Durandus on Prayer for the Dead (Part 4): Funeral Customs

This post concludes our series of excerpts from the entry on All Souls’ Day in William Durandus’ Rationale Divinorum Officiorum (7.35), the Summa Theologiae of medieval liturgical commentaries. This entry is one of the longest sections of the seventh book, which covers the Sanctoral cycle, and covers basically every aspect of the Church’s prayers for the dead. Click these links to read part 1, part 2 and part 3.

Now we must see how a body ought to be buried. When a man seems to be in extremis, he should be laid on the ground upon ashes, or at least upon hay, which indicates that he is dust, and unto dust he shall return. This is done following the example of the blessed Martin, who ended his life lying upon ashes, in order to give an example to others. And if the person dying is literate, the passion of the Lord should be read in his presence, or at least a part of it, so that he may be moved to greater compunction. A cross should be set up at his feet, so that as he is dying, he may by looking upon it be more contrite, and be converted. He should also lie on his back, so that with his face upright, he may look upon heaven, following the example of the blessed Martin, and his soul be commended to the Lord before he expires.

The Death of St Martin, 1490, by the workshop of the German painter Derick Baegert (1440-1515). Note the straw mat under his body; one can hardly fail to note the two-headed demon at the head of the bed, to whom Martin said just before he died, “Why are you standing here, cruel beast? You shall find no cause for grief in me!” (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.) 

After he dies, the bells should be rung (so that the people may hear it and pray for him). Then the body should be washed, unless the person was anointed shortly before he died, to signify that if the soul is cleansed from sin through confession and contrition, both the body and the soul will obtain eternal exaltation and glory on the day of judgment; and likewise for this reason, as Job says, they truly die in the Lord and are blessed who bear no stain with them, but in this world leave (every stain behind) through penance. But in both the Old and the New Testament, nothing is done about this washing if it is omitted (i.e. no penalty is prescribed for omitting it), so it is not a matter of particular importance. As Augustine says in his book On the Care to be Taken for the Dead, that which is done for a human body after death is not a help to salvation, but the duty of humanity. (cap. 18 in medio. This passage was added to the Office of All Souls’ Day by the breviary reform of St Pius X.)

Nonetheless, since Mary Magdalene anointed the Lord before his passion (for when He was about to die, she did this, which she could not have done once He had already died, as the Lord says, “She is come beforehand to anoint my body for burial”), from this it can be proved that the bodies of the dead are to be washed. For as Jerome says, in those parts of the world, they use ointments instead of baths.

Mary Magdalene Anoints the Feet of Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee, ca. 1520, by the Veronese painter Bonifazio de’ Pitati, also known as Bonifacio Veronese (1487-1553). Image from Wikimedia Commons by Sailko, CC BY 3.0.

A canon of the council of Toledo established that those who depart from this life at God’s call should be brought to burial with psalms, only sung by human voices (i.e. without instrumental accompaniment). The dead man ought to be carried by those who share his state in life, i.e., a deacon by deacons, a priest by priests etc. … but if he belongs to a confraternity, he should be carried by his fellow members. …

While they are carried from their house to the church or the place of burial, according to the custom of some places, three stops are made on the way. First, to signify that by living in this life in such a way that he could be worthily presented to the Lord and enjoy perpetual rest with the other Saints, he exercised himself especially in three things, namely, in the love of the Lord, in charity to his neighbor, and in keeping himself (in grace); or else because he lived and died in the faith of the Holy Trinity. Secondly, to represent that the Lord rested for three days within the earth. Third, the three pauses are made on the way so that through the three parts of the psalmody which is then said, there may be done the threefold absolution from sins committed in three ways, that is, by thought, by word and by deed.

Then he is laid in the burial place, and in some places blessed water is put in it, and coals with incense. The blessed water is so that demons, which fear it very much, may not come near the body… incense to take away the stench of the body, or so that we may understand that the dead person offered to his Creator the acceptable odor of good works, or to show that the help of prayer benefits the dead. Carbons are put in to bear witness that the land can no longer be reduced to common usages, for carbon lasts longer upon the earth than anything else. Ivy, laurel, and plants of this sort, those which always preserve their greenness, are laid out in the sarcophagus, to signify those who die in Christ shall not cease to live, for although they died to the world according to the body, nevertheless they live according to the soul, and revive unto God. …

A bishop incenses a cross with three candles on its, set up for the solemn blessing of a cemetery according to the Pontifical of Clement VIII. (Image used by the kind permission of the Pitts Theological Library, Candler School of Theology at Emory University.)

