St. Vincent's Manual/Prayers for the Dead
It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins. 2 Mach. xii 46.
A PRAYER FOR THE SOULS SUFFERING IN PURGATORY
O God of all consolation; sole author of the salvation of souls! have mercy on those who suffer in purgatory. Look with compassion on the greatness of their torments: they are more keenly devoured by their ardent desire of being united to thee, than by the purging flames wherein they are plunged. With them, I adore thy avenging justice, and confess the equity of thy judgments. But since thou art pleased favorably to hear the prayers which the members of thy holy Church offer to thee in behalf of their brethren, graciously hear the supplications which I now address to thee for those suffering souls. Remember O Lord thou art their Father, and they are thy children. Forget the faults, which, through the frailty of human nature, they have committed against thee, during the course of their mortal pilgrimage. Adorable Jesus! victim of propitiation both for the living and the dead! vouchsafe, in thy quality of Redeemer, to apply the merits of thy passion and death to the relief of those souls, whom thou punishest as their sovereign judge. Remember thy faithful followers and thy spouses. Let some drops of that precious blood, which thou hast shed for their salvation, flow on those devouring flames; and let the infinite price of that sacred blood, afford a full satisfaction for their offences. Deliver them, O most merciful God! from that place of darkness and torture, and call them to a place of refreshment, light and peace. Grant them the possession of the sovereign good, after which they so ardently sigh, and for which thou hast created them. Receive them into thy paternal bosom, where they will praise and love thee, to all eternity. Amen.
THE LITANY FOR THE DEAD.
LORD, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.
God the Son, the Redeemer of the world, have mercy, &c.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy, &c.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy, &c.
Holy Mary, pray for the souls, &c
| Holy Mother of God, | Pray for the souls of the faithful departed. | |
| Holy Virgin of virgins, | ||
| St. Michael, | ||
| All ye holy Angels, and Archangels, | ||
| St. John the Baptist, | ||
| St. Joseph, | ||
| All ye holy patriarchs, and prophets, | ||
| St. Peter, | ||
| St. Paul, | ||
| St. John, | ||
| All ye holy apostles, and evangelists, | ||
| St. Stephen, | ||
| St. Lawrence, |
St. Gregory, pray, &c.
St. Ambrose, pray, &c.
All ye holy bishops and confessors, pray, &c.
St. Mary Magdalen, pray, &c.
St. Catharine, pray, &c.
All ye holy virgins and widows, pray, &c.
All ye Saints of God, make intercession for the souls of the faithful departed.
Be merciful; spare them, O Lord.
Be merciful: hear them, O Lord.
| From all evil, | O Lord, deliver them. | |
| From thy wrath, | ||
| From the flame of fire, | ||
| From the region of the shadow of death, | ||
| Through thy immaculate conception, | ||
| Through thy nativity, | ||
| Through thy most holy name, | ||
| Through the multitude of thy tender mercies, | ||
| Through thy most bitter passion, | ||
| Through thy most sacred wounds, | ||
| Through thy most precious blood, | ||
| Through thy ignominious death, by which thou hast destroyed our death, | ||
| We sinners do beseech thee to hear us. | ||
| O thou! who didst absolve the sinner woman, and didst hear the prayer of the good thief, | We beseech thee to hear us. | |
| That thou vouchsafe to release our deceased parents, relations, and benefactors, from the bonds of their sins, and from the punishment thereof, | ||
| That thou vouchsafe to hasten the day of visiting thy faithful, detained in the receptacles of sorrow, and transport them to the city of eternal peace, | ||
| That thou vouchsafe to shorten the time of expiation of their sins, and graciously admit them into the holy sanctuary, in which no unclean thing can enter, | ||
| That thou vouchsafe, through the prayers and alms of thy Church, and especially the inestimable sacrifice of thy holy altar, to receive them into the tabernacles of rest, and to crown their longing hopes with everlasting fruition, | ||
| Son of God, |
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world! Give them rest.
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world! Give them eternal rest.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Our Father, &c.
V. And lead us not into temptation;
R. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
V. From the gates of hell,
R. Deliver their souls, O Lord,
V. May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my supplication come unto thee.
LET US PRAY.
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: Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O GOD, the giver of pardon, and the lover of the salvation of men! we beseech thy clemency in behalf of our brethren, kinsfolks, and benefactors, who have departed this life; that, by the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, thou wouldst receive them into the joys of thy everlasting kingdom: Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
O GOD, whose property is always to have mercy, and to spare! be favorably propitious to the souls of thy servants and grant them the remission of all their sins; that, being delivered from the bonds of this mortal life, they may be admitted to life everlasting: Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.