Prayer Service for the Dead.

I prepared this prayer service for my uncle's death anniversary. I decided to post it here so others can use it for any prayer service for the dead. I have compiled this prayer using many sources.

OPENING HYMN: Abide With Me

Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide,
The darkness deepens Lord with me abide!
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day
Earth joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not, abide with me!

I need Thy presence ev’ry passing hour,
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power;
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Thro’ cloud and sunshine, oh abide with me!

Hold thou Thy cross before my closing eyes,
Shine thro the gloom & point me to the skies
Heav’n’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee.
In life, in death, O lord, abide with me.


OPENING PRAYER
Leader: Holy Lord, almighty and eternal God,
hear our prayers for your servant (...name...),
whom you have summoned out of this world.
Forgive his/her sins and failings and grant him/her a place of refreshment, light and peace.
Let him/her pass unharmed through the gates of death to dwell with the blessed in light,
as your promise to Abraham and his children for ever.
Accept (...Name...) into your safekeeping
and on the great day of judgement
raise him/her up with all the saints to inherit your eternal kingdom.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING (1Thess 4:14)
We believe that Jesus died and rose again; so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have died believing in Him.

INTERCESSIONS
Leader: Let us pray to Christ who gives us the hope that our mortal bodies will become like his in glory.

Response: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

For (...Name...)and all the departed we have known and loved, that they may live for ever in their Father’s house. We pray to the Lord. R/

For all of us gathered here, that our faith may be stronger than our grief, and that our regrets may not be without hope. We pray to the Lord. R/

For all who suffer, that they may never feel God has abandoned them. We pray to the Lord. R/

For the church, that she may faithfully reveal to the world Christ who is Lord of the living and the dead. We pray to the Lord. R/

A decade of the Rosary
Leader: Let us say 1 decade of the Rosary, asking Mother Mary to continue to intercede for (...Name...)and all the departed and also for her maternal protection for all us living.

CONCLUDING PRAYER
Leader: God, all compassionate,
Ruler of the living and the dead,
you know beforehand those whose faithful lives reveal them as your own.
We pray for those who belong to this present world
and for those who have passed to the world to come;
grant them pardon for all their sins.
We ask you graciously to hear our prayer through the
intercession of all your saints and for your mercy’s sake.
For you are God, for ever and ever.
R. Amen

CONCLUDING HYMN : Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest

Mother dearest, Mother fairest,
Help of all who call on thee,
Virgin purest, brightest, rarest,
Help us, help, we cry to thee.

Chorus
Mary, help us, help we pray;
Mary, help us, help we pray;
Help us in all care and sorrow;
Mary, help us, help we pray.

Lady, help the absent loved ones,
How we miss their presence here,
May the hand of thy protection,
Guard and guide them far and near. Chorus