Recta Ratio

Fourth Day:
My God! because Thou art infinite goodness, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended Thee. I promise to die rather than ever offend Thee more. Give me holy perseverance; have pity on me, and have pity on those holy souls that burn in the cleansing fire and love Thee with all their hearts. O Mary, Mother of God, assist them by thy powerful prayers.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.
Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemani, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

Third Day:
My God! because Thou art infinite goodness, I love Thee above all things, and repent with my whole heart of my offenses against Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. And thou, Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.
Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemani, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

Twenty-seven buses torched Thursday night. And it is spreading to other areas beyond Paris and its suburbs. On the whole, Moslem immigration is not a good idea for France, Europe, or the United States.

Donegal Express has an amusing posting on the practice of threatening our heavenly patrons when they have been lax in delivering the goods.

I might try that, though, to be honest, I haven't been placing a lot of reliance on my various patrons, George, Thomas, and John the Evangelist, but going direct to Our Blessed Lady. And while St. George might take a "get me this, or else your statue goes in the garbage" ultimatum with some humor, it might be almost blasphemous to say that to Our Lady.

And while Der Tommissar gives us two examples of threats to saints that paid off, what if I made the threat, nothing happened, and had to carry it out? I'd miss Our Lady's presence, as ineffective as it seems to have been so far (given the limits of my perspective).

I don't know. I've been having a wretched time of it of late, especially the last 24 hours, which have been one minor disaster after another. I beg, plead, cajole, wheadle for help from Our Lady day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and nothing happens.

Now it may well be that she is so fully occupied keeping really bad crap from happening to me, stuff going on behind my back that I don't even know about, that the miniscule positive crumbs she tosses me from time to time are all she can spare me. Maybe she is really working very hard for me just keeping genuine disaster at bay, more or less.

But I'm a guy with a prayer agenda, which I don't hesitate to bring to her attention regularly. And the stuff I'm praying for, very important stuff from my perspective, doesn't seem to be getting done. It is just continuous status quo. No progress. No sign of progress. No real hope for progress beyond an absolute miracle.

Yeah, yeah, I know about Saint Monica and the widow and the unjust judge. Persistence in prayer. Keep at it. Keep the chin up. Keep plugging away. But I don't want to wait 30 years like St. Monica did. Crime-in-Italy, I'm 41 years old and don't really expect to even see 65! My stuff needs to get done very, very soon.

So, dear Blessed Lady, get on the ball, please, or I'll threaten you!

A very helpful post over at Dymphna's Well.

Today is the feast Saint Charles Borromeo, who I find is the patron saint of apple orchards, for which I have a great fondness.

His biography from Father Butler's Lives of the Saints.

Frau Welt is a statue at Worms Cathedral. And it turns out that the name of the city in which it rests is quite apt.

On one side, Frau Welt is buxom, pretty, healthy, smiling broadly. She is just what everyone wants to think of him or herself as.

But walk around to her backside, and you find that she is a whited sepulcher, worm-eaten and decaying.

The artist, who worked, if I am reading this German website correctly, around 1298, is making a statement about the nature of man: that his prosperity is impermanent, that he is dust and ashes and will return to that state, that he is meat for worms. Yes, Frau Welt is yet another Memento Mori.

One of the results of the Black Death on European culture was a special emphasis on death. This is seen in the foundation in the 15th and early 16th centuries of chantry chapels, in artistic depictions of the Last Judgment, in will provisions for doles and Masses, in the ubiquity of the Office of the Dead in Books of Hours (only the Office of the Blessed Virgin appear as frequently), in the growth of urban graveyards, like Holy Innocents at Paris, and in the artistic message of the Danse Macabre.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Danse Macabre, or Dance of Death was a highly popular series of printed vignettes (usually in woodcut form) in which Death, depicted as a skeleton, gleefully comes for different types of people, popes, kings, queens, cardinals, noblemen, lawyers, monks, doctors, merchants, ploughmen, etc. The first known depiction of the Danse Macabre appeared as a painted mural at Holy Innocents graveyard, Paris. The theme proved popular, and became, for that time, a best-selling book.

The message is that all will die, that death claims all, no matter how exalted in life, or how lowly, no matter how holy, or how impious.

Death and the merchant

Death and the chantry priest

Death and a nobleman (?)

Sometimes, additional scenes are added, like this one showing an orchestra of Death

Or this one

The most famous Dance of Death is that of Hans Holbein the Younger (the artist who painted St. Thomas More's portrait).

