Mass for the Dead

Omitted Prayers.—Of these is in the first place the psalm Judica me, because of these words: “Judge me, O Lord,” and the others: “Why art thou sad, O my soul?” The soul for which we pray has already been judged at the secret tribunal of God, and why should we ask the cause of its sadness when perhaps it is exiled from Him Whom it loves?

The Gloria Patri, the Gloria in excelsis, the Alleluia, and the Ite, Missa est, are not heard in the Masses for the dead, because the souls in purgatory are not yet allowed to join in the canticles of the angels.

Sign of the Cross at the Introit.—Instead of making it upon himself the priest makes the sign of the cross with his hand turned toward the Missal. Does he bless the altar? No. Or the book? No, again. Why, then, is this benediction? The souls who have been recommended to him are in the mind and heart of the priest. His one desire is to comfort them, and to show this desire earnestly; as soon as he goes up to the altar he applies to them the blessed fruits of the cross; he knows how to despoil himself generously in their favor.

Kissing the Book.—At the end of the Gospel the book does not receive the usual kiss, to show that the souls of the dead have not yet received the ineffable kiss of God, or, again, because having died in the sign of faith there is no need for them to profess their belief in the Gospel. This same reason is the cause of the omission of the Creed from Masses for the dead.

The Offering.—At the Offertory the faithful in former times made an offering which varied in different places; it was usually bread and wine, and a candle. An incident related in the life of St. Peter of Tarantaise will furnish us with an explanation of this offering.

A miner of Pinsot, in the mountains of Allevard, in Dauphiny, was surprised by a landslide, and buried alive. Every Saturday his wife had the holy sacrifice offered for him, and, according to the custom, presented at the Offertory bread, wine, and a candle. One day when the laborers were working in the neighborhood of p. 54the scene of the fatal event, what was their surprise to see through the cracks in the rocks a pale light. They wished to discover the cause of the phenomenon; pickaxes soon opened for them a passage to a little habitation. Here a man was enclosed, full of strength and life: it was their unfortunate companion so long mourned as dead. He told them that by a special protection of God the earth in giving way had formed this little retreat, and that each Saturday an angel had brought him bread, with a vase filled with wine, to nourish him, and a taper to give him light; thanks to this aid he awaited the hour of deliverance.

Let us make our offering with faith. An angel will descend to that soul so dear to our heart; it thirsts for God, and a celestial and mysterious nourishment will be given to it; it sighs after the fountain of living water, and a refreshing stream will quench its thirst, and in its profound darkness a ray of eternal light will come to console it.

The Water Poured into the Chalice.—At the Offertory, again, the priest does not bless the water poured into the chalice. Water, a symbol of Christians in the sacrifice of our altars, represents in Masses for the dead more especially the souls in purgatory, and the Church in not blessing the water wishes to show that she has no jurisdiction over these souls.

Omission of the Benediction.—The beginning of the Mass was marked by an act of charity on the part of the priest. In not making upon himself the sign of the cross at the Introit he is, so to speak, despoiled of graces, the divine fruits of the cross, in favor of the souls in purgatory. The end of the Mass shows us the same spirit of charity on the part of the faithful. There is no benediction; those present seem to forget themselves and to only think of those who suffer, of the poor exiles from heaven for whom are all the merits, all the blessings, all the fruits, of the sacrifice. This is truly charity such as the Master taught: devotion and self-sacrifice for others, in a word, forgetfulness of self. Already, under the influence of these charitable sentiments, the priest, in the name of the faithful, has replaced the words: “Miserere nobis” (“Have mercy upon us”), at the Agnus Dei, by these others: “Dona eis requiem” (“Give them rest”). In Masses for the dead it is always them, and never us. May these words always call forth this spirit.

Absolution.—The Mass ended, absolution is given. An acolyte carries to the head of the coffin a cross, the pledge of our immortal hopes. Did not the divine One Who rose again say: “O death, I will be thy death”? (Osee xiii. 14.) Has not St. Paul called Him “the first-fruits of them that slept”? Thanks to Jesus Christ, dead upon the cross, He will one day raise up him for whom you weep. Through your tears you have seen around the coffin the light of candles; your sorrow, if it be Christian, will find in this light consolation and hope. It is a symbol of the faith of the dead, and did not Our Lord say: “He who believeth in Me shall have eternal life”? (St. John vi. 47.) This light is also a symbol of the glory which the saints enjoy in the bosom of God: “Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (St. Matt. xiii. 43.)

At the Absolution, during the Lord’s Prayer, the holy water and the incense are poured forth upon the coffin p. 55as a symbol of the effects of prayer for the dead. “May our prayer,” the Church seems to say, “rise as the perfume of incense even to Thy throne, O Lord, and appease Thy just wrath. May it call down upon this poor soul the blessed dew of Thy mercy.”