PROPER OFFICES
DECEASED CONFRERES
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
1 ant. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Psalms from the Office of the Dead.
2 ant. Lord, guide me with your justice,
make your way level before me.
3 ant. My soul is thirsting for the living God:
when shall I see him face to face?
R/. Great is your mercy, O Lord;
V/. make me live in accordance with your word.
First Reading
From the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians4,16-5,1-10
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.
.
ResponsoryCf. Psalm 50,4
R/. Do not judge me, O 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. .
V/. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, blot out my transgressions.
*in your love cleanse me from my sin.
Second Reading
From the "Spiritual Testament" of St John Bosco
(Constitutions of the Society of Saint Francis of Sales, 1984, 267-268)
In eternity the reward for trials borne for the love of Christ
My dear and beloved Sons in Jesus Christ, before leaving this world for eternity I wish to fulfil 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 confundar in aeternum.
Responsory Cf. Phil 3,20.21; Col 3,4
R/. Our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. * He will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.
V/. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
R/. He will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.
___________________________________________________________________________________
* Or:
Second Reading
From the writings of the Venerable Fr Joseph Quadrio, Salesian priest
(Ed. R. Bracchi, Don G. Quadrio, Risposte,
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 judgement. 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 judgement 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, to 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 "co-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 Psalm 30,20; 1 Cor 2,9
R/. How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you, * that you show to those who trust you. V/. 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. R/. that you show to those who trust you.
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.
1 ant. Look, O Lord, on my weakness;
pardon all my sins.
Psalms from the Office of the Dead
2 ant. I will call upon the Lord of joy;
from death and evil I shall be set free.
3 ant. The name of the Lord I will praise in song,
in exultation I shall celebrate his glory.
Short 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 breve
R/. I will praise you, Lord, * for you have rescued me.
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
V/. You turned my sorrow into joy,
* for you have rescued me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. .
Ant. al Ben 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 Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Invocations
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
Before noon
Ant. You give great joy and happiness to those who seek you;
and your salvation, O God, to those who love you.
Scripture Reading Job 19,25-27a
This I know: that my Redeemer lives, and he the last. will take his stand on earth. After my waking he will set me close to him, and from my flesh I shall look on God. He whom I shall see will take my part; these eyes will gaze on him and find him not aloof.
V/. Why are you cast down, my soul, and why groan within me?
R/. Hope in God; I will praise him still.
Midday
Ant. Show us, O Lord, your mercy and grant us your salvation.
Scripture Reading Wis 1,13-15
Death was not God’s doing, he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living. To be – for this he created all; the world’s created things have health in them, in them so fatal poison can be found and Hades holds no power on earth; for virtue is undying.
V/. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil.
R/. For you are with me, Lord.
Afternoon
Ant. For ever I will give glory to your name, O Lord, for great has been your mercy to me.
.
Scripture ReadingIs 25,8
God will destroy death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so.
V/. O God, hear my prayer.
R/. 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.
1 ant. I will walk in the presence of the Lord,
in the land of the living.
Psalms from the Office of the Dead.
2 ant. Do not abandon, Lord, the work of your hands.
3 ant. As the Father raises up and gives life,
So also the Son gives life to those who love
Scripture 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".
Short Responsory
R/. Lord, in your steadfast love, * give them eternal rest
Lord, in your steadfast love, give them eternal rest.
V/. You will come to judge the living and the dead:
* give them eternal rest
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Lord, in your steadfast love, give them eternal rest
Ant. At the Magn. 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 [deceased Salesians] 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 judgement.
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.
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 ....
.
Compline
As on Sunday after Evening Prayer II. A suitable closing Antiphon would be "O Maria, Virgo potens".
