All Souls Day - Sunday, November 2nd - Dies Irae (Days of Wrath)

The Dies Irae is an essential part of the Requiem Mass for the Dead in the Traditional Latin Rite. Here it is linked to the Fisheater's website.

Here is a part of the Requiem Mass:

The priest, dressed in a black cope, will greet the coffin at the door of the Church, sprinkling it with Holy Water, and intoning the De Profundis (Pslam 129) and the Miserere (Psalm 50). The Introit asks that eternal rest be given to the departed, and the Collect asks that God deliver his or her soul. The Epistle will be a reading of I Thessalonians 4:13-18, in which St. Paul speaks of death. After the Gradual, a Tract asking absolution from every bond of sin on the part of the deceased is intoned, followed by the glorious Sequence, the Dies Irae. The Gospel will be a reading of John 11:21-27, the story of St. Martha's profession of faith that her brother, Lazarus, will rise again. The Offertory prayer asks Jesus Christ, King of Glory, to deliver the souls of the faithful departed from Hell, and for St. Michael to lead them into the holy Light. The Secret asks pity on the soul of the departed. The Communion asks that light eternal shine on the departed, and the Postcommunion asks that the Sacrifice of the Mass purify the departed.

A sad trend today is the noticeable absence of Prayers for the Souls in Purgatory in the current life of the modern Church. I pray that this charism makes a comeback as purgation is an essential part of ALL our journeys... May I recommend some of the books of Susan Tassone who has a special devotion to the poor souls?


Comments