These things are done, not because there is any sense left in cadavers, but as a figure, namely, either so that men may hope for the resurrection, or for God’s mercy, or to bring His benevolence, since such offices of piety are pleasing to Him. Now a man should be buried in such a way that his head is towards the West, and his feet towards the East, as if he were praying in that position, which signifies that he is ready to hasten from the setting of the sun to its rising, that is, from the world to eternity. And wherever a Christian is buried outside a cemetery, a cross must always be put at his head to signify that he was a Christian, because the devil greatly dreads this sign, and fears to come to a place marked with the sign of the Cross.

Faithful Christians ought also to be buried with a cloth on the face, the custom which country people observe, taking it from the Gospel, in which we read about the face-cloth and shroud of Christ. Some people sew sack-cloth onto this, so that by this garment they may represent the signs of penance, for ashes and sackcloth are the arms of the penitent. Nor should the dead be dressed in common clothes, as they do in Italy, and, as some people say, they ought to be wearing shoes, to signify that they are ready for the judgment (i.e. to stand before Christ at the judgment).

If they are ordained as clerics, they should be clothed the instruments which the orders that they have require … and although in the other orders this practice is often omitted because of poverty, with a priest or a bishop, it should never be omitted, for the priestly vestments signify the virtues, with which those two orders above all others ought to be presented (to God). Pope Eutychian (275-83) established that no one should bury the martyrs without a dalmatic or a violet tunic.

The Funeral of St Martin, 1322-26, depicted in the chapel dedicated to him in the lower basilica of St Francis in Assisi, by the Sienese painter Simone Martini (1284-1344). Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

The question is also posed whether men will be nude or clothed after the day judgment. And it seems that they will be clothed, for angels are always wont to appear clothed, and Christ also after the Resurrection appeared clothed, and at the Transfiguration, whence His garments were made white like snow. On the contrary, it seems that they will be naked, for authority has it that we will be in the same form in which Adam was before he sinned, and even in a better one, therefore we likewise will be nude. The solution is this: we make no definition about the garment, but say only this, that there will be no deformity, nor any adversity, or infirmity, and we will be dressed and adorned with the garments of the virtues. …

The Last Judgment, painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel from 1536-41. The nudity of the great majority of the figures, (the object of much criticism at the time the painting was made), expresses the Church’s belief that in “the resurrection of the flesh”, the sin of Adam will be finally and definitively undone, and with it, the shame which we feel over our nakedness, caused by that sin. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)

… because it is written (Lev. 21, 11) that “the priest shall not go in at all to any dead man, neither shall he go out of the holy places,” the Roman Pontiff does not go to the house of a deceased person. Again, because it is said in the same place, “Neither shall they shave their head, nor their beard, nor make incisions in their flesh”, therefore, those who are saddened by the death of their loved ones let their beards grow, and do not cut their hair, and also wear black clothing, so that through their somber dress and grief, they may seem to be buried along with the dead.

Durandus on Prayer for the Dead (Part 3): the Mass and Divine Office

The following is taken from the entry on All Souls’ Day in William Durandus’  Rationale Divinorum Officiorum (7.35), the Summa Theologiae of medieval liturgical commentaries. This is one of the longest sections of the seventh book, which covers the Sanctoral cycle, and is being presented in several parts over the course of this month especially dedicated to prayer for the dead; click here to read part 1 and part 2. On four occasions, Durandus refers his reader to other parts of the Rationale where he has already explained something; the reference numbers to these are given in red at the beginning of the relevant paragraphs.

The Office of the Dead imitates the three days of Christ’s burial in every way, for just as on the Triduum, so also in this Office we omit all the songs of praise, and take away all the signs of solemnity. In the Mass, we do not ask for blessings from the bishop (or priest), and in the Office, we do not say “Lord, thou shalt open my lips”, nor “God, come to my assistance” nor “Let us bless the Lord”, nor even the invitatory (unless the body is present), nor “Glory be to the Father” at the responsories and the end of the Psalms, nor do we ask for or give a blessing at the lessons, nor do we say “Tu autem, Domine” or “Thanks be to God”; in the Mass, we do not say Alleluja, nor the Gloria in excelsis, nor Ite, Missa est. For in the old Law it was prohibited to offer the oil of rejoicing and the incense of sweetness for sin. Death is the avenging of sin, and for this reason, where there is sin, there is also darkness, nor should there be rejoicing or the singing of the joyful songs where there is mourning and sadness of the spirit, and funeral rites are celebrated for the dead with mourning.