Death and the Duke

Death and the nun

Death and the child

All of these images, and scores more, are at Gode Cookery's Medieval Macabre site. It is worth browsing when you have the time (the humor section is good). But many of the images are severely anti-Catholic (well, these are 16th century prints, both Catholic in inspiration, and protestant). Use with caution, and be sure to guide young children's viewing.

Read Me, Or Rue It! by Father Paul O'Sullivan
CHAPTER I : What is Purgatory?

It is a prison of fire in which nearly all [saved] souls are plunged after death and in which they suffer the intensest pain.

Here is what the great Doctors of the Church tell us of Purgatory:

So grievous is their suffering that one minute in this awful fire seems like a century.

St. Thomas Aquinas, the Prince of Theologians, says that the fire of Purgatory is equal in intensity to the fire of Hell, and that the slightest contact with it is more dreadful than all the possible sufferings of this Earth!

St. Augustine, the greatest of the Holy Doctors, teaches that to be purified of their faults previous to being admitted to Heaven, souls after death are subjected to a fire more penetrating, more dreadful than anything we can see, or feel, or conceive in this life

"Though this fire is destined to cleanse and purify the soul, " adds the Holy Doctor, "still it is more acute than anything we could possibly endure on Earth. "

St. Cyril of Alexandria does not hesitate to say that "it would be preferable to suffer all the possible torments of Earth until the Judgment day than to pass one day in Purgatory. "

Another great Saint says: "Our fire, in comparison with the fire of Purgatory, is as a refreshing breeze. "

The other holy writers speak in identical terms of this awful fire.

HOW COMES IT THAT THE PAINS OF PURGATORY ARE SO SEVERE?
The fire we see on Earth was made by the goodness of God for our comfort and well-being Still, when used as a torment, it is the most dreadful one we can imagine.

The fire of Purgatory, on the contrary, was made by the Justice of God to punish and purify us and is, therefore, incomparably more severe.

Our fire, at most, burns this gross body of ours, made of clay; whereas, the fire of Purgatory acts on the spiritual soul, which is unspeakably more sensitive to pain.

The more intense our fire is, the more speedily it destroys its victim, who therefore ceases to suffer; whereas, the fire of Purgatory inflicts the keenest, most violent pain, but never kills the soul nor lessens its sensibility.

Unsurpassingly severe as is the fire of Purgatory, the pain of loss or separation from God, which the souls also suffer in Purgatory, is far more severe. The soul separated from the body craves with all the intensity of its spiritual nature for God. It is consumed with an intense desire to fly to Him. Yet it is held back. No words can describe the anguish of this unsatisfied craving.

What madness, therefore, it is for intelligent beings to neglect taking every possible precaution to avoid such a dreadful fate.

It is puerile to say that it cannot be so, that we cannot understand it, that it is better not to think or speak of it. The fact remains always the same -- whether we believe it, or whether we do not -- that the pains of Purgatory are beyond everything we can imagine or conceive. These are the words of St. Augustine.

A big thumbs-up!

For the octave of All Souls, one of the things I will be doing is publishing installments from Read Me Or Rue It!, by Father Paul O'Sullivan.

FOREWORD
"READ ME OR RUE IT"

This title is somewhat startling. Yet, Dear Reader, if you peruse this little book, you will see for yourself how well deserved it is. The book tells us how to save ourselves and how to save others from untold suffering. Some books are good and may be read with profit. Others are better and should be read without fail.

There are, however, books of such sterling worth by reason of the counsels they suggest, the conviction they carry with them, the urge to action they give us that it would be sheer folly not to read them.

Read Me or Rue It belongs to this class. It is for your best interest, Dear Friend, to read it and reread it, to ponder well and deeply on its contents. You will never regret it; rather, great and poignant will be your regret if you fail to study its few but pregnant pages.

HELP, HELP, THEY SUFFER SO MUCH!

I. We can never understand too clearly that every alms, small or great, which we give to the poor we give to God.

He accepts it and rewards it as given to Himself. Therefore, all we do for the Holy Souls, God accepts as done to Himself. It is as if we had relieved or released Him from Purgatory. What a thought! How He will repay us!

II. As there is no hunger, no thirst, no poverty, no need, no pain, no suffering to compare with what the Souls in Purgatory endure, so there is no alms more deserving, none more pleasing to God, none more meritorious for us than the alms, the prayers, the Masses we give to the Holy Souls.

