“O God,
by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest,
send your holy Angel to watch over this grave.
Through Christ our Lord.”
“God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.
Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.
In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.
Amen.”
“Lord God,
you are attentive to the voice of our pleading.
Let us find in your Son
comfort in our sadness,
certainty in our doubt,
and courage to live through this hour.
Make our faith strong through Christ our Lord.
Amen.”
“Father,
you know our hearts and share our sorrows.
We are hurt by our parting from those whom we loved:
when we are angry at the loss we have sustained,
when we long for words of comfort,
yet find them hard to hear,
turn our grief to truer living,
our affliction to firmer hope
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.”
“Oh Buddhas and Bodhisattvas abiding in all directions…Please come forth through the power of your great compassion,
Please accept these offerings, both actually presented and mentally created.
Oh Compassionate Ones…
[...] is passing from this world to the next,
[He/she] is taking a great leap,
The light of this world has faded for [him/her],
[He/she] has entered solitude with their karmic forces,
[He/she] has gone into a vast silence,
[He/she] is borne away by the great ocean of birth and death...
Oh Compassionate Ones, protect [...] who is defenseless. Be to [him/her] like a mother and father.
Oh Compassionate Ones, let not the force of your compassion be weak, but aid them.
Let [...] not go into the miserable states of existence.
Forget not your ancient vows.”
“May God remember the soul of my father, my teacher (mention his Hebrew name and that of his mother) who has gone to his [supernal] world, because I will — without obligating myself with a vow — donate charity for his sake. In this merit, may his soul be bound up in the bond of life with the souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and with the other righteous men and women who are in Gan Eden; and let us say, Amen.”
“O Lord,
the God of mercies,
grant unto the souls of Thy servants
the anniversary day of whose burial we are keeping,
a place of solace,
of peaceful rest,
of glorious light.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.”
Oh God, I am so brokenhearted without my father. I know that he is with You in heaven, but the loss hurts. I do not know how to find peace with this, so please help me. Your Word tells me that You are close to the brokenhearted. You Word tells me that You save those who are crushed in spirit. Lord, I pray that You make my spirit feel whole again. Wake me up from this bad dream. Give me peace. Help me to cope. I need to feel more of You in this painful period so that I do not remain brokenhearted or crushed. Fill the huge empty space I feel. Lord, I do not want this loss to break me, so Lord, strengthen me and let me feel the warmth of Your presence. Amen.