The Burial of Christ, ca. 1865-79, by the Danish painter Carl Bloch (1834-90). (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)

Again, we suppress praises because, not knowing where the dead go, we do not know whether we ought to praise God for his justice or his mercy; we suppress joy because we enter into this world with sadness, and go out of it with greater more sadly. Therefore, a Sequence also ought not to be said, since it is the song of rejoicing. (Durandus wrote this before the universal adoption of the Dies irae into the Requiem Mass.)

Furthermore, although in a Mass for the living all should be incensed, to signify that their prayers are directed towards heaven, nevertheless, in the Mass for the dead, the altar and the choir incense should not to be incensed, but only the body… Therefore no one is incensed in this service, to signify the dead can no longer merit anything by their praises, whence the psalmist says (113, 25), “the dead shall not praise thee, o Lord.”

The deacon incensing the catafalque during the Absolution in the Ambrosian Rite. 

The bodies of the dead are incensed and sprinkled with blessed water, not so that their sins may be taken away, which at that point cannot be taken away for such things, but so that all presence of unclean spirits maybe warded off. These things are also done as a sign of the society and communion of the sacraments which they had with us while they were alive. For this reason also, Denis (the Areopagite) tells that in ancient times, the living would kiss the dead as a sign of the unity which they had with them. These things and others like them benefit them to the degree that through such things, reverence is offered to God himself.

6.52.2 At the Introit of the dead Requiem aeternam, two verses are said, because we pray for the dead, asking that they be given rest of both body and soul. The second verse is said in place of “Glory be to the Father…”, which is omitted in the Office of the Dead, since the dead can no longer praise the Trinity…

4.15.16 In Masses for the dead, the collect for the living, as it is called, should not be added, not even the common one composed by Augustine, “God, who rulest over the living and the dead”, to signify that the dead cannot help the living in this life, not even to implore eternal life (for them)…

The Peace is not given for three reasons. The first is that this service … follows the three days of Christ’s burial, when the Peace is not given in detestation of Judas’ kiss. Second, because we have no communication with the dead, since they cannot answer us… This is the reason why a body should never be in the church as long as the Mass of the day is being celebrated. Indeed, if it were there before, it ought to be taken outside the church into the vestibule, however great the authority of the deceased was while they were living, and afterwards be brought back in for the Mass for the dead.

The third is that just one bread is made as from many grains gathered together, and one wine is distilled from many clusters of grapes, so also the one Church is built and united from many faithful, some of whom are good and some bad. Therefore, because we do not know whether a dead man is in union with the Church and has peace and reconciliation with his Creator, we do not give the Peace at Mass, nor do we bring forth any praises for the dead, … for their rest is not yet apparent.

4.53.8 In the Mass for the dead the peace is not given, because the faithful souls are no longer in the tribulation of this world, and never will be again, but are already resting in the Lord; and for this reason, the kiss, which is the sign of peace and harmony, is not necessary for them. For the same reason, in that Mass the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ who gave peace to your apostles” is not said, nor does the priest receive the peace from the altar. … this is also the reason why among monks the peace is not given, since they are counted as being dead to the world.

… the Office of the Dead begins with Vespers, after which follow the vigils, which are of three kinds. In some churches, nine readings are done from Job… in others, they are taken from the book of Wisdom … but in others from a sermon of Augustine. But wherever they are taken from, they begin without a title or blessing, and without “Tu autem, Domine”, following the custom which is observed in the funeral rites which we celebrate for Christ on the Triduum. But in some churches, in place of “Tu autem, Domine”, the readings end with “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord,” from the book of the Apocalypse (14, 13).

The readings described below in a breviary according to the Use of Bamberg, printed in 1501. 

“From the book of Wisdom” – Durandus is here referring to a set of brief readings which some churches had for the daily celebration of the Office of the Dead, the first three of which are taken from the books of Wisdom. (Proverbs 5, 9-11; Ecclesiastes 7, 2-3; ibid. 12, 1 and 7). The next three, however, are from the Prophets (Isaiah 26, 19; Hosea 13, 14-15; Daniel 12, 2-3), and the last three from the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15, 22-23; ibid. 51-52; 1 Thessalonians 5, 2-5 and Apocalypse 14, 13).

The Psalm “A hymn becometh Thee, o God” (64), is frequently said in this service, because it treats of the return of the sons of Israel from captivity to the promised land; so also the dead go from the misery of captivity to eternal life. …

5.9.10 The Office of the dead … does not have second Vespers, to signify that it will have an end, and the souls of those who shall be saved, delivered from every pain, shall enjoy eternal blessedness.

At the council of Toledo, it was established that a priest who celebrates Mass for the dead so that his enemy may meet his death should be deposed, and both he and the one who incited him to do this should be punished with perpetual exile.