III. It is very possible that some of our own nearest and dearest ones are still suffering the excruciating pains of Purgatory and calling on us piteously for help and relief.

Is it not dreadful that we are so hardened as not to think more about them, that we are so cruel as to deliberately forget them!

For the dear Christ's sake, let us do all, but all, we can for them.

Every Catholic ought to join the Association of the Holy Souls.

PURGATORY

"Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched me. " (Job 19:21).

This is the touching prayer that the Poor Souls in Purgatory address to their friends on Earth, begging, imploring their help, in accents of the deepest anguish. Alas, many are deaf to their prayers!

It is incomprehensible how some Catholics, even those who are otherwise devout, shamefully neglect the souls in Purgatory. It would almost seem that they do not believe in Purgatory. Certain it is that their ideas on the subject are very hazy.

Days and weeks and months pass without their having a Mass said for the Holy Souls! Seldom, too, do they hear Mass for them, seldom do they pray for them, seldom do they think of them! Whilst they are enjoying the fullness of health and happiness, busy with their work, engrossed with their amusements, the Poor Souls are suffering unutterable agonies on their beds of flame. What is the cause of this awful callousness? Ignorance: gross, inexplicable ignorance.

People do not realize what Purgatory is. They have no conception of its dreadful pains, and they have no idea of the long years that souls are detained in these awful fires. As a result, they take little or no care to avoid Purgatory themselves, and worse still, they cruelly neglect the Poor Souls who are already there and who depend entirely on them for help.

Dear Reader, peruse this little book with care and you will bless the day that it fell into your hands.

Bone Chapel, Hallstatt, Austria

One of the big sticks protestants used to beat the Catholic Church with was the claim that the Mass was inaccessible to the general population, because of the altar rail and rood screen. So altar rails and rood screens have pretty much disappeared from Catholic churches now.

But this inaccessibility issue was never genuine, anyway. First of all, at the Consecration, usually called the Sacring, people used to rush forward to the openings in the rood screen so that they could see "their Maker." Second of all, the rood screen only obscured the view of the Mass at the high altar anyway. The typical medieval parish church or cathedral, whether in England or the Continent, had a number of chapels either outside the church, or along its periphery. Sometimes, these side chapels were part of the architectural plan of the church. And sometimes, they were constructed inside the church on an ad hoc basis. These chapels were small, almost totally open with only a skeleton of architecture around them, and they were the place most people heard Mass daily, not at the main altar. These chapels are the venues for all those medieval illustrations you see where the laypeople worshipping at Mass seem to be right behind the priest, closer than people are today to the sacrifice of the Mass at the altar.

This Requiem is being said in a chantry (perhaps the deceased had it built before he died). Notice how close the coffin and the family are to the altar.

And it is these ad-hoc constructions that are what we are exploring today. They were all guild or chantry chapels.

Chantries at Winchester Cathedral

What is a chantry? The easiest explanation is that when a testator makes a will, he leaves a fund of money for the construction of a chapel inside the church (usually between pillars) and to pay a priest whose main occupation was to say Mass for the repose of the soul of the testator, and sometimes his family members as well. The chantry is the fund. The chantry priest is the priest employed in saying the Masses for that donor. And the chantry chapel is the venue for the Masses. Often, the testator's tomb would be included within the chantry chapel.

Of course, when Henry VIII rebelled from Rome, one of the first things he did was seize the assets of chantry chapels and put chantry priests out of work. Not out of any conviction about prayers for the souls in Purgatory being unneedful, but simply because he wanted the money.

Many chantry chapels were dismantled at that time, especially those belonging to laymen. As a result, a disproportionate number of the surviving chantry chapels belong to bishops. But before the protestant rebellion, more chantry chapels were dedicated to well-healed laypeople than to clergymen.

Bishop Fox's chantry chapel, Winchester Cathedral

Bishop Edington's chantry chapel, Winchester Cathedral
Here is another good account of chantries.

And here is another about St. George's Windsor, with some gorgeous thumbnails that expand.

And that is as it should be. Colleges that think it is more important to have "diversity" of opinion on subjects Catholic moral teaching is clear on, who think it is more important to sponsor the Vagina Monologues than, say, A Man For All Seasons, who give honorary degrees to pro-abortion hacks like Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Mario Cuomo, or Hilary or Bill Clinton, rather than genuine faithful Catholics of high moral standing, ought to loose the ability to bill themselves as "Catholic."

