1 February.

Commemoration
of all Deceased Salesian Confreres

If 1 February is a Sunday the commemoration is omitted; it cannot be transferred to another day.

Prayer for our deceased confreres is a duty of gratitude and fellowship. The memory of those we have known and with whom we may have perhaps shared for years in the same vocation and mission can provide an eloquent and efficacious stimulus for preserving in the Salesian Family the commitment to holiness.

In the commemoration of the deceased confreres the Congregation celebrates the love the Lord has manifested in the lives of his children, and sees the realization of the promise of continuity made to St John Bosco.

INVITATORY

Ant. The Lord is the light of all the living: come let us adore him.

Invitatory psalm as in the Ordinary.

Office of Readings

HYMN

As at Morning Prayer or from the Common, Or another suitable hymn approved by ecclesiastical authority.

Ant 1 Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Psalms from the Office of the Dead.

Ant 2 Lord, guide me with your justice, make your way level before me.

Ant 3 My soul is thirsting for the living God: when shall I see him to face?

Great is your mercy, 0 Lord.
— Make me live in accordance with your word.

FIRST READING 2 Cor 4,16 - 5,10

From the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians

After death we shall receive from God
an eternal dwelling-place in heaven

Brothers, we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body.

RESPONSORY cf Ps 50,3-4

Do not judge me, 0 God, according to my actions: for in your sight I have done nothing good. I beg your majesty: * in your love cleanse me from my sin. Do not judge me…
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, blot out my transgressions: in your love...

SECOND READING

From the Treatise “Isaac or the soul” of St Ambrose

(8,78-79; SAEMO 3,123-125)

Our true good is life eternal

Let us hasten to our true home in heaven. There we have our fatherland; there too we have the Father who created us, there the city of Jerusalem which is the mother of us all.

But in what does this haste consist? It is not a matter of the body and the feet, for the feet wheresoever they run remain always on the earth and merely pass from one place to another. And we must not flee by ship or carriage or on a horse, which can stumble and fall; we must haste away using the mind, eyes and feet, of our inner self. Let us accustom our eyes to see those realities which are real and splendid, to gaze on the countenance of continence, temperance and all the virtues, in which there is nothing harsh and rigid, nothing obscure and enigmatic. Let each one examine himself and his conscience; let him purify his internal eye so that it be free from any stain, so that what is seen is not discordant with the one who sees, since God wants us to be conformed to the image of his Son. Our true good, therefore, is known to us and is not far away from any of us: “for in him we live and move and have our being; for we are indeed his offspring” (Acts 17,28), as the Apostle takes it for granted that the Gentiles want to be. That is the good we are looking for, the only good: nothing, in fact, is good except the one and only God.

This is the eye which sees that great and glorious splendor. Just as only an eye which is living and healthy can see the sun, so only a good soul can see what is good. Let, therefore, him who wants to see the Lord and all that is good become good himself. We become like to the supreme good and, by conforming ourselves to him, we perform good actions. This is the good which is above all activity, above every mind and every intellect, the good which is enduring, to which everything tends: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2,9), and through him all things are reconciled with him. To define still more completely what is meant by the good, the good is life since it endures for ever and gives life and existence to all: the source of the life of everyone is Christ.

Of him the prophet says: “He will raise us up that we may live before him” (Hos 6,2); now, in fact, “you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God; but when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col 3,3-4). Hence we should not fear death because it brings repose to the body but is also the freedom and liberation of the soul. And we should not fear those who can kill the flesh but cannot kill the soul; we should not fear those who can rob us of our clothing and possessions, but cannot rob us of ourselves. We are our souls - our limbs merely vesture. The latter we must take care of, it is true, so that it does not become torn or prematurely old, but as we do so we must take still greater care of our true selves.

RESPONSORY Ps 26, 4.13; Phil 1,21

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. * I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I believe that...

Or:

SECOND READING

From the “Spiritual Testament” of St John Bosco

In eternity we shall receive the rewcird for every exertion sustained for the love of Christ

My dear and beloved Sons in Jesus Christ, before leaving this world for eternity I wish to fulfill a duty towards you and so satisfy an ardent desire of my heart.

First of all, I thank you with the most ardent affection of my soul for the obedience you have given me, and for all you have done to sustain and propagate our Congregation.

I leave you here on earth, but only for a short time. I hope the infinite mercy of God will enable us all to meet one day in heaven; there I await you.

Do not grieve over my death. This is a debt we must all pay; but afterwards, every fatigue sustained for the love of our Master, the good Jesus, will be greatly rewarded. Instead of weeping, make firm and efficacious resolutions to remain staunch in your vocation until death.

