thou wilt consider as done unto Thyself, the least good which we shall do unto our brethren: I may hope, then, that the relief which I shall procure for the souls of the faithful will be as acceptable to Thee as if I had procured it for Thyself. Cease from Thy anger, O my God, through the intercession of her who is the comforter of the afflicted, and through the prayers of all the heavenly host, who plead for the blessedness of the souls in purgatory. Grant, I beseech Thee, eternal rest to these our brethren in whose behalf we prostrate ourselves before Thee.

AT THE PATER.

O Jesus, O Thou at Whose name every knee doth bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; Thou, Who art the sovereign Judge of the living and the dead; let Thy name be hallowed by the deliverance of the souls for whom we pray. Let the gate of Thy tabernacles be opened to them, and Thy will to save them be done this day. Grant that, after having eaten the bread of affliction, they may be nourished with the living bread which is the fruition of Thyself. We beseech Thee in Thy mercy to forgive the sins of our parents, friends and benefactors, ___ , and the sins which we have caused them to commit, that Thou mayest not impute the guilt to them in the rigor of Thy justice. Preserve us from those avenging flames, which, alas! we have too justly merited by the abuse of Thy graces, our tepidity in Thy service, and our unfaithfulness in resisting temptation. Deliver us from sin, the greatest of all evils, for we know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

AT THE AGNUS DEI.

Jesus, how great is the love which led Thee to offer Thyself, as a lamb to the sacrifice, for the expiation of the sins of the world! What tongue can worthily extol that charity which leads Thee to become surety for our debts, even after our death! What ought not our gratitude to be for so great a benefit!

Lamb of God, Who, by Thy death, didst overcome the roaring lion that goeth about seeking whom he may devour, have mercy on the faithful departed.

Lamb without spot, Who wast immolated to the justice of Thy divine Father, to the end that He might forgive us our sins, have mercy on those who have died united by love to Thy sacred heart.

Lamb of God, Who wast offered in sacrifice, that Thou mightest lead us out of this land of perdition to the true land of promise: Thou Who hast said: I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live, — give to the souls of the faithful departed that life, the principle of which was imparted to them by the grace of the holy sacraments; bestow upon them the happiness of which they have so often received the precious pledge in Thy heavenly banquet. I desire to have part therein (spiritually,) that I may obtain for them, as much as in me lies, the society of Thine elect for ever; I offer to Thee in their behalf, and especially for N., all the devotions and good works which I may be enabled to perform. Despise not my humble prayer; but be Thou Thyself my consolation in my loss, and grant relief to those souls which were so dear to me, and especially N.

Communion.

Let shine upon them, Lord, Thy eternal light, that they may dwell for ever with Thy saints: grant this favor to them, I beseech

Thee, O God of mercy.

Post-Communion.

O my God, Who hast constituted prayer for the souls in purgatory one of the most essential of our duties, grant that I may find, in Thy infinite merits and charity, the pardon of all my past tepidity and sloth. Let the remembrance of Thy justice, which keeps them fast bound in prison for faults which I myself so commonly commit, excite in me a firm resolution of entering on the way of penance to expiate my sins, and cause me to walk with more circumspection, that I may not relapse into my former errors. — I will no longer delay to do penance. Henceforth I will labor thereat whilst there is yet time. I will pray most humbly for the souls of the faithful departed; I will deprive myself even of allowable pleasures and enjoyments, to quench the flames in which they suffer; I will pour my alms into the lap of the poor, to make interest in their behalf. Bless these resolutions, my God, and grant me grace to fulfil them.

THE LAST GOSPEL.

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in the last day I shall rise out of the earth, and I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see my God my Saviour; my eyes shall behold him; this my hope is laid up in my bosom. Job xix. 25-27.

I will look towards the Lord, I will wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear my voice. I shall arise when I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light. . . . He will bring me forth into the light, I shall behold His justice. Mich. vii. 7-9.