Durandus on Prayer for the Dead (Part 2)

The following is taken from the entry on All Souls’ Day in William Durandus’ Rationale Divinorum Officiorum (7.35), the Summa Theologiae of medieval liturgical commentaries. This is one of the longest sections of the seventh book, which covers the Sanctoral cycle, and will be presented in several parts in this month especially dedicated to prayer for the dead. Click here to read part 1.

On a (major) feast day, an anniversary Requiem ought not to be celebrated, nor should a Mass for the dead be said unless the body is present. But in every season the Mass for the dead can be celebrated if the cadaver is present, except on Good Friday, since on that day the body ought not to be buried, but rather reserved for the next day. And then on Saturday the Mass can be sung for it, and the body buried. Likewise, if anyone should die on Easter, let his body be laid aside for the next day, and then be buried with the celebration of the Mass, for a body ought not to be buried without a Mass, although the contrary is done in very many places.

And although according to the Council of Chalon, prayer and sacrifice should be offered for the dead daily, on the aforementioned days (the third, seventh and thirtieth after burial, and on the anniversary), this is done especially by the friends (of the deceased). Indeed, some people generally pray for the dead at the evening and morning Office in all seasons, excepting only feast days; others celebrate Mass for them daily, others at the beginning of each month sing nine psalms, nine readings and nine responsories (i.e. the Office of the dead with three nocturns at Matins), and indeed, it is a holy thought and profitable to salvation to pray for the dead, that they may be released from sin. (2 Macc. 12, 46; from the Epistle for the anniversary Requiem.)

In some places the Office of the dead is not said in church from Holy Thursday until the octave of Pentecost, since they say that all the offices of that time ought to be brief, and also not on Sundays. And the story is told that a certain abbot prohibited his monks from celebrating for the dead on Sundays, but because of this, the dead themselves afflicted him with harsh beatings, and therefore he revoked this prohibition.

Note also that the prayers which are offered in the churches for the dead who are very good are acts of thanksgiving; for those souls which are perfectly good, as soon as they go out of their bodies, fly to the heavens and have no need of our assistance. For the moderately good, expiations are made, or mitigations of their pains, since they enter purgatory, because while they were alive, they did not complete the penance enjoined upon them, by means of which the alms, prayers, fasts and sacrifices which are done for them benefit them. … as for the very evil, prayers are rather consolations of the living, for the help we proffer does them no good, since their souls immediately go down to hell.

Also note this, that according to Jerome, when a psalm or Mass is said for all souls, it is received no less than if it were said for each one of them … but if they are said for a specific intention, they benefit those for whom they are especially made, rather than others. If they are done in general or in common, they benefit rather those who had greater merit in this life… For according to Augustine *, although they do not benefit all those for whom they are done, nevertheless, because we do not know whom they benefit and whom they do not, they ought to be done for all, so that no one may be left out. For it is better that they be superfluous to those they neither harm nor benefit, and that they should be lacking to those whom they benefit, and therefore the anniversary day is celebrated, as is said above.

* De cura pro mortuis gerenda, chapter 18, a passage added to the Office of the Dead for All Souls by the breviary reform of St Pius X.

The Four Latin Doctors of the Church, 1632, by the Dutch painter Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651). Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

But can the prayers of him who because of mortal sin is not in charity benefit one who died in charity? I answer that sacramental works such as the Mass, the Office of the dead, the collection of alms, and the like, done by such a one, are very powerful, and do benefit the dead, both because they have their efficacy from God, and not from the one who does them, and because he does them not in his own name, but as the representative of all, which it to say, he acts in the name of the whole church…

For if we condemn the prayers of men whose conscience reproves them for sin, the dead will be helped by the prayers of few. Therefore, it seems we ought to say that the prayers of the man who is still in faith, even though he is not in charity, do not benefit the one who dies in charity from the merit of the life of the one who makes them; nevertheless, because these prayers are made according to the teaching of the Church, through one who is in faith, and for one who has merited to receive such benefits, where the charity of the doer fails, the merit of faith supplies, as does the charity of the Church that commands him to make the prayer, and the capacity of the dead man who receives them, and also the generosity of the merciful God, who according to Ambrose does not revoke His benefits, but rather makes even greater His overflowing generosity, and in that generosity, considers a good work done by someone as if it were done by the one whom it benefits.

For even according to the laws (of man), if someone pays the debt of another, the debtor himself is set free … and according to Augustine, even though nothing is begotten from a stone trough, nevertheless, the water that passes through it makes the earth fertile. And Jerome says, “If perchance you see someone do things that are just, even in the midst of many sinful works, nevertheless God is not unjust, such that He should forget the few good things for the sake of the many evil ones.”