Obviously, they don't care about the Catholic Faith, or want to hijack it so that it is essentially whatever the Democrat Party feels comfortable with. There is little genuine Catholic student life. For all intents and purposes, they are secular schools with Catholic names and maybe a few, dissenting, priests and nuns on the faculty. So they have not been Catholic in fact for quite some time. Depriving them of the status is only just and accurate.

And the Moslem riots in France these last seven nights have done nothing to move me from my position that what Western democracies need is more law and order, and less kow-towing to special interest groups.

Unfortunately, it sounds as if the French government is about to bend over backwards, and forwards, to placate the rioters, rather than clear the streets with shoot-to-kill orders. But what else would you expect from a weak sister like de Villepin?

If the Moslem youth of France don't like it in Christian Europe, they can go back to the Moslem Third World Hell Holes they came from, and I doubt anyone will seriously regret their absence in French society.

One of my favorite saint stories, from Chambers' Book of Days:

Now this St. Rumald, whose name is also written Rumbald, and Grumbald, was a very remarkable saint. According to Leland, who copies from a monkish life of him, he was the son of the king of Northumbria by a Christian daughter of Penda, king of Mercia. He was born at Sutton, in Northamptonshire, but not far from the town of Buckingham. Immediately he came into the world, he exclaimed: 'I am a Christian! I am a Christian! I am a Christian!' He then made a full and explicit confession of his faith; desired to be forthwith baptized; appointed his own godfathers; and chose his own name. He next directed a certain large hollow stone to be fetched for his font; and when some of his father's servants attempted to obey his orders, but found the stone far too heavy to be removed, the two priests, whom he had appointed his godfathers, went for it, and bore it to him with the greatest ease. He was baptized by Bishop Widerin, assisted by a priest named Eadwold, and immediately after the ceremony he walked to a certain well near Brackley, which now bears his name, and there preached for three successive days; after which he made his will, bequeathing his body after death to remain at Sutton for one year, at Brackley for two years, and at Buckingham ever after. This done, he instantly expired.

After this three-days' existence, the miraculous infant was buried at Sutton by Eadwold the priest; the next year he was translated by Bishop Widerin to Brackley; and the third year after his death, his remains were carried to Buckingham, and deposited in a shrine, in an aisle of the church which after-wards bore his name.

Second Day
Woe to me, unhappy being, so many years have I already spent on earth and have earned naught but hell! I give Thee thanks, O Lord, for granting me time even now to atone for my sins. My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. Send me Thy assistance, that I may apply the time yet remaining to me for Thy love and service; have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.
Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemani, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

From Dale Price, of course, regarding that awfully condescending NCR piece highlighted in Seattle Catholic yesterday.

First Day:
Jesus, my Saviour I have so often deserved to be cast into hell how great would be my suffering if I were now cast away and obliged to think that I myself had caused my damnation. I thank Thee for the patience with which Thou hast endured me. My God, I love Thee above all things and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee because Thou art infinite goodness. I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of perseverance. Have pity on me and at the same time on those blessed souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory below.

Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemani, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

(Links are to the appropriate file in Recta Ratio: The Yahoo Group)

The traditional Office of the Dead consists of only Vespers, said the night before the funeral, and Matins and Lauds, said together, usually as a combined office, in the early morning before the funeral. The incipit, or beginning of Vespers is "Placebo," and the incipit of Matins/Lauds is "Dirige." So the chanting of the office for the deceased is often called "Placebo and Dirige" in medieval sources. Dirige is the source for our English word "dirge."

In a standard Book of Hours, there is only one illustration at the beginning. But to give an idea of the richness of the tradition, I have included several images I like under each part of the office.



Vespers




Invitatory For Matins



The First Nocturn of Matins (usually said Monday and Thursday, if the three nocturns are not combined).




The Second Nocturn of Matins (said on Tuesday and Friday when the three Nocturns are not combined).




The Third Nocturn of Matins (usually said Wednesday and Saturday when the three Nocturns are not combined).

The Feast of Dives

Angels Carrying Souls to Heaven

Doomsday: The Last Judgment

Hell
Lauds(said right after Matins).

Soul Bread
2 TBSP. Yeast (Instant)
1c. milk
5c. flour
1c. sugar
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 c. butter

You start with the yeast, and have to knead this thing three times after it rises to double its size (which is why I prefer to use a bread machine). When you think you have kneaded it enough, bake it at 350 degrees for an hour.

