Prayers for the departed

Judas Maccabaeus

In the year 168 BC the pagan King of Syria tried to force the Jews to give up their religion and, when they refused, launched a terrible persecution against them.  But the Jews were fortunate in having the greatest warrior in their history to lead them, Judas Maccabaeus, that is, Judas the Hammer.  After one successful battle, when the Jews were taking up the bodies of the fallen in order to give them a proper burial, they found that they had been wearing, hidden secretly under clothes, little charms made in the form of pagan idols.

Judas was horrified, and made a collection from his soldiers of 2,000 silver coins which he sent at once to Jerusalem to offer there a sacrifice for sin.  And the Jewish writer, who tells us this, adds that this was a “…fine and noble action, in which he took full account of the resurrection.  For if he had not expected the fallen to rise again it would have been superfluous (unnecessary) and foolish to pray for the dead”.  You can read all about it in the 2nd Book of the Maccabees (Jerusalem Bible, 12:43-45).

When we speak of prayers for the dead we must always remember that, though they have left this world, they are alive at this very moment in the next.  As Jesus said to Mary, whose brother Lazarus he raised from the dead, “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (NRSV, John 11:25,26).

As you know, when we die we are not fit to go to Heaven which is where God is seen.  Only those who are completely perfect can go there.  Instead, we go to Purgatory until at last we are ready for Heaven.  We call the souls in Purgatory the Faithful Departed, or the Holy Souls, and we help them by praying for them.

St Paul

St Paul, in a letter to Timothy in the New Testament, prays for an old friend of his called Onesiphorus, who was very good to St Paul when he was in prison in Rome.  But since then Onesiphorus has died and St Paul says this prayer for him, “…may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord…” (NRSV, 2 Timothy 1:16-18).

The catacombs

In the catacombs of Rome one can still see the prayers for departed friends and relations scratched there on the tombs by the early Christians during the second and third centuries AD.  Here are four translated from the original Greek or Latin:

“Philomena, may thy soul be in peace”
“O God, refresh the soul of Romulus”
“Eternal light be thine, Timothea, in Christ”
“Heraclea Roma, may thy soul go into rest” (1)

And a Christian writer called Tertullian, writing about the year 200 AD, says how the Eucharist was offered every year on the anniversary of the death of departed Christians: “We offer on one day every year oblations for the dead…” (2)

The Requiem

When the Eucharist is celebrated on behalf of the souls of the Faithful Departed, we call it a Requiem, that being the Latin for rest, because it begins with the prayer,”Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them”.  The Requiem Eucharist, or Requiem Mass as it is usually known, is the greatest and most effective act of prayer for the departed which can be made.  For then we offer to God on their behalf their own Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In 347 AD St Cyril of Jerusalem, describing the order of the Eucharist, wrote, “…we commemorate … all who in past years have fallen asleep among us, believing that it will be a very great benefit to the souls, for whom the supplication is put up, while that holy … sacrifice is set forth”.  St Cyril also wrote,“…we, when we offer to Him our supplications for those who have fallen asleep…offer up Christ sacrificed for our sins, propitiating our merciful God for them as well as for ourselves”. (3)

Differences

A Requiem Mass has certain differences of its own.  The colour of the vestments is black, or purple in some churches.  At a Sung Requiem the altar is not incensed to begin with, and neither incense nor lighted candles are used at the Gospel.  There is a special form of the Agnes Dei so that, instead of being a prayer to Our Lord for ourselves, it is a prayer for the departed.  “O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest” is said or sung twice.  The third time it is, “O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest eternal”.  There is no blessing at the end.  Instead, the priest says or sings, “May they rest in peace”, and we make the sign of the Cross then because it is through our Crucified Saviour that the souls of the Faithful Departed are given rest and peace.

Year's Mind

The particular day on which each of the Faithful Departed has died is known as their Year’s Mind.  Many churches include prayers during the Sunday or weekday Eucharists for people whose Year’s Mind falls at that time and we should ensure our relations and friends are included.  A Requiem may be offered on the day of a person’s funeral.  In the year 998 AD November 2nd was first observed as All Souls’ Day when Requiems were offered for all the souls of the Faithful Departed, and this has been continued ever since.  We should make a point of seeing that our own relations and friends are remembered at a Requiem on All Souls’ Day.

SUMMARY

1. Prayers for the souls of the Faithful Departed have been offered since the earliest days of the Church, and the Eucharist has been celebrated on their behalf since the second century.

2. We should see to it that our own departed relations and friends are remembered on their Year’s Mind and at a Requiem on All Souls’ Day.

References

1. Henderson, A. (1920) The lesson of the catacombs, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

2. Tertullian (201 AD) De Corona, 3, in Kidd, B.J. (editor) Documents illustrative of the history of the Church, Volume 1, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

3. Cyril of Jerusalem (347 AD) On the Sacred Liturgy and Communion.  Catechetical Lecture 23: 9,10.  Available from: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310123.htm  (Accessed 25 August 2010) (Internet).