November is always a beautiful occasion to especially remember and pray for those who have died. Here are some assorted prayers for the dead that you might appreciate. All of these prayers can be found in a small, but handy book: "Essential Prayers for the Dead",
published by Pauline Books & Media.
The Lord's Prayer for the Departed
Our Father who art in heaven.
I beg you, O loving Father, to pardon the souls in purgatory for having shut their hearts to you and for failing to worship you as you desire. To atone for their faults,
I offer you the love and honour your beloved Son gave you while on earth and the plentiful redemption he won for us, paying the debt of all our sins.
Hallowed be thy name.
I beg you, O loving Father, to pardon the souls in purgatory for not having worthily honoured your holy name, having seldom invoked it with devotion or often used it
in vain, and by their deeds having made themselves unworthy of the name of
Christian. In atonement for their sins, I offer you the perfect holiness of your Son, who glorified your name in his preaching and in all his works.
Thy kingdom come.
I beg you, O loving Father, to pardon the souls in purgatory for having neither
desired nor sincerely sought after your kingdom, in which true rest and eternal
glory consist. To expiate all the indifference they have shown, I offer you the
fervent desire of Jesus, your Son, that we may all be co-heirs of his kingdom.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
I beg you, O loving Father, to pardon the souls in purgatory, especially the souls
of religious who during life preferred their will to yours, not always loving your will
for them but often following their own preferences. In reparation for their disobedience, I offer you the humble Heart of your Son, which was always united to your holy will, shown in his ready obedience to you even unto death on the Cross.
Give us this day our daily bread.
I beg you, O loving Father, to pardon the souls in purgatory for not having received the most holy Sacrament of the altar with the desire, devotion, and love that it
merits, or for having made themselves unworthy of it by seldom or never having received it. In atonement for these sins, I offer you the perfect sanctity, devotion, and love of your Son for you, and the ardent love and ineffable desire that
compelled him to give us this precious treasure of the Eucharist.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
I beg you, O loving Father, to forgive the souls in purgatory for any mortal sins
they committed, for all unforgiveness toward those who offended them, and for every failure to love their enemies. For these sins, I offer you the same prayer
your Son made upon the Cross for his enemies: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
And lead us not into temptation.
I beg you, O loving Father, to forgive the souls in purgatory for not having fought against their vices and wrongful desires, for having consented to the temptations
of the devil and the flesh, and for having wilfully given way to bad actions. In
expiation for these sins, I offer you the glorious victory of your Son over the world and the devil, his most holy life with its works and fatigue, and his bitter passion
and death.
But deliver us and them from every evil and every woe through the merits of your beloved Son, and bring us to the kingdom of your glory, which is none other than your most glorious self.
Amen.
- Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn -
Hail Mary for the Souls in Purgatory
Hail Mary.
Behold, most merciful Mother, Thy poor and sorrowful children who suffer so grievously in the purification of purgatory. We beg you, for the sake of the great joy which the angelic salutation gave you, have compassion on them, and send them your holy angel to bring them also joyful greeting, and to announce to them release from their sufferings.
Full of grace.
Obtain for them grace, mercy and remission of the great cleansing they now endure.
The Lord is with Thee.
He will deny you nothing, but will hear Thy prayer and mercifully come to the assistance of these poor souls.
Blessed art thou amongst women.
Yes, among all creatures in the world! Bless and render happy with your intercession the poor imprisoned souls, and deliver them from their bonds.
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,
who is the Saviour and Redeemer of the whole world, born without pain of you, a virgin. Have mercy on the souls departed. O Merciful Mother, hasten to their assistance.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Wonderful Virgin Mother, pray for us sinners and for the souls in purgatory now and forever, and at the hour of our death; and as you assisted the souls departed in their last agony, so assist them now in their purification, that delivered by your motherly intercession they may pass from present suffering to everlasting joy, from their anguish and torment, to everlasting rest and glory, and rejoice with you and the whole Heavenly Host through all eternity.
Amen.
A Syriac Prayer for the Dead
Lord, listen to our voices, hear the prayers we praise,
and open wide your gates above, we ask of you.
Grant rest to our departed ones who died in hope,
our parents, loved ones, and the teachers of true faith.
Blot out their sins and failings from your books,
O Lord, and bring them safely to your paradise on high.
For those who asked us to remember them in prayer,
forgive their sins and faults committed in your sight.
The dead who have departed from this world in
faith were nourished by your living Body and your Blood.
We pray that they may stand with those at your
right hand, with your apostles Peter and beloved John.
And when all nations stand before your mighty throne,
we ask you not to judge us on our sins and faults. We
raise our voices to adore the Trinity, the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, one true God. Amen.
Byzantine Prayer for the Deceased
God of the spirits and of all flesh, who have trampled death and annihilated the devil and given life to your world, may you yourself, O Lord, grant to the soul of your deceased servant N. rest in a place of light, a verdant place, a place of freshness, from where suffering, pain and cries are far removed.
Do You, O good and compassionate God forgive every fault committed by him in word, work or thought because there is no man who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin and your justice is justice throughout the ages and your word is truth.
Since you, O Christ our God, are the resurrection, the life and the repose of your deceased servant N., we give you glory together with your un-begotten Father and your most holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.
Amen.
Attributed to St John Chrysostom
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