Dante and Vergil converse with the envious on the second ledge of Purgatory. Illustration by Priamo della Quercia, in a manuscript of the Divine Comedy produced in Siena in the mid-15th century, now known as the Yates Thompson Dante. Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

The dead know of the prayers which are done for them in three ways according to Augustine: first, by divine revelation, when God reveals this to them; second, through the representation of good angels, for the angels who are always present here with us … can go down to them and announce them to them immediately; third, through what they learn from those souls that depart from the earth (i.e. the newly arrived in Purgatory); fourth, by experience, namely, when they feel that they are released from their pains.

It should be known that the dead who are very bad do not know what is done by the living, except insofar as it is permitted to them to know it. Likewise, neither do the moderately good know, those who are still in the fire of purgatory, and do not yet enjoy the vision of God, except insofar as it is permitted to them to know by one of the ways mentioned above. But the very good, who now enjoy the vision of God, know very well what is going on here on earth, according to what Gregory say, “What is there that they do not know, those who see the One who sees all things?” Nevertheless, others say that they know all the things which are necessary to them, but not other things…

As to whether the dead have any care for the living, Augustine treats of this extensively in his book On the care to be taken for the dead. Furthermore, as Augustine says, “Many believe that some of the dead appear to the living, either in dreams or in some other way”, and we find in Gregory’s Dialogues that they have often given indication where their bodies lay unburied, or urged that burial be arranged for them, and countless other things of this sort, and those things are true, and so it is found in a great many other authentic writings.

Nevertheless, as the same Augustine says in the aforementioned book, although the dead seem to indicate or ask such things in dreams, we ought not therefore to think that they know of these things. For the living also very often appear in dreams to those who are asleep, but do not know that they appear to them, … for which reason, we ought rather to believe that these are the workings of angels, done through God’s Providence for some form of consolation of the living. ….

Durandus on Prayer for the Dead (Part 1)

The following is taken from the entry on All Souls’ Day in William Durandus’ Rationale Divinorum Officiorum (7.35), the Summa Theologiae of medieval liturgical commentaries. This is one of the longest sections of the seventh book, which covers the Sanctoral cycle, and will be presented in several parts as we begin the month especially dedicated to prayer for the dead.

This Office follows the feast of All Saints, and three consecutive days are dedicated to three mysteries. For the vigil of All Saints is a day of affliction; the solemnity is a day of exultation; but today is a day of prayer. On the first day, we afflict ourselves by fasting, as we remember the misery of this present life. On the second, we rejoice together with the blessedness of the Saints, bringing thanksgivings to the Lord. On the third, we pray for those who are detained in purgatory, obtaining for them with our prayers either a lesser suffering, or full absolution.

The commemoration of all the faithful departed was instituted by the Church on this day so that they might be helped by general services… for as Peter Damian says, St Odilo (born 962; abbot of Cluny from 994-1049), upon learning that at the volcano of Sicily (i.e. Mt Etna) frequent voices and wails of weeping demons were heard, because the souls of the deceased were being snatched away from their hands through almsgiving and prayers, decreed that in his monasteries, after the feast of All Saints, there should be a commemoration of the departed, which was afterwards approved by the whole Church. …

A statue of St Odilo of Cluny in the basilica of St Urban in Troyes, France. As the inventor of All Souls’ Day, he is shown standing in the middle of the flames of Purgatory. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by GO69, CC0 1.0)

This Office had its beginning in the Old Law, for, just as Ambrose says, when Jacob was dead, Joseph and his other brothers with many Egyptians brought him to Hebron, but first they wept for forty days in Egypt, and afterwards wept for him for seven days in the field of Harad. And again, we read in Deuteronomy that when Moses was dead, the people of Israel wept for thirty days, as they had done for Aaron and Miriam. Again, Solomon says, “The mourning for the dead is seven days: but for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of their life”, because they die forever. (This is actually in Sirach 22, 13, which medieval often spoke of, inexplicably, as if it were written by Solomon.)

Note that some people keep the memorial for the dead on the third day, or for three days, representing the three days of the Lord’s burial, looking to the resurrection of Christ, who rose on the third day, and desiring the resurrection with Christ for the dead; or else, looking to the Trinity; or so that the sins which they committed may be forgiven them, because while they were living they sinned in three ways, namely in thought, word and deed.

A Cretan icon of the 1490s.

