Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
All from Office for the Dead: 2217

Office of Readings for Relatives, Friends, and Benefactors

God, come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

HYMN

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us
and is risen from the dead.
He is our saving Lord, he is joy for all ages.

If we die with the Lord,
we shall live with the Lord.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us
and is risen from the dead.
He is our saving Lord, he is joy for all ages.

If we endure with the Lord,
we shall reign with the Lord.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us
and is risen from the dead.
He is our saving Lord, he is joy for all ages.

In him all our sorrow,
in him all our joy.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us
and is risen from the dead.
He is our saving Lord, he is joy for all ages.

In him hope of glory,
in him all our love.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us
and is risen from the dead.
He is our saving Lord, he is joy for all ages.

In him our redemption,
in him all our grace.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us
and is risen from the dead.
He is our saving Lord, he is joy for all ages.

In him our salvation,
in him all our peace.

Keep in mind that Jesus Christ has died for us
and is risen from the dead.
He is our saving Lord, he is joy for all ages.

Melody: Keep in mind; Music: Lucien Deiss, C.S.Sp.,1965; Text: Lucien Deiss, C.S.Sp.,1965

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 From the earth you formed me, with flesh you clothed me; Lord, my Redeemer, raise me up again at the last day.

Psalm 40:2-14,17-18

I

I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.

He drew me from the deadly pit,
from the miry clay.
He set my feet upon a rock
and made my footsteps firm.

He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
Many shall see and fear
and shall trust in the Lord.

Happy the man who has placed
his trust in the Lord
and has not gone over to the rebels
who follow false gods.

How many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders and designs
that you have worked for us;
you have no equal.
Should I proclaim and speak of them,
they are more than I can tell!

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.

In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. From the earth you formed me, with flesh you clothed me; Lord, my Redeemer, raise me up again at the last day.

Ant. 2 Lord, may it please you to rescue me; look upon me and help me.

II

Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.

I have not hidden your justice in my heart
but declared your faithful help.
I have not hidden your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

O Lord, you will not withhold
your compassion from me.
Your merciful love and your truth
will always guard me.

For I am beset with evils
too many to be counted.
My sins have fallen upon me
and my sight fails me.
They are more than the hairs of my head
and my heart sinks.

O Lord, come to my rescue,
Lord, come to my aid.

O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say: “The Lord is great,”
who love your saving help.

As for me, wretched and poor,
the Lord thinks of me.
You are my rescuer, my help,
O God, do not delay.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Lord, may it please you to rescue me; look upon me and help me.

Ant. 3 My soul is thirsting for the living God; when shall I see him face to face?

Psalm 42

Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?

My tears have become my bread,
by night, by day,
as I hear it said all the day long:
“Where is your God?”

These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.

Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.

My soul is cast down within me
as I think of you
from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermoh,
from the Hill of Mizar.

Deep is calling on deep,
in the roar of waters:
your torrents and all your waves
swept over me.

By day the Lord will send
his loving kindness;
by night I will sing to him,
praise the God of my life.

I will say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
oppressed by the foe?”

With cries that pierce me to the heart,
my enemies revile me,
saying to me all the day long:
“Where is your God?”

Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. My soul is thirsting for the living God; when shall I see him face to face?

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Lord, countless are your mercies.
— Give me life according to your word.

READINGS

First reading
From the first letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians
15:12—34
The resurrection of Christ is the hope of the faithful

Tell me, if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is void of content and your faith is empty too. Indeed, we should then be exposed as false witnesses of God, for we have borne witness before him that he raised up Christ; but he certainly did not raise him up if the dead are not raised. Why? Because if the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised; and if Christ was not raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ are the deadest of the dead. If our hopes in Christ are limited to this life only, we are the most pitiable of men.

But as it is, Christ is now raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Death came through a man; hence the resurrection of the dead comes through a man also. Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life again, but each one in proper order: Christ the first fruits and then, at his coming, all those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when, after having destroyed every sovereignty, authority, and power, he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under his feet, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Scripture reads that God “has placed all things under his feet.” But when it says that everything has been made subject, it is clear that he who has made everything subject to Christ is excluded. When, finally, all has been subjected to the Son, he will then subject himself to the One who made all things subject to him, so that God may be all in all.

If the dead are not raised, what about those who have themselves baptized on behalf of the dead? If the raising of the dead is not a reality, why be baptized on their be half? And why are we continually putting ourselves in danger? I swear to you, brothers, by the very pride you take in me, which I cherish in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I face death every day. If I fought those beasts at Ephesus for purely human motives, what profit was there for me? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Do not be led astray any longer. “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Return to reason, as you ought, and stop sinning. Some of you are quite ignorant of God; I say it to your shame.

RESPONSORY 1 Cor. 15:25-26; see Rv. 20:13, 14

Christ must reign until God has brought all enemies under his feet.
— And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Then death and Sheol will give up their dead, death and Sheol will be cast into the fiery lake.
— And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Second reading
From a sermon by Saint Anastasius of Antioch, bishop
Christ will change our lowly body

To this end Christ died and rose to life that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But God is not God of the dead, but of the living. That is why the dead, now under the dominion of one who has risen to life, are no longer dead but alive. Therefore life has dominion over them and, just as Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again, so too they will live and never fear death again. When they have been thus raised from the dead and freed from decay, they shall never again see death, for they will share in Christ’s resurrection just as he himself shared in their death.

This is why Christ descended into the underworld, with its imperishable prison bars: to shatter the doors of bronze and break the bars of iron and, from decay, to raise our life to himself by giving us freedom in place of servitude.

But if this plan does not yet appear to be perfectly realized — for men still die and bodies still decay in death — this should not occasion any loss of faith. For, in receiving the firstfruits, we have already received the pledge of all the blessings we have mentioned; with them we have reached the heights of heaven, and we have taken our place beside him who has raised us up with himself, as Paul says: In Christ God has raised us up with him, and has made us sit with him in the heavenly places.

And the fulfillment will be ours on the day predetermined by the Father, when we shall put off our childish ways and come to perfect manhood. For this is the decree of the Father of the ages: the gift, once given, is to be secure and no more to be rejected by a return to childish attitudes.

There is no need to recall that the Lord rose from the dead with a spiritual body, since Paul in speaking of our bodies bears witness that they are sown as animal bodies and raised as spiritual bodies: that is, they are transformed in accordance with the glorious transfiguration of Christ who goes before us as our leader.

The Apostle, affirming something he clearly knew, also said that this would happen to all mankind through Christ, who will change our lowly body to make it like his glorious body.

If this transformation is a change into a spiritual body and one, furthermore, like the glorious body of Christ, then Christ rose with a spiritual body, a body that was sown in dishonor, but the very body that was transformed in glory.

Having brought this body to the Father as the first-fruits of our nature, he will also bring the whole body to fulfillment. For he promised this when he said: I, when I am lifted up, will draw all men to myself.

RESPONSORY John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:52

All who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God;
— those who have done good deeds will go forth to the resurrection of life; those who have done evil will go forth to the resurrection of judgment.

In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the final trumpet blast, the dead shall rise.
— Those who have done good deeds will go forth to the resurrection of life; those who have done evil will go forth to the resurrection of judgment.

Concluding Prayer

Father,
source of forgiveness and salvation for all mankind,
hear our prayer.
By the prayers of the ever-virgin Mary,
may our friends, relatives, and benefactors
who have gone from this world
come to share eternal happiness with all your saints.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.