And if you don't want to go through the kneading process, buy some good plain or cider donuts. The round shape is supposed to put us in mind of God's infinity. In some cultures, the Bread of the Dead is fried, so fried dough will do, also.

Souling Songs
Just like the Wren Boys on St. Stephen's Day, and our trick-or-treaters on Hallowmas Eve's cry of "trick-or-treat", there was a set formula for what the souling luck visitors were supposed to chant as they came to the door. It varied however, from place to place.

Here are two:

Soul! Soul! For a souling-cake!
I pray you, good missus, a souling-cake.

In another part of England, the children sang:

Soul! Soul!
For an apple or two!
If you have no apples,
Pears will do,
If you have no pears,
Money will do.
If you have no money,
God bless you!

(and yes, the lyrics are very similar to Christmas Is Comin', the Goose Is Gettin' Fat)

(For Private Use Only)
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, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on the Souls of the faithful departed.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on the Souls of the faithful departed.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on the Souls of the faithful departed.
Holy Mary ,
Pray for the Souls of the faithful departed.
Holy Mother of God,
Pray for the Souls of the faithful departed.
Saint Michael, etc.
Saint Gabriel,
All ye holy Angels and Archangels,
Saint John the Baptist,
Saint Joseph,
All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets,
Saint Peter,
Saint Paul,
Saint John,
All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists,
Saint Stephen,
Saint Lawrence,
All ye holy Martyrs,
Saint Gregory,
Saint Ambrose,
All ye holy bishops and confessors,
Saint Mary Magdalen,
Saint Catherine,
All ye holy Virgins and widows,
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,
O Lord, deliver them.
From the flame of fire, etc.
From the region of the shadow of death,
Through Thine 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 Thine ignominious death, by which
Thou hast destroyed our death,

We sinners,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
O Thou Who didst absolve the sinner woman and hear the prayer of the good thief,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
That thou wouldst release our deceased parents, relations and benefactors
from the bonds of their sins and the punishment for them, etc.
That Thou wouldst hasten the day of visiting Thy faithful detained in the receptacles
of sorrow, and wouldst transport them to the city of eternal peace,
That Thou wouldst shorten the time of expiation for their sins and graciously
admit them into the holy sanctuary, into which no unclean thing can enter,
That through the prayers and alms of Thy Church, and especially by the inestimable
Sacrifice of Thy Holy Altar, Thou wouldst receive them into the tabernacle of rest
and crown their longing hopes with everlasting fruition,
Son of God,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Grant them eternal rest.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Grant them eternal rest.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Grant 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, Who art in Heaven, etc.
V. And lead us not into temptation,
R. But deliver us from all 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 cry come unto Thee.
Let Us Pray.
O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the Souls of Thy
departed servants the remission of all their sins, that through our pious
supplications they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

O God, the Giver of pardon and the Lover of the salvation of men, we beg Thy clemency on behalf of our brethren, kinsfolk 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 Thine everlasting kingdom. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

O God, to Whom it belongs 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. R. Amen.

Rest Eternal Grant Them, Lord!
Take we up the touching burden of November plaints,
Pleading for the Holy Souls, God’s yet uncrowned Saints.
Still unpaid to our departed is the debt we owe;
Still unransomed, some are pining, sore oppressed with woe.
Friends we loved and vowed to cherish call us in their need:
Prove we now our love was real, true in word and deed.
“Rest eternal grant them, Lord!” full often let us pray—
“Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine!”

Requiem Aeternam
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescant in pace. Amen.

The day of wrath, that day
which will reduce the world to ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sybil.

What terror there will be,
when the Lord will come
to judge all rigorously!

The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound
among the graves of all the lands,
will assemble all before the Throne.

Death and Nature will be astounded
when they see a creature rise again
to answer to the Judge.

The book will be brought forth
in which all deeds are noted,
for which humanity will answer.

When the judge will be seated,
all that is hidden will appear,
and nothing will go unpunished.

Alas, what will I then say?
To what advocate shall I appeal,
when even the just tremble?

O king of redoutable majesty,
who freely saves the elect,
save me, o fount of piety!

Remember, merciful Jesus,
that I am the cause of your journey,
do not lose me on that day.

You wearied yourself in finding me.
You have redeemed me through the cross.
Let not such great efforts be in vain.