Others have Mass celebrated for seven days, and both of these customs are shown in the book of Numbers (19, 11) where it is said, “he that touches the cadaver of a man, and for this sake shall be unclean for seven days, shall be sprinkled of this water on the third day and on the seventh, and thus shall he be cleansed.” Clearly, the one unclean because of the cadaver signifies the soul of the dead man, polluted because of dead works.

Therefore the Mass is celebrated for seven days, first, so that the dead man may be able to come the more quickly to the Sabbath of eternal rest; second, so that all the sins may be forgiven him which he committed in life, life lived over seven days. (This refers to the classical idea of the seven ages of man.) Third, because of the sevenfold nature of soul and body; for the soul has three powers, namely the rational, the concupiscent, and the irascible, while the body is made of four the elements. Therefore, in order that the sins which a man has committed through this sevenfold nature … maybe deleted, a sevenfold celebration is made for the dead. Fourth, just as the sons of Jacob wept for seven days when he died, as mentioned above, so also the Church celebrates the Office for its Dead for seven days.

Others have Mass celebrated for the Dead for thirty days, or on the thirtieth day, in the first place because the sons of Israel wept that many days for Moses and Aaron, as is mentioned above; in the second place, because three times ten makes thirty, and by three we understand the Trinity, by ten the decalogue. Therefore, we make three tens for the dead, so the sins they have committed in the observation of the decalogue or the precepts of Christ, and against the Trinity, maybe forgiven them by the mercy of God. In the third place, because the number of the moon is perfected in thirty days; therefore the Office is done for the dead for thirty days, so that their works may be understood to be full before God.

The Last Testament, Death and Burial of Moses, 1482, by Luca Signorelli. Fresco on a wall of the Sistine Chapel.

Some also celebrate forty Masses for a period of forty days, so that the sins which they have committed against the teaching of the Four Gospels and in the ten precepts of the Law may be forgiven them. Again, those who keep the fortieth day represent the Lord’s burial, desiring that the dead have glory with Christ who for forty hours lay in the tomb, counting from the hour in which He breathed forth his spirit to the last hour of Sunday night, on which He rose, according to Augustine. They represent also that which is said above, that when Jacob had died, his sons mourned him for forty days.

Others keep a period of fifty days. In the Gloss (i.e. the Glossa ordinaria, the standard Biblical commentary of reference in the Middle Ages), Bede and Gregory comment on the place in which it is written that Abraham asked of the Lord who wanted to destroy Sodom (Genesis 18, 16-33), “ ‘if there should be fifty therein, will thou destroy them?’ and the Lord answered, ‘No’,” saying that fifty is a perfect number, which signifies the jubilee year, that is, the eighth age, in which there shall be forgiveness and full liberty. Therefore, so that the souls of the dead may obtain full liberty and remission of their sins, they celebrate the office for them for fifty days.

Others keep a period of sixty days, since the sixtieth day signifies the grief of the Church for the absence of Her Spouse… so do they represent grief for the absence of the deceased person. And for their consolation, and the expiation of the soul of the dead, sacrifices offered to the Lord, and alms are distributed to the poor.

Some also keep the hundredth day, so that the dead may pass from the right to the left, from striving to triumph, from earth to heaven, from misery to glory, from death to life. For they long for them eternal blessedness, which is indicated by the 100th day.

Two folios of the Gellone Sacramentary, ca. 780 AD, showing Masses for the Dead. The Mass which begins on the bottom of the left side is that for the third, seventh and thirtieth days after death; the second prayer on the right side is for the anniversary Mass.

Now some others observe the anniversary for three reasons. First, so that the dead may come from the years of calamity to the years of eternity, or rather to eternal life which is without end, like a year which always returns to itself, and because there is sameness and no variety shall be found.

Second, because just as we celebrate the anniversary of the Saints for their honor and for our benefit… so also we celebrate the anniversary of the dead for their benefit and our devotion.

Third, the day of the anniversary is repeated for the dead for this reason, because according to Augustine, we do not know how it goes with them in the other life, and it is better that the benefit (of our prayers) be superfluous for them than that it be lacking (where needed.)

But if an anniversary falls on a Sunday or a solemnity, it ought not to be moved to the following day, as is done with the feasts of the Saints; but rather, it should be done on the preceding day, so that help may be given more quickly to the pains of the deceased which they bear in purgatory; for the dead need our help and benefit, the Saints do not.