Watch, so that neither the love of the world, nor the affection of parents, nor the desire of a more agreeable life induce you to make the great mistake of profaning the sacred vows, and so transgressing the religious profession by which you are consecrated to God. Let none of us take back that which we have given to God.

If you have loved me in the past, continue to love me in the future by the exact observance of our Constitutions.

Your first Rector is dead. But our true Superior, Jesus Christ, will never die. He will always be our Master, our guide, our model; but remember that he, in his own time, will also be our judge and the rewarder of our faithfulness in his service.

Your Rector is dead, but there will be another elected, who will have care of you and of your eternal salvation. Listen to him, love him, obey him, pray for him as you have done for me.

Adieu, dear children, adieu. I wait for you in heaven. There we shall speak of God, of Mary, the Mother and support of our Congregation; there we

shall bless eternally this our Congregation, the observance of whose rules will have powerfully and efficaciously contributed to our salvation.

Sit nomen Domini benedictum, ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum.
In te, Domine, speravi; non con fundar in aeternum.

RESPONSORY Cf Phil 3,20.21; Col 3,4

Our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. * He will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.

When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. He will change…

Or:

SECOND READING

From the writings of the Servant of God Fr Joseph Quadrio

(Don G. Quadrio, Risposte, edited by R.Bracchi, Rome 1992, 236-238)

For the Christian, death is the beginning of true life

Faith sheds on death a soft and gentle light, adducing also its positive and consoling aspects. For a Christian, death is not the end but the beginning; it is the beginning of the true life, the gate which opens onto eternity. It is like hearing from behind the barbed wire of a concentration camp the longed-for announcement: “You are going home”. Dying is like pushing open the half-closed door of a house and saying: “Father, here I am, I’m home!” it is a leap in the dark, it is true, but with the certainty of falling into the arms of the heavenly Father.

Anyone who really believes in eternal life cannot fail to repeat with St Paul: “For to me to die is gain. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (cf. Phil 1,21.23). We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (cf 2 Cor 5,5-6). After death our eyes that have closed see again. The dead are not creatures that have been annihilated; they are super-alive.

An obsessive fear of death could also be caused by uneasiness about sins that have been committed and fear of the divine judgment. In this case the fear must be opposed by a most firm hope in the infinite mercy of the heavenly Father. The one who will judge us and decide our eternal destiny is not an enemy or a stranger; he is our elder brother, who in order to save us endured the agonies of Calvary and who loves us more than we love ourselves. St Francis de Sales used to say that on the day of judgment he would rather be judged by God than by his own mother. One has only to acknowledge one’s sins and abandon oneself with trust to the immeasurable loving kindness of God to ensure pardon and salvation. It is a wonderful thing to feel that one is so far from his level and in need of his mercy: to feel that one is lost and at the same time saved by him who “came to save the lost”.

Finally the root cause of disturbance at the approach of death could be the thought of the pains and agonies which frequently make it so bitter. There is an infallible remedy, not for overcoming this thought but for overcoming it and making it less unpalatable: it is that of offering each day one’s own sufferings and death, with all the physical and moral agonies that will accompany it, o the heavenly Father in union with the death of Christ, and with the same love and the same intentions which Jesus had on the cross. What great light and comfort stem from this anticipated loving celebration of one’s own death offered to the Father as a small victim united to the great Victim, who is Jesus immolated on Calvary and in every Mass! Our death then acquires the significance and value of a redemption”, i.e. a cooperation with Jesus in glorifying the Father in making expiation for sins and in saving the world.

Death, when made in this way the object of faith, hope and charity, may not succeed in driving away all fear; but the fear itself will be lovingly accepted as a precious part of the supreme sacrifice.

RESPONSORY Ps 30,20; 1 Cor 2,9

How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you, * that you show to those who trust you. How great…
What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, these things you have prepared, O God, for those who love you; that you show…

Concluding prayer as at Morning Prayer.

Morning Prayer

HYMN

The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness fails me never;
I nothing lack if I am his
And he is mine forever

Where streams of living water flow,
To rest my soul he leads me,
Where fresh and fertile pastures grow,
With heav’nly food he feeds me.

Perverse and foolish I have strayed,
But he with love has sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill,
With you, dear Lord, beside me;
Your rod and staff my comfort still,
Your cross will ever guide me.

You spread a banquet in my sight,
My head with oil anointing,
And let me taste the sweet delight
From your pure chalice flowing.

And so through all my length of days
Your goodness fails me never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing your praise
Within your house for ever.

