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.
In the celebration of the Eucharist the memory of our deceased confreres is not only an act of suffrage, but also an act of thanksgiving to God for having given to his Church so many generous men who have responded to the voice of the Lord by committing themselves to work with Saint John Bosco, in the practice of the evangelical counsels, for the benefit of the young.
As our fathers and brothers, they have passed on to us a precious heritage. Some of them are still fresh in our memory; others are held in benediction; and there are those whose humble and hidden lives are recorded only as names in the Necrology.
Rather than recount the praises of their virtues, this holy assembly wishes to recognize the good they were able to carry out in the Church through God's grace. This is an attitude which stems spontaneously from faithful and grateful hearts also, when we remember those with whom we have worked, believed, hoped, suffered and loved; they are an incentive to us to continue with fresh enthusiasm in our own vocation.
The redeeming death of Christ has enlightened for us the mystery of death, and so the prayer texts invite the faithful to make a profession of faith in the Father whose mercy knows no limits, and who has promised unending happiness to those who seek first the kingdom of heaven (Coll.).
In entrusting our deceased confreres to the Father, the giver of life, who sustains all things by his providence (cf Pref.), the assembly recalls that they have spent their lives in the service of the Gospel, following the way marked out by Saint John Bosco (Coll.); and that they worked in the vineyard of the Lord (After comm.) carrying out their pastoral ministry in the service of the young (Offertory). For them, as they await the coming of the Lord (Sol. bless.), the assembly asks the reward promised to faithful servants (After comm.): pardon, joy, eternal light and peace (Offertory; Sol. bless.) and a reawakening to the glory of the resurrection (Pref.),' so as to enjoy for ever the vision of God's countenance (Coll.).
But their memory, in the sacrifice commemorating the death and resurrection of Christ, is also a motive for supplication that every confrere may continue faithfully on his own pilgrimage (Coll.) in the Church at the service of the Gospel.
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
We who have believed in the Lord
will one day live happily in God's light,
where Christ Jesus has prepared a dwelling place for his faithful servants.
OPENING 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 your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
1st Reading: Is 25,6-8a.9; or Heb 11,1-3.8-10.13-16 Gospel: Lk 12, 35-48
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Father, may this sacrifice of reconciliation be a source of pardon and eternal happiness
for our deceased confreres (for all deceased Salesians), who have exercised their pastoral ministry in the service of the young.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE
From life on earth to eternal glory
C. The Lord be with you
R. And also with you.
C. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
Y. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
By your power you bring us to birth.
By your providence you rule our lives.
By your command you free us at last from sin as we return to the dust from which we came. Through the saving death of your Son
we rise at your word to the glory of the resurrection.
Now we join the angels and the saints
as they sing their unending hymn of praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosannah in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosannah in the highest.
COMMUNION ANTIPHONLk 12, 36-37a
Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Take, O Father, into your merciful embrace
our deceased confreres (all deceased Salesians),
for whom we have offered this sacrifice of salvation; and since during this life they worked in your vineyard, give them the reward you promised to faithful servants.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord.
SOLEMN BLESSING
In his great love,
the God of all consolation gave man the gift of life. May he bless you with faith in the resurrection of his Son, and with the hope of rising to new life.
R. Amen.
To us who are alive
may he grant forgiveness, and to all who have died a place of light and peace.
R. Amen.
As you believe that Jesus rose from the dead, so may you live with him for ever in joy.
R. Amen.
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
R. Amen.
In our death, as in the death of Christ, is contained the promise of resurrection.
Let us invoke the God of our fathers with prayers inspired in us by faith.
R. God of life, hear our prayer.
1. For God's holy people: that they may bear witness to Christ's victory over death by their commitment to the promotion of human life and dignity, we pray to the Lord.
2. For the Salesian Congregation: that it may be sustained in its fidelity to Saint John Bosco by the living memory of the confreres who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, we pray to the Lord.
3. For those to whom our mission is directed: so that in the everyday context of life they may, like watchful servants, work in the light of the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, we pray to the Lord.
4. For our brothers who sleep in Christ: that they may hear the consoling words: Come, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord, we pray to the Lord.
5. For confreres who have exercised the service of authority, for those who have suffered in body or in spirit, and for those who have occupied humble posts: that they may experience the truth of the words: Enter the kingdom prepared for you, we pray to the Lord.
6. For all of us gathered at the table of the Word and the Bread of life: that we may share with each one of our brethren our faith in the resurrection through works of justice and charity, we pray to the Lord.
7. Other intentions.
Reawaken in us, Father, the joy of looking forward to our resurrection, and grant that our lives may bear witness to the hope we carry in our hearts. We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL (2)
My brothers and sisters, as we contemplate the mystery of death we are comforted by a great hope: our eyes will behold God's countenance; we shall be like him and sing his praises for ever. Sustained by this faith, let us make our prayer in hope and trust.
R.. Lord, in you lies all our hope
1. For Christian communities: that in commemorating their deceased pastors and brothers they may proclaim to all peoples the new heavens and new earth that God has prepared for those who love him, we pray to the Lord.
2. For the Salesian Family: that in its commitment to human and Christian advancement it may live the realities of this world as a preparation for the new heaven and the new earth, we pray to the Lord.
3. For our deceased confreres who have been reborn in the waters of baptism and sealed by the Spirit: that the Lord may welcome them into his kingdom of light and peace, we pray to the Lord.
4. For our deceased confreres who, nourished at the table of the Word and Bread of life, have conformed their own lives to that of Christ obedient, chaste and poor: that the Lord may be their reward and unending joy, we pray to the Lord.
5. For us here present: that our sharing at the Lord's table may obtain for us the grace of living and dying in the faith of our baptism, we pray to the Lord.
6. Other intentions.
Receive, Father, the prayer that this community makes to you; bestow your just reward on our deceased confreres who have come to the end of this life's pilgrimage; and help us too to fulfil the mission that has been entrusted to us. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