The Premonstratensian Libera me, Domine

One of the most beautiful and beloved pieces of the Gregorian chant repertoire is the last responsory of Matins of the Dead, Libera me, Domine, which is also sung during the Absolution at the catafalque. The Roman version, certainly the best known, is one of the rare examples of a responsory with more than one verse; another very prominent example is the very first responsory of the liturgical year, Aspiciens a longe on the First Sunday of Advent. Many medieval Uses expanded Libera me by adding more verses, and there are dozens of variants recorded. Here is the text of the Premonstratensian version as sung on All Souls’ Day, which has three additional verses. (I was unable to find a recording of it; the Roman one is given below.) The first two of these, Tremens factus sum and Dies illa, are in the opposite order from the Roman version; the additional verses are sung only on All Souls and for the funeral of a deceased member of the Order. The repetitions of the responsory are also arranged differently; they are here given in full. As in most medieval Uses, the words Requiem aeternam ... luceat eis are not sung with any of the responsories in their Office of the Dead.

R. Líbera me, Dómine, de morte aeterna * in die illa tremenda, * Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra, * dum véneris judicáre sáeculum per ignem.
V. j. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitátis et miseriæ, dies magna et amára valde, quando caeli movendi sunt et terra.
V. ij. Tremens factus sum ego et tímeo, dum discussio vénerit atque ventúra ira in die illa tremenda.
V. iij. Quid ego misérrimus, quid dicam, vel quid faciam, cum nil boni pérferam ante tantum júdicem in die illa tremenda?
V. iv. Plangent super se omnes tribus terrae; vix justus salvabitur, et ego miser ubi parebo in die illa tremenda?
V. v. Nunc, Christe, te déprecor, miserére, pie; qui venisti redímere nos, perpetim veni salvare in die illa tremenda, quando caeli movendi sunt et terra, dum véneris judicáre sáeculum per ignem.

R. Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that awful day * when the heavens and the earth shall be shaken, when Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
V. j. That day shall be a day of wrath, of calamity and misery, a great day, and exceeding bitter. When the heavens and the earth shall be shaken.
V. ij. Trembling do I become, and fearful, when the trial and wrath shall come on that awful day.
V. iij. What shall I say or do, most wretched man that I am, since I have no good to bring before so great a judge on that awful day?
V. iv. All the tribes of the earth shal weep for themselves, the just man shall scarcely be saved, and where shall, a wretched man, appear on that awful day?
V. v. Now, o Christ, I beseech Thee, have mercy, o Good one; Thou who came to redeem us, come ever to save us on that awful day when the heavens and the earth shall be shaken, when Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.

Photopost Request: All Saints and All Souls 2023

Our next photopost series will be for the feast of All Saints and the Commemoration of All Souls, which will be celebrated tomorrow and Thursday. As always, we welcome pictures of Mass in either Form, or the Ordinariate Rite, as well as the vigil Mass of All Saints, celebrations of the Divine Office on any of these days, and displays of relics. We will also include celebrations of the feast of Christ the King, and other feasts occurring in these days, if anyone sends them in. Please be sure to include the name and location of the church, and always feel free to add any other information you think important; email them to photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org. (Zipfiles are preferred.) Evangelize through beauty!

From our first All Saints and All Souls photopost of last year: relics displayed on the altar of St Matthew on All Saints’ day at Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, the FSSP church in Rome.

The Office of the Dead said in the Catholic cemetery of Ottawa, Ontario, by the FSSP apostolate at St Clement’s Church.

From the second post: Requiem Mass at the church of the Assumption and St Charles (Karlov) in Prague, the Czech Republic.

Recitation of the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart at the Oratory of Ss Cyril and Methodius in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on the patronal feast of the Institute of Christ the King.

From a November photopost catch-up: the absolution at the catafalque at the Oratory of St Joseph, the ICRSP church in Hammond, Indiana.

Mass for the feast of St Catherine of Alexandria in a church dedicated to her in Karis, Finland.

Photopost Catch-Up for November

Before the beginning of the new liturgical year, here are a few photopost items, one sent in yesterday, and two others which ought to have gone in with the All Saints and All Souls posts, but slipped through the cracks of my email. (My apologies to those who sent them in.)

St Catherine of Alexandria – Karis, Finland

Missa cantata on the patronal feast day, sung by the Schola Gregoriana from Turku; the building belongs to the Evangelical church of Finland, which hosted the local Catholic community as it has in the past, to celebrate the Mass for which it was built. The church was built in 1470; note that a lot of the original decorations are preserved. (Courtesy of Thomas Nguyễn)

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All Saints, All Souls and Christ the King Photopost 2022 (Part 2)

The second part of our All Saints and All Souls photopost also includes three sets of images of celebrations on the feast of Christ the King, starting with a particularly nice set from one of our favorite photographers, Allison Girone. How encouraging it is to see such young people taking responsibility for preserving the authentic liturgical traditions of the Roman Rite, and passing them on to the coming generations - tradition will always be for the young! 

