PASTORAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE

COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

In view of the celebration of November 2 as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, as well as the current practice of extending the memorial of the dead to the whole month of November, the Diocese of Parañaque Commission on Liturgy and Popular Religiosity would like to make the following suggestions and recommendations:

  1. On the symbols used to commemorate the faithful departed
  1. The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed may be carried out in the following manner:
  1. Near the Sanctuary, or any suitable place, a table covered with a white cloth may be prepared.
  2. The Cross, or Bible, or the Gospel Book may be placed on it, together with several candles.
  3. The Easter Candle may also be placed beside the table, in such case other candles are no longer placed on the table.
  4. A prayer for the faithful departed may likewise be placed on the table, so that those of the faithful who may want to offer prayers for their departed loved ones may do so easily.
  1. On the ritual gestures
  1. On the commemoration of the faithful departed
  2. In view of the meaning of blessings and the use of signs such as holy water, the practice of sprinkling envelopes with holy water manifests no connection with the remembrance of the departed Christian faithful.
  3. The symbols mentioned above, as well as the prayers offered in the Mass and other celebrations, are therefore, the more suitable and appropriate ways by which the departed Christian faithful are remembered.
  4. We recommend, therefore that the commemoration of the faithful departed for the month of November be carried out in the following manner:
  5. After the Post Communion Prayer, the presider, without leaving the chair, invites the community to offer prayers for the faithful departed.
  6. A brief moment of silence may be observed.
  7. The prayers may be said by the presider alone, or with the whole assembly. Other forms may be used which require responses by the community.

1.3.4After the prayers of the dead, the presider continues with the final blessing and dismissal in the usual manner.

  1. Other Pastoral Recommendations
  1. The liturgical document Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy suggests other means of remembering the faithful departed in prayer and devotions, such as visiting cemeteries, membership in confraternities or associations that offer support for relatives of the departed, or good deeds offered in suffrage for the dead.[1]
  1. We recommend that pastors encourage the faithful to observe these pious works while applying adequate liturgical catechesis on the benefits of such actions.
  1. Recommended Prayers for the Dead

(Recited after the Post-Communion Prayers)

  1. Prayer No. 1

Presider:Father of all,

we pray to You for those we love, but see no longer.

Grant them Your peace;

let perpetual light shine upon them;

and in Your loving wisdom and almighty power,

work in them the good purpose of Your perfect will;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All:Amen

  1. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
  1. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
  1. May they rest in peace
  1. Amen.
  1. May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
  1. Amen.
  1. Prayer No. 2

Presider:Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,

we pray You to set Your passion, cross, and death,

between Your judgment and our souls,

now and in the hour of our death.

Give mercy and grace to the living,

pardon and rest to the dead,

to Your holy Church peace and concord,

and to us sinners everlasting life and glory;

who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,

one God, now and ever.

All:Amen

  1. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
  1. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
  1. May they rest in peace
  1. Amen.
  1. May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
  1. Amen.
  1. Prayer No. 3

Presider:Lord Jesus Christ,

who by Your death have taken away the sting of death.

Grant to us Your servants

so to follow in faith where You have led the way,

that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in You,

and awake after Your likeness;

for Your tender mercies’ sake.

All:Amen

  1. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
  1. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
  1. May they rest in peace
  1. Amen.
  1. May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
  1. Amen.
  1. Unang Panalangin

Pari:Ama naming Lumikha,

Ikaw ang bumubuhay at nagdudulot ng kaligtasan

sa ikapagpapatawad ng mga kasalanan.

Dinggin Mo po ang aming mga kahilingan

para sa yumao naming mga mahal sa buhay

upang pagkahango nila sa kamatayan

sila ay pagindapatin Mong magkamit ng kasiyahan

sa halamanan ng paraiso kaisa ng mga banal

sa pamamagitan ni Hesukristo,

kasama ng Espiritu Santo, magpasawalang hanggan.

Bayan:Amen

TUGUNAN:

Tugon:“Ang giliw naming pumanaw sa piling ng Poong mahal.”

Pari:Mga anghel, mga basnal, tanang nasa kalangitan, halikayo at samahan,

(T)

Si Kristo ang mag-aakay sa kandungan ni Abraham, upang doon ay humimlay, (T)

Sa ilaw na walang hanggan, kapayapaan Kaylan ma’y pagkamitin ng Maykapal. (T)

  1. Ikalawang Panalangin

Pari:Ama naming Makapangyarihan,

sa pagpaparusa Ikaw ay makatarungan,

sa pagdinig sa panalangin Ikaw ay maasahan.

Ipagkaloob Mo sa aming mga mahal na yumao

na aming pinag-uukulan ng luksang parangal,

ang ligayang maktambalang mga banal sa kalangitan

sa pamamagitan ni Hesukristo kasama ng Espiritu Santo.

Bayan:Amen

TUGUNAN:

Tugon:“Ang giliw naming pumanaw sa piling ng Poong mahal.”

Pari:Mga anghel, mga basnal, tanang nasa kalangitan, halikayo at samahan,

(T)

Si Kristo ang mag-aakay sa kandungan ni Abraham, upang doon ay humimlay, (T)

Sa ilaw na walang hanggan, kapayapaan Kaylan ma’y pagkamitin ng Maykapal. (T)

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[1] cf. Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (DPPL), n. 260.