II. The Office for the Dead.

St. Pius V., in a Bull dated July 9, 1568, granted:

I. The Indulgence of one hundred days to all the faithful, as often as they shall devoutly say of obligation, the Office of the Dead, on the days prescribed by the rubrics of the Roman Breviary.

II. Fifty days' Indulgence to all the faithful, every time they say it out of their own devotion.

VESPERS.

Ant. I will please.

PSALM CXIV.

I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.

Because He has inclined His ear to me, and in my days I will call to Him. The sorrows of death have surrounded me; and the dangers of hell are come upon me.

I have found tribulation and sorrow; and I have invoked the name of the Lord.

Lord deliver my soul; the Lord is merciful and just: and our God shows mercy.

The Lord keeps the little ones; I was humbled and He delivered me.

Return, my soul, into thy rest; because the Lord has done good to thee.

Because He has delivered my soul from death; my eyes from tears, and my feet from slipping.

I will please the Lord in the land of the living.

Grant them eternal rest, Lord:

And let perpetual light shine on them.

Ant. I will please the Lord in the land of the living.

Ant. Woe is me, Lord,

that my abode is prolonged.

PSALM CXIX.

When I was in tribulation, I cried to the Lord; and He heard me.

Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

What is to be given to thee, or what is to be added to thee: to a deceitful tongue?

The sharp arrows of the mighty: with coals of desolation.

Woe is me, that my abode is prolonged. I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar; my soul has been long a sojourner.

I was peaceable with those that hated peace; when I spoke to them, they insulted me for no reason.

Grant them eternal rest, &c.

Anth. Woe is me, Lord, that my abode is prolonged.

Anth. The Lord preserve thee from all evil; may the Lord keep thy soul.

PSALM CXX.

I lifted up my eyes to the mountains; from whence my help will come. My help is from the Lord; Who made heaven and earth.

May He not suffer thy foot to stagger; and may He not slumber that keeps thee.

Lo, He will not slumber nor sleep; that keeps Israel.

Our Lord keeps thee, our Lord is thy protection; on thy right hand.

The sun shall not burn thee by day; nor the moon by night.

The Lord preserveth thee from all evil; may the Lord keep thy soul.

May the Lord keep thy coming in, and thy going out; from henceforth, now, and for ever.

Grant them eternal rest, &c.

Anth. The Lord preserve thee from all evil, may the Lord keep thy soul.

Anth. If Thou wilt observe iniquities, Lord: Lord, who shall bear it?

PSALM CXXIX.

From the depths I have cried unto Thee, Lord, Lord hear my voice. Let Thy ears be attentive; to the voice of my petition.

If Thou wilt observe iniquities, Lord; Lord, who shall sustain it?

Because with Thee is propitiation; and for Thy law I have expected Thee, Lord.

My soul has relied on His word; my soul has hoped in the Lord.

From the morning watch even until night; let Israel hope in the Lord.

Because with the Lord there is mercy; and with Him plentiful redemption.

And He will redeem Israel, from all his iniquities.

Grant them eternal rest, &c.

Anth. If Thou wilt observe iniquities, Lord; Lord, who shall bear it?

Anth. Despise not, Lord, the works of Thy hands.

Psalm cxxxvii.

I will confess Thee, Lord, with all my heart; because Thou hast heard the words of my mouth. In the sight of angels I will sing to Thee; I will adore in Thy holy temple, and confess Thy name.

For Thy mercy, and Thy truth; because Thou hast magnified Thy holy name above every thing.

In what day soever I shall call to Thee, hear me; Thou wilt increase strength in my soul.

Let all kings of the earth confess Thee, Lord, for they have heard all the words of Thy mouth.

And let them sing in the ways of our Lord; because the glory of the Lord is great.

Because the Lord is high, and He beholds the low things; and the high things He knows afar off.

If I shall walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt enliven me; and upon the wrath of my enemies Thou hast stretched Thy hand, and Thy right hand has saved me.

The Lord will repay for me; Thy mercy, Lord, is for ever; despise not the works of Thy hands.