St James – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

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All Saints and All Souls Photopost 2022 (Part 1)

As always, we are very grateful to all our photopost contributors, this time for the liturgies of All Saints’ day and the commemoration of All Souls, as well as some other recent major feasts. There will be at least one more post in this series, and there is always room for more, so you are always welcome to send your photos to photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org; remember to include the name and location of the church, and any other information you think important.

We begin with a beautiful custom which has been maintained for several years now at the FSSP’s parish in Rome, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini. On the feast of All Saints, all of the church’s relics are brought out and placed on the various altars; on the evening of the feast, they are officially presented to the faithful for veneration, one by one, after which Vespers is celebrated, and during the Magnificat, all of the altars are incensed. (The incensation of several altars can be done on any major feast.) Here we see the main altar set up for the solemn Mass of the feast.

The altar of the Virgin in the left transept.

The altar of St Matthew, patron of the church’s confraternity, in the right transept.

The altar of St Philip Neri, the founder of the church and its confraternity.

The altar of St John Baptist de Rossi (1698-1764), who was a member of the confraternity. His body was formerly kept in the altar itself until the 1960s, when it was transferred to a new parish in the Roman suburbs named after him.

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Photopost Request: All Saints and All Souls 2022

Our next photopost series will be for the feast of All Saints and the Commemoration of All Souls, which will be celebrated next Tuesday and Wednesday. As always, we welcome pictures of Mass in either Form, or the Ordinariate Rite, as well as the vigil Mass of All Saints, celebrations of the Divine Office on any of these days, and displays of relics. We will also include celebrations of the traditional feast of Christ the King, and other feasts occurring in these days, if anyone sends them in. Please be sure to include the name and location of the church, and always feel free to add any other information you think important; email them to photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org. (Zipfiles are preferred.) Evangelize through beauty!

From our first All Saints and All Souls photopost of last year: the absolution at the catafalque at Old Maleizen Monastery in Belgium.

Solemn Mass of All Souls at St Mary of Redford in Detroit, Michigan

From the second post: the Brothers of the Little Oratory in San Diego, California, celebrate Vespers on the feast of Christ the King within the former site of the old presidio, almost certainly the first religious service to be held there since the fort was abandoned by the Spanish in 1831.

The chanting of the Gospel during the solemn Mass of All Saints at the Oratory of St Mary in Wausau, Wisconsin. (ICRSP)

From the third post: relics displayed on the high altar of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, the FSSP church in Rome, on All Saints’ Day.

A Eucharistic procession on the feast of Christ the King at the church of the Holy Innocents in New York City.

All Saints and All Souls 2021 Photopost (Part 3)

Our final photopost for All Saints and All Souls of this year begins with something very interesting from a church which has and deserves a world-wide reputation for celebrating the traditional rite particularly well, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, the FSSP church in Rome. For the feast of All Saints, all of the churches relics were displayed on the various altars.

On the high altar, the reliquaries in the upper rank are (from left to right) St Augustine, St Gregory the Great, St Pius V, and St Charles Borromeo; these were made for the celebration of St Charles’s canonization in 1610. The busts on the lower rank are a Saint from the catacombs whose name I forget, and St Philip Neri, the founder of the church’s confraternity, set between statues of the Apostles John, Peter, Paul and Matthew.

Relics of various Saints, mostly martyrs, on the altar of the right transept, which is dedicated to the Apostle St Matthew.

Images from the sacristy on the altar of the right transept: left, St Giovanni Battista de’ Rossi, who lived at the church in the mid-18th century, and was a member of its confraternity; center, the archangel Raphael, patron of medicine and healing, since the confraternity ran a pilgrim hospice which was also used to care for the sick; and right, St Benedict Joseph Labré.

On the evening of November 1st, before 2nd Vespers of All Saints, each reliquary was displayed to the faithful by the parish priest, as one of his confreres read out the names of the Saints whose relics are contained within them. 

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All Saints and All Souls 2021 Photopost (Part 2)

First of all, my apologies to everyone who sent these in for not getting this post done sooner; I was traveling for several days, and had less time to work on NLM than I thought I would. I am now back home, and will be more diligent about finishing, because we still have more contributions than we can convenient fit into one post, and so there will be yet another within this series (this week, I promise!) So we can still fit in some late submissions, if anyone would care to send them in to photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org, always remembering to include the name and location of the church, and any other information you think important. Keep up the good work of evangelizing through beauty!

Oratory of St Mary – Wausau, Wisconsin (ICRSP)

All Saints

Tradition will always be for the young!

All Souls

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