Vigil Prayer
GREETING
Leader:
The grace and peace of
God our Father,
who raised Jesus
from the dead,
be always with you.
All: And with your spirit.
INVITATION TO PRAYER
Leader:
My brothers and sisters,
we believe that
all the ties of
friendship and affection,
which knit us as one
throughout our lives,
do not unravel with death.
Confident that God
always remembers
the good we have done
and forgives our sins,
let us pray,
asking God to gather
our brother/sister (N...) to himself.
(Pause for silent prayer)
OPENING PRAYER
Leader:
O God, glory of believers
and life of the just,
by the death and
resurrection of your Son,
we are redeemed.
Have mercy on your servant (N...)
and make him/her worthy
to share the joys of paradise,
for he/she believed
in the resurrection of the dead.
We ask this
through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
READING
Reader:
A reading from the
second letter of St Paul
to the Corinthians
(2 Cor 5:1,6-10)
For we know that when the tent
that we live in on earth
is folded up,
there is a house
built by God for us,
an everlasting home
not made by human hands,
in the heavens.
We are always
full of confidence, then,
when we remember that
to live in the body
means to be exiled
from the Lord,
going as we do by faith
and not by sight -
we are full of confidence, I say,
and actually want to be
exiled from the body
and make our home
with the Lord.
Whether we are living
in the body
or exiled from it,
we are intent on pleasing him.
For all the truth about us
will be brought out
in the law-court of Christ,
and each of us will get
what he deserves
for the things he did in the body,
good or bad.
Reader: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Ps 130)
Response:
The Lord is my light
and my salvation.
Response:
The Lord is my light
and my salvation.
The Lord is my light
and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the
stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
Response:
The Lord is my light
and my salvation.
There is one thing
I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the
house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the
sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
Response:
The Lord is my light
and my salvation.
O Lord, hear my voice
when I call;
have mercy and answer.
It is your face, O Lord,
that I seek,
hide not your face.
Response:
The Lord is my light
and my salvation.
I am sure I shall see
the Lord's goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm
and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
Response:
The Lord is my light
and my salvation.
GOSPEL
Leader:
A reading from the holy Gospel
according to Luke (Lk 12:35-40)
Jesus said to his disciples:
"See that you are dressed for action
and have your lamps lit.
Be like men
waiting for their master
to return from the wedding feast,
ready to open the door
as soon as he comes and knocks.
Happy those servants
whom the master finds awake
when he comes.
I tell you solemnly,
he will put on an apron,
sit himself down at table
and wait on them.
It may be in the
second watch he comes,
or in the third,
but happy those servants
if he finds them ready.
You may be quite sure of this,
that if the householder
had known at what hour
the burglar would come,
he would not have let anyone
break through the
wall of his house.
You too must stand ready,
because the Son of Man
is coming at an hour
you do not expect."
Leader: The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
INTERCESSIONS
Leader:
Let us turn to Christ Jesus
with confidence and faith
in the power of his cross
and resurrection.
Risen Lord,
pattern of our life for ever:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Promise and image
of what we shall be:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Son of God who came
to destroy sin and death:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Word of God who delivered us
from the fear of death:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Crucified Lord,
forsaken in death,
raised in glory:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, gentle Shepherd,
you who bring rest to our souls,
give peace to (N...) forever:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus,
you bless those who mourn
and are in pain.
Bless (N...'s) family and friends
who gather around
him/her today:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
THE LORDS' PRAYER
At the Saviour's command
and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to say:
All:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord Jesus, our Redeemer,
you willingly gave yourself
up to death,
so that all might be saved
and pass from death to life.
We humbly ask you
to comfort your servants
in their grief and to receive (N...)
into the arms of your mercy.
You alone are the Holy One,
you are mercy itself;
by dying you unlocked
the gates of life
for those who believe in you.
Forgive (N...) his/her sins,
and grant him/her
a place of happiness,
light, and peace
in the kingdom
of your glory for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
CONCLUDING RITE
Leader:
Blessed are those
who have died in the Lord;
let them rest from their labours
for their good deeds go with them.
Eternal rest grant unto (N...) O Lord.
All: And let perpetual light
shine upon him/ her.
Leader: May he/she rest in peace.
All: Amen.
Leader:
May his /her soul
and the souls of
all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
All: Amen.
Leader:
May the love of God
and the peace of
our Lord Jesus Christ
bless and console us
and gently wipe
every tear from our eyes:
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.