O judge of vengeance, justly
make a gift of your forgiveness
before the day of reckoning.

I lament like a guilty one.
My faults cause me to blush,
I beg you, spare me.

You who have absolved Mary,
and have heard the thief's prayer,
have also given me hope.

My prayers are not worthy,
but you, o Good One, please grant freely
that I do not burn in the eternal fire.

Give me a place among the sheep,
separate me from the goats
by placing me at your right.

Having destroyed the accursed,
condemned them to the fierce flames,
Count me among the blessed.

I prostrate myself, supplicating,
my heart in ashes, repentant;
take good care of my last moment!

That tearful day,
when from the ashes shall rise again.

Sinful man to be judged.
Therefore pardon him, o God.

Merciful Lord Jesus,
give them rest.

Amen.

Dies irae, dies illa
solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sybilla.

Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus.

Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulchra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit,
nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me, fons pietatis.

Recordare Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuae viae,
ne me perdas illa die.

Quaerens me sedisti lassus,
redemisti crucem passus,
tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco tanquam reus,
culpa rubet vultus meus,
supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,
et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae,
sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praeta,
et ab hoedis me sequestra,
statuens in parte dextra.

Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis,
voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis,
gere curam mei finis.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla

judicandus homo reus -
Huic ergo parce, Deus.

Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem.

Amen.

All Saints' Day by Bouguereau
V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
R. Et lux perpetua luceat in eis.
V. Requiescant in pace.
R. Amen.
Kathryn & George
Thomas
Nora & Thomas
Felicia & Louis
Patrick & Susan
Thelma & Herbert
Barbara
Austin
Mary & Charles
Rudolph
Edward
Anthony
Mary and John
Elmer
Grace & William
Winifred & Louis
Rose & Harold
Mildred & Frank
Bea & Roland
William
Samson
Patricia
Mary & James
Brother Michael
Thomas
Joseph
June
Gene
Glenn
Henrietta
Nick
Kevin
Father Flaherty
President Reagan
Our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II
Chief Justice Rehnquist
Memorial Prayer for the Suffering Souls in Purgatory
(For Private Use Only)
Almighty God, Father of Goodness and love,
have mercy on the Poor Suffering Souls,
and grant Thine aid:

To my dear parents and ancestors;
Jesus, Mary, Joseph! My Jesus Mercy.
To my brothers and sisters and other near relatives;
Jesus, Mary, Joseph! My Jesus Mercy.
To my benefactors, spiritual and temporal; etc.
To my former friends and subjects;
To all for whom love or duty bids me pray;
To those who have suffered disadvantage or harm through me;
To those who have offended me;
To all those who are especially beloved by Thee;
To those whose release is at hand;
To those who desire most to be united with Thee;
To those who endure the greatest suffering;
To those whose release is most remote;
To those who are least remembered;
To those who are most deserving on account of their services to the Church;
To the rich, who now are the most destitute;
To the mighty, who now are as lowly servants;
To the blind, who now see their folly;
To the frivolous, who spent their time in idleness;
To the poor, who did not seek the treasures of Heaven;
To the tepid, who devoted little time to prayer;
To the indolent, who were negligent in performing good works;
To those of little faith, who neglected the frequent reception of the Sacraments;
To the habitual sinners, who owe their salvation to a miracle of grace;
To parents who failed to watch over their children;
To superiors who were not solicitous for the salvation of those entrusted to them;
To the souls of those who strove for hardly anything but riches and pleasures;
To the worldly-minded, who failed to use their wealth and talents in the service of God;
To those who witnessed the death of others, but would not think of their own;
To those who did not provide for the great journey beyond, and the days of tribulation;
To those whose judgment is so severe because of the great things entrusted to them;
To the popes, rulers, kings and princes;
To the bishops and their counselors;
To my teachers and spiritual advisors;
To the deceased priests of this diocese;
To all the priests and religious of the whole Catholic Church;
To the defenders of the Holy Faith;
To those who died on the battlefield;
To those who are buried in the sea;
To those who died of stroke or heart attack;
To those who died without the last rites of the Church;
To those who shall die within the next twenty-four hours;
To my own poor soul when I shall have to appear before Thy judgment seat;

V. O Lord, grant eternal rest to all the souls of the faithful departed,
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
V. May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.


Our Lady of Mount Carmel releasing souls from Purgatory via the Brown Scapular