BURIAL OF AN ADULT.
§ 148. At the house of the deceased.
Priest. Let us pray for the soul of the departed.
Grant him, Lord, eternal rest.
Answer. And let everlasting light shine upon him.
Ps. cxxx.
Out of the deep, &c.
Grant him, Lord, eternal rest, and let everlasting light shine upon him.
The fifty-first Psalm may be used instead of the above.
Priest. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Answer. Christ, have mercy upon us.
Priest. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father, (aloud).
Answer. Amen.
Priest. From everlasting death.
Answer. Deliver his soul, O Lord.
Priest. May he rest in peace.
Answer. Amen.
Priest. Lord, hear my prayer.
Answer. And let my cry come unto thee.
Priest. The Lord be with you.
Answer. And with thy spirit.
Priest. Let us pray.
We commend to thee, O God, the soul of this thy servant, that being summoned away from things temporal he may live with thee, and that being cleansed from all spot of sin by the boundless merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, he may have a share in the beatific vision, and may be numbered among thine elect, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Priest. Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord.
Answer. And let perpetual light shine upon him.
Priest. May he rest in peace.
Answer. Amen.
§ 149. At the last words the Priest shall sprinkle the coffin with holy water.
§ 156. At the grave.
Priest (making the sign of the cross over the grave). May this resting-place be blessed for the day of resurrection, in the name of the Father +, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
§ 157. Let us pray.
O God, by whose compassion the souls of the faithful rest in peace, graciously bless this grave, and make the souls of those who shall be buried here partakers of everlasting joy, and of the company of thine elect, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
§ 158. While the body is lowered the fifty-first or the hundred and thirtieth Psalm shall be said wholly or in part, or a hymn may be sung.
Ps. li.
Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness, &c.
Priest. I am the resurrection and the life, saith Christ our Lord; he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die[1].
§ 159. Here (or at the place mentioned below) an address may be made, or one of the following may be read.
1. Beloved in the Lord, an open grave reminds us of that so indubitable and yet so often forgotten truth, that it is appointed unto mankind once to die, and that, as the apostle adds, after death the judgment will follow. We know quite certainly that we too must die, but none of us knoweth when he will have to follow our departed brother into eternity. Experience teaches us that for some persons death comes unexpectedly as a thief in the night. Therefore we must be careful, after the warning of Holy Scripture, that death do not overtake us as a thief.
But an open grave reminds us also of other words of Holy Writ, that it is “a holy and good thought to pray for the dead.” Wherefore let us pray for our departed brother.
2. Beloved in the Lord, the Apostle Paul writes to the faithful at Thessalonica, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which, are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Sorrow at the death of a brother is authorized, but we need not to sorrow as those who have no hope. For our Christian faith affordeth to us the certain knowledge that while death is indeed the end of this earthly life, it is also at the same time the door of a new and eternal existence, and that the dead in Christ will rise when he shall come again, as he himself is risen from the dead. So too we know that our brother, whose corruptible body we have lowered into this grave, still liveth, and is gone on before us to that place whither we all have to follow after, each at the time which God hath appointed for him. And as we Christians know that the bond of union between us and our departed friends is not broken through death, so we think of them as living when we pray.
3. Beloved in the Lord, the Saviour saith to mankind;
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day[2].”
Trusting in this promise of our divine Saviour, “who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light[3],” let us pray with child-like confidence for our deceased brother, and all the faithful departed.
§ 160. Priest. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Answer. Christ, have mercy upon us.
Priest. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father, (aloud).
Answer. Amen.
Priest. From everlasting death.
Answer. Deliver his soul, O Lord.
Priest. May he rest in peace.
Answer. Amen.
Priest. Lord, hear my prayer.
Answer. And let my cry come unto thee.
Priest. The Lord be with you.
Answer. And with thy spirit.
Priest. Let us pray.
O God of love and pity, we earnestly beseech thee for the soul of thy servant N. which thou hast summoned out of this life. May he be taken by thy holy angel, and carried to the heavenly fatherland, in order that having hoped and believed in thee, he may become partaker of everlasting joy, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Or,
O Lord, the God of pity, may the soul of thy servant N. whose body we are entrusting to the earth, arrive at the place of refreshment, at the blessedness of everlasting rest, and at the clearness of thy heavenly light, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
§ 161. Priest (sprinkling the grave with holy water).
May God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, refresh thy soul with the dew of his heavenly grace. Amen.
Or,
Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
§ 162. Where it is the custom the Priest shall incense the grave, saying,
May the fragrance of good works ascend with our prayers before God.
Or,
May our prayer for the departed ascend before God as the cloud of incense.
§ 163. The Priest shall cast earth upon the coffin thrice, and say;
Bethink thee, O man, that thou art dust and wilt to dust return.
§ 164. The Priest shall make the sign of the cross over the grave, and say;
By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who by his cross + hath redeemed the world, and broken the power of death, mayest thou rise again at the day of judgment to everlasting life. Amen.
§ 166. This form may also be employed where it is customary for the Priest to plant a cross on the mound of the grave. If an address has not been already made it can be spoken at this point, or one of the above addresses may be read, and where customary the following prayers may be added;
Priest. Our Father, &c.
Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord.
Answer. And let perpetual light shine upon him.
Priest. We pray, too, for all who rest in this churchyard.
Our Father, &c.
May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Priest. Finally, we beseech thee for that person in our midst who must first follow our departed brother into eternity;
Our Father, &c.
Glory be to the Father, &c.