Liturgy Alive All Souls Day: Commemoration of the All Faithful Departed.

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Monday, November 2, 2015

Greeting

Neither death nor life,
nothing that exists, nothing still to come,
nor any created thing
can ever come between us and the love of God
made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May this risen Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

Today's celebration of All Souls is more a feast of hope than a day of mourning for the dead. By visiting the graves of our beloved ones and praying for all who have died, we profess and affirm our faith that we are still linked with the dead, that for us they are not gone for ever but that we shall see them again in the home of our Father in heaven. For them and for us the stone of the tomb will be rolled away, and we will rise from death as once Jesus raised Lazarus and he himself rose from the tomb. Let us celebrate this resurrection faith today.

Penitential Act

We seek forgiveness for all our sins,
for they destroy or obstruct life in us.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you became one of us
to share in our joys and pains, even our death:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you died for us on the cross
to take the evil of death away from us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you rose from the dead
to open for us the way to life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
raise us up from our sins
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us recommend to the Lord
all the faithful departed
(PAUSE)
God of the living,
we believe that you are a God
of a love that is stronger than death
since your Son Jesus Christ, born as one of us,
destroyed death for ever.

Let all the faithful departed live
in the security of your love.
Let them enjoy peace, your peace,
which escaped them so often in life,
and give to us, too, the courage
to face life and to live it
in close union with your Son.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

General Intercessions

Let us pray to our living God, who created us for life and happiness. God will not give us up to death but give us eternal life. Let us pray to him: R/ Lord of life, hear your people.

- For the dead in our families and our community, for all those who were dear to us in life, that God, who called them by their names, may be their unending joy, let us pray:
R/ Lord of life, hear your people.

- For all those who had to suffer much in life from sickness, injustice or poverty, that their sorrow may now come to an end and that there may be no end to their happiness, let us pray:
R/ Lord of life, hear your people.

- For the dead who had to go a lonely way through life because none, or few, cared for them, or because they were loners themselves, or because their children or partners deserted them; for those for whom nobody mourns, that now they may discover the joy of the friendship of the saints in heaven, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear your people.

- And finally for ourselves, that we may help and support one another on the journey through life, that we may go the Lord's way side by side and share joys and sorrows, life and death, let us pray:
R/ Lord of life, hear your people.

God of life, we thank you for the assurance that the dead are in your hands and that we are called and destined to eternal life on account of your risen Son Jesus. Do not let our heart be troubled but reunite us one day with those whom we have known and loved. Lead us all to you through him who is our way, Jesus Christ our Lord.
R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
we entrust into your hands
our life and our death.
Give us your life-giving bread
and the wine of loyalty to your covenant,
that by their power
we may overcome death and live for life,
and may join those who have gone before us in faith,
through Jesus Christ, your Son
and our risen Lord for ever. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Let us give our wholehearted praise to the Father of life and happiness, for he has created us for life and has not abandoned us to death. Through Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, he has brought us the fullness of life.
(Do not forget to use the inserts for the dead in the Eucharistic Prayer.)

Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

Let us pray in the words of Jesus
to the God of life and hope
who is our Father in heaven: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant your peace in our day
to a world that cannot create peace.
Grant peace to the dead who died in the hope
of living in your lasting peace.
Free us from the fear of death,
as we wait in joyful hope
for our resurrection and the full life
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

This is our risen Lord, who said:
I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me will live,
even though they die;
and whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Happy are we to be united
as we eat the bread of eternal life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
you know and love us beyond death.
We thank you for calling all of us
to live forever in your friendship.
We thank you for the unending happiness
of the saints who live in your joy.
We thank you
for your undying, everlasting love
for us and for all our beloved dead.
Accept our thanks through your risen Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.

Blessing

We have prayed today
for those who have died,
known or unknown, close or distant.
It was an occasion for us to deepen our faith
in the resurrection promised
to the deceased and to ourselves.
We believe in a living God
who wants all to live in his love and joy.
May our God of life bless you all,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Let us go in the peace of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.

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