Or another suitable hymn approved by ecclesiastical authority.

Ant 1 Look, 0 Lord, on my weakness; pardon all my sins.

Psalms from the Office of the Dead

Ant 2 I will call upon the Lord of joy; from death and evil I shall be set free.

Ant 3 The name of the Lord I will praise in song, in exultation I shall celebrate his glory.

READING Wis 2,23 - 3,1.5-6.9b

God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. Those who trust in him will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.

RESPONSORY

I will praise you, Lord, * for you have rescued me. I will...
You turned my sorrow into joy, for you…
Glory be to the Father... I will…

Benedictus ant. I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

Or:

Our true home is in heaven; from there we await the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

INTERCESSIONS

God, the Father almighty raised Jesus from the dead, and he will give life to our own mortal bodies through the Holy Spirit; sustained by this hope, we pray:

Lord of the living and the dead, hear our prayer.

Father, through baptism we have been buried with your Son and have risen with him in his resurrection,
— grant that we may walk in newness of life so that when we die, we may live with Christ for ever.

Father, in our body we carry always and everywhere the death of Jesus your Son:
— grant that his life be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Father, in the resurrection of Jesus your fidelity is proclaimed for evermore:
— enable us to live in hope, despite the mystery of death.

Father, let us not be discouraged as our body slowly decays:
— grant that day by day our spirit may be renewed.

Father, we know very well that neither death nor life, neither things present nor future, can separate us from the love you have revealed in Christ Jesus:
— while we entrust to you our dead confreres, renew in us the certainty that you are faithful to your promises.

Our Father.

PRAYER

Father, whose mercy knows no limit, you have promised unending happiness to those who seek first the kingdom of heaven. We ask you to take to yourself our deceased confreres (all deceased Salesians), who have spent their lives in the service of the Gospel, following the way marked out by Saint John Bosco; grant that they may enjoy the vision of your countenance and that we may continue faithfully on our pilgrimage. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ…

Prayer during the day

Hymn and Psalms from the Office of the Dead.

Midmorning

Ant. You give great joy and happiness to those who seek you; and your salvation, 0 God, to those who love you.

READING Job 19, 25-27a

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

Why are you cast down, my soul, and why groan within me?
— Hope in God; I will praise him still.

Midday

Ant. Show us, O Lord, your mercy and grant us your salvation.

READING Wis 1,13-15

God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things that they might exist, and the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them; and the dominion of Hades is not on earth, for righteousness is immortal.

Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil.
— For you are with me, Lord.

Mid-afternoon

Ant. For ever I will give gloty to your name, 0 Lord, for great has been your mercy to me.

READING Is 25,8

He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.

O God, hear my prayer.
— To you all flesh must come.

Concluding prayer as at Morning Prayer.

Evening Prayer

When 2 February falls on a Sunday, the first Vespers of the Presentation of the Lord are celebrated.

HYMN

As at Morning Prayer or from the Common, or another suitable hymn approved by ecclesiastical authority.

Ant 1 I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

Psalms from the Office of the Dead.

Ant 2 Do not abandon, Lord, the work of your hands.

Ant 3 As the Father raises up and gives life, So also the Son gives life to those who love.

READING 1 Cor 15,20-24a.25-27a

Christ, in fact, has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, “for God has put all things in subjection under his feet”.

RESPONSORY

Lord, in your steadfast love, give them eternal rest. Lord…
You will come to judge the living and the dead. Give them…
Glory be to the Father... Lord…

Magnificat ant. I go to prepare a place for you — says the Lord; I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Or:

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I shall not turn away.

INTERCESSIONS

We know that when our body, our earthly abode, has been dissolved, we shall receive from God an eternal dwelling in heaven. Full of trust, we proclaim:

You are the resurrection and the life!

Christ, our Lord, giver of life, you are the light which never fades:
— may the light of your countenance shine on us, that by our life we may bear witness to your love.

Christ, our Lord, you have conquered death and become the first fruit of the resurrection:
— give to our dead confreres the reward you promised to your faithful servants.

Lord Jesus, you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
— look on us with eyes of mercy at the time of our judgment.

You who have made all things new:
— open to the faithful departed who entrust themselves to you, the new heavens and a new earth where dwell justice and peace.

In our remembrance of those who have gone before us you fill us with hope and encouragement:
— grant that one day we may find ourselves in heaven to sing with them your love and glory.

Our Father.

Concluding prayer as at Morning Prayer.

Night Prayer

As on Sunday after Evening Prayer II. A suitable closing Antiphon would be “O Maria, Virgo potens”.