A Prayer for the Departed

My God! I recommend to Thee the souls of my relations,

my benefactors, my friends and my enemies,
and of those who are in Purgatory on my account.
I recommend to Thee the souls of evangelical labourers,
of Religious and priests,
and especially of those who had charge of my soul.
I recommend to Thee the souls of those
who were most devout to the passion of Our Lord,
to the Blessed Sacrament,
to the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the souls who are most abandoned,
those who suffer most,
and those who are nearest to the entrance into paradise.

Holy Saturday Prayer to Be Joined

with Christ in Death
O Lord, Your sorrowing Mother stood by Your Cross; help us in our sorrows to share
Your sufferings. Like the seed buried in the ground, You have produced the harvest of
eternal life for us; make us always dead to sin and alive to God. Shepard of all, in death
you remained hidden from the world; teach us to love our hidden spiritual life with You
and the Father. In Your role as the new Adam, You went down among the dead to
release all the just there since the beginning; grant that all who are dead in sin may hear
Your voice and rise to new life. Son of the living God, You have allowed us through
baptism to be buried with You; grant that we may also rise with You in baptism and walk
in newness of life.

"Prayer ascends and Mercy descends. High as are the Heavens and Low as
is
the earth, God hears the voice of man." - St. Augustine (354-430)

Receive, Lord, in tranquility and peace, the souls

of Your servants who have departed out of this
present life to be with You.Give them the life
that
knows no age, the good things that do not pass
away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen
Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)

Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing affright

thee,
all that passeth away; God alone abideth.
Patience obtaineth all things. He who hath God
can want for nothing. God alone sufficeth.
Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

May Jesus comfort you in all your afflictions, may He sustain you in
dangers,
watch over you always with His grace and indicate the safe path that

leads to
eternal salvation. And may He render you always dearer to His divine
heart
and always more worthy of Paradise, Amen.
Saint Padre Pio (1887-1968)

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a

glowing
furnace of love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable &
loving
saviour, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is
aflamed.
Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my
heart
be united with Yours. Let my will be confirmed with Yours in all things.
May
Your will be the rule of all my desires and actions, Amen.
Saint Gertrude (1256-1302)

Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary,

that it is a thing unheard of that anyone
ever had recourse to Your protection,
implored Your help, or sought Your
intercession was left forsaken.
Filled therefore with confidence in Your
goodness I fly to You, O Mother, Virgin of
Virgins. To You I come, before You I stand,
a sorrowful sinner. Despise not my poor
words, O mother of the word of God,
but graciously hear and grant my prayer,
Amen.
The Memorare by Saint Bernard (1090-1153)

"The Gates of Heaven will open to all who confide in the protection of
Mary"

Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274)

O sweet name, which gives the sinner strength and the blessed hope.
We pray you, Our Lady, Star of the Sea, shine upon us in our distress on
the sea of life, and lead us to safe harbour and the ineffable joys of
eternity.
Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)

O Mary, My Mother and my Lady, I offer You my soul, my body, my life

and
my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in Your hands.
O my Mother, cover my soul with Your virginal mantle and grant me the
grace of purity of heart, soul and body, Amen.
Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) Dairy 79

O Lady, since Thou art the dispenser of all graces, and since the grace
of
salvation can only come through Thy hands, our salvation depends on
Thee.
Saint Bernadine of Sienna (1381-1444)

Short Prayers for Our Faithful Departed

O Sweet Jesus, for the sake of Thy bitter passion and the sorrows of Thy
Immaculate Mother, have Mercy on his/her soul and let the light of Thy
countenance shine upon him/her, Amen.

O Virgin Most Kind, Mary, Mother of God, most loving consoler of those
in
distress, commend to Your Son the soul of our beloved (name) and
because of Your Motherly intervention, may he/she joyfully arrive in
your
company together with all the angels and saints in Heaven, Amen.
Eternal rest grant unto them/him/her, O Lord
And let perpetual light shine upon them/him/her.
May they/he/she rest in peace, Amen.

O God the creator and redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of
your servants departed the remission of all their sins, that they may
obtain
pardon, who live and reign for ever and ever, Amen.
May the divine assistance remain always with us and may the souls of all
the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, Amen.

Prayer of thanksgiving for the life of our deceased

Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us
all with the gift of this earthly life and has given to our brother/sister
(name) his/her span of years and gifts of character. God Our Father, we
thank you
now for his/her life, for every memory of love and joy every good deed
done
by him/her and every sorrow shared with us, Amen.

Prayer for the Bereaved

Almighty God, we rejoice to know that your reign extends far beyond
the
limits of this life. In the mystery of what lies beyond our sight, we pray
that your love may complete its work in those whose days on earth are
done;
and grant that we who serve you now in this world may at last share
with them the glories of Your Heavenly Kingdom; through the love of
Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
Death hides - but it cannot divide
Thou art but on Christ's other side.
Thou with Christ and Christ with me
And so together, still are we.
It is written....Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered
into
the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love
him.Corinthians 2:9

Our Lady of Knock & the Virtues of Praying for the Dead
"Mary pours Her mercies on all who have recourse to Her"
Saint Alphonsus Liguori

At about eight o'clock on the Thursday evening of August 21st 1879, the
Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist appeared
at the south gable of the church at Knock in Mayo. Beside them and a
little to the right were an alter with a cross and the figure of a lamb,
around which angels hovered.
There were fifteen official witnesses to the apparition, both young and
old. They watched it for two hours in pouring rain and recited the
Rosary. Today, Knock ranks among the world's major Marian shrines with
full approval of the Church. Pope John Paul II visited the shrine on
September 30th 1979, presenting the Golden Rose (the highest honor
within the Catholic Church) to this shrine.
Not everyone is aware, however, that the marvelous appearance on the
gabel of Knock church came on the day when the parish priest, Father
Bartholomew Cavanagh, finished offering, as he promised, one hundred
Masses for the suffering souls in purgatory! A few months before the
apparition the pastor began to offer one hundred Masses for the poor
souls whom Our Lady wished most to release. It was on the day the one
hundredth Mass was offered that Our Lady came to visit Knock.
Surely, that extraordinary devotion to the holy souls had a part to play
in the gift of this vision from Heaven. If such a response came from
Heaven from Father Cavanagh, then certainly Our Lady wants to
encourage each one of us to remove the torment of the dead in

purgatory. Through our intercessory prayers, suffrages and good works

we can attain for the holy souls their purification necessary to enter
Heaven. Unless these holy ones are released by the good works of the
faithful, God in His ineffable justice is resolved to purify them in
purgatory. It is also a duty of personal interest since one day we may
expect others to help us in the same way.
Father Cavanagh is buried on the grounds of the Knock shrine. The altar
where the one hundred Masses were offered still exists and is located in
the chapel. Mass continues to be offered on that sacred altar to this day.
Our Lady of Knock, pray for us.

Prayer For Deceased Parents

O God, who commanded us to honor our father and our mother, in Your mercy have pity on the souls
of my parents and forgive them their sins. May I see them again in the joy of everlasting
brightness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer For Our Relatives In Purgatory
Good Jesus, whose loving Heart was ever troubled by the sorrows of others, look with pity on the
souls of our dear ones in purgatory. O you, who "loved your own," hear our cry for mercy, and grant
those whom you called from our homes and hearts, may soon enjoy everlasting rest in the home of
your love in heaven. Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.