Prayers After Death

In this moment of sorrow
the Lord is in our midst
and consoles us with his word:
Blessed are the sorrowful;
they shall be comforted.

A Reading from the Gospel According to John

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"

He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
He said to him, "Feed my lambs."

He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
He said to him, "Tend my sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him,
"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jesus) said to him, "Feed my sheep.

Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."

He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
-- John 21:15-19

Let us pray.

Lord,
Pope John Paul II is gone from this earthly dwelling
and has left behind those who mourn his absence.

Grant that as we grieve for our brother
we may hold his memory dear
and live in the hope of the eternal kingdom
where you wil bring us together again.

Lord, our God,
the death of our brother
recalls our human condition
and the brevity of our lives on earth.

But, for those who believe in your love
death is not the end,
nor does it destroy the bonds
that you forge in our lives.

We share the faith of your Son's disciples
and the hope of the children of God.
Bring the light of Christ's resurrection
to this time of testing and pain
as we pray for John Paul II
and those who love him,
through Christ our Lord.

Taken from the Rites for
the Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying, 1982,
Prayers After Death.

Praying After the Death of a Pope

Let us pray.

Father, eternal shepherd,
hear the prayers of your people for your servant John Paul II,
who governed your Church with love.

In your mercy, bring him with the flock entrusted to his care
to the reward you have promised your faithful servants.

May he who faithfully administered the mysteries
of your forgivness and love on earth,
rejoice with you for ever in heaven.

In your wise and loving care,
you made your servant teacher of all your Church.
He did the work of Christ on earth.

May your Son welcome him to eternal glory.

May your servant whom you appointed high priest of your flock
be counted now among the priests in the life of your kindgom.

Give your servant the reward of eternal happiness
and let your mercy win for us the gift of your life and love.

We entrust your servant to your mercy with faith and confidence.
In the human family he was an instrument of your peace and love.

May he rejoice in those gifts for ever with your saints.

Taken from Masses for the Dead, #1. For a Pope
The Sacamentary, 1974

I find great peace in thinking of the time
when the Lord will call me: from life to life!

And so I often find myself saying, with no trace of melancholy, a prayer recited by priests after the celebration of the Eucharist: At the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you. This is the prayer of Christian hope, which in no way detracts from the joy of the present, while entrusting the future to God's gracious and loving care.

“Bid me come to you!”: this is the deepest yearning of the human heart, even in those who are not conscious of it

Grant, O Lord of life, that we may be ever vividly aware of this and that we may savour every season of our lives as a gift filled with promise for the future.

Grant that we may lovingly accept your will, and place ourselves each day in your merciful hands.

And when the moment of our definitive “passage” comes, grant that we may face it with serenity, without regret for what we shall leave behind. For in meeting you, after having sought you for so long, we shall find once more every authentic good which we have known here on earth, in the company of all who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and hope.

Mary, Mother of pilgrim humanity, pray for us “now and at the hour of our death”. Keep us ever close to Jesus, your beloved Son and our brother, the Lord of life and glory.

Amen!

John Paul II
Letter to the Elderly
From the Vatican, 1 October 1999.