Axios Men’s Ensemble Concert Tour of Benedict Sheehan’s Ukrainian War Requiem

In 2022, the Axios Men’s Ensemble commissioned Benedict Sheehan, a three-time Grammy award nominee, to compose a memorial in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, entitled Ukrainian War Requiem. This war, which began in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, has tragically claimed countless lives. This music is a solemn tribute to these victims. This November, from the 6th to the 15th, the Ensemble will bring the Requiem on a concert tour to nine locations across Canada.

Earlier this year, the Axios Men’s Ensemble was awarded Canada’s highest musical honour – a JUNO Award for the Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) for the recording of the Ukrainian War Requiem. This marks the first time in JUNO Awards history that an a cappella recording has earned this distinction in the category.

Sheehan’s composition, spanning 12 movements, draws inspiration primarily from the Byzantine burial service, a ritual shared by Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches. Reflecting Ukraine’s diverse linguistic and religious landscape, the Requiem also weaves in elements from Jewish and Roman Catholic traditions. These varied texts serve multiple purposes: they offer solace and strength to the living, especially those grieving; they provide a space for praying for both victims and aggressors; and they ultimately aspire to convey hope, peace, and goodwill.

It is an expansive and sublime piece (already reviewed by Thomas Neal here on NLM!) that skillfully blends modern musical styles with traditional Ukrainian motifs and ancient chants. This arrangement not only reflects the harsh realities of war but also echoes humanity’s deep-seated longing for peace, goodness, truth, and beauty.

Featuring over 50 performers, the ensemble brings together members of the Axios Men’s Ensemble, Pro Coro Canada, and select soloists from North America, Europe, and Ukraine. The performance will be conducted by Maestro Michael Zaugg.

This Requiem is more than just music. It is a reverent homage to those affected by the war, a reminder of the enduring human spirit, and a heartfelt tribute to Ukraine and her people.

Tickets are available at www.axiosmensensemble.com

The Ambrosian Absolution at the Catafalque

On All Souls’ Day, I posted a description of the Ambrosian Requiem Mass; as a follow-up, here is a description of the Ambrosian Absolution at the catafalque.

When the Mass is over, the celebrant and major ministers go to the Epistle side and remove their maniples; the celebrant removes his chasuble and dons a black cope. They then process out to the catafalque and stand at the head of it, preceded by two acolytes, one carrying the thurible and boat, and the other the holy water vessel and aspergil. In the meantime, the following antiphons are sung; the ninth, “In paradisum”, is sung only for the funeral of a bishop, priest or deacon. The music for these is quite simple, much of it with only one note per syllable, and the total length by note-count is less than that of the responsory Libera me which is sung at the Roman Absolution. (There are a number of other rites in the Ambrosian liturgy at which several antiphons are sung in a row without psalmody in this fashion, e.g. the Rogation days.)

Usque in vita mea laudavi te, Domine: da requiem mihi cum Sanctis tuis in regione vivorum, et salva me.	In my life I have always praised Thee, o Lord; grant me rest with Thy Saints in the land of the living, and save me.
Memorare, Domine, quae sit mea substantia; quis est homo qui vivit, et non videbit mor- tem?	Remember, O Lord, what I am made of; what man liveth, and shall not see death?
Adhaesit pavimento anima mea: vivifica me, Domine, secundum verbum tuum.	My soul hath cleaved to the pave- ment: quicken Thou me according to thy word. Ps. 118, 25
Portio mea in terra viventium: me expectant justi, donec retri- buas mihi.	My portion in the land of the living; the just wait for me, until Thou re- ward me. Ps. 141, 6 & 8
Vide, Domine, humilitatem me- am, et dimitte omnia peccata mea.	See, o Lord, my abjection, and for- give all my sins. Ps. 24, 18
Tu jussisti nasci me, Domine; repromisisti, ut resurgerem. Jussione tua venio, Sanctissime; ne derelinquas me, quia pius es.	Thou didst command me to be born, o Lord, that I might rise again. At Thy command I come, o most Holy one; abandon me not, for Thou art gracious.
Credo, quod Dominus non me derelinquet, nec condemnabit me, cum venerit ad judicandum, sed miserebitur mei Redemptor meus, pius Deus.	I believe that the Lord will not abandon me, nor condemn me, when He shall come to judge, but my Redeemer, the gracious God, will have mercy on me.
Etenim pauci fuerunt dies mei; da mihi requiem cum Sanctis tuis, Domine.	And indeed my days have been few; give me rest with Thy Saints, o Lord.
In paradisum deducant te An- geli, et cum gaudio suscipiant te sancti Martyres Dei.	May the Angels lead thee into Para- dise, and may the holy Martyrs of God receive thee with joy.
Tu es, Domine, protector meus; in manus tuas, Domine, com- mendo spiritum meum.	Thou art my protector, o Lord; into Thy hands, o Lord, I commend my spirit. Ps. 30, 5-6

In the following video, the antiphons are sung (from 0:36 to 4:43) alternating between the women’s and men’s sections of the choir; In paradisum is included, with the object “te” changed to the plural “vos”.

Once the antiphons are finished, the deacon intones another: “Redemptor meus vivit, * et in novissimo me renovabit. V. Renovabuntur denuo ossa mea, et in carne mea videbo Dominum Deum. – My Redeemer liveth, and at the end he shall renew me. V. My bones shall be renewed again, and in my flesh I shall see the Lord my God.” (Job 19, 25-26) This is a rare example of an “antiphona duplex”, an antiphon which is sung in full both before and after the psalm; the two parts (before and after the V.) are sung by two groups within the choir. The choir then begins Psalm 50, and the celebrant imposes incense in the thurible without blessing it.

At the verse “Asperges me hyssopo”, the celebrant takes the aspergil, and accompanied by the acolytes, who hold up the ends of the cope, he makes a circuit around the catafalque as in the Roman Rite, sprinkling each side of it with holy water three times. At the same time, the deacon takes the thurible and, walking immediately behind him, incenses the catafalque three times on each side. They return together to their place at the head of the catafalque. When the psalm is finished (without Gloria Patri or Requiem aeternam, neither of which is said with the psalms and canticles in the Office of the Dead), and the antiphon repeated, the celebrant says “Dominus vobiscum”, and a prayer appropriate to the occasion.

The deacon incensing the catafalque.

There follows a responsory from the Office of the Dead, which is also sung at the Requiem Mass as the Psalmellus, the Ambrosian equivalent of the Gradual. The rubric lectoris indicates that the chant is to be led by a lector; there are many parts of the Ambrosian liturgy which are assigned to specific members of the clergy or choir in this way.

Responsorium lectoris Qui suscitasti Lazarum quatriduanum foetidum, tu dona eis requiem, et locum indulgentiae. V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Dómine: et lux perpétua lúceat eis. Tu dona eis requiem, et locum indulgentiae. – Thou who raised Lazarus that stank on the fourth day, grant to them rest, and a place of indulgence. Eternal rest grant to them, o Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. Grant to them rest, and a place of indulgence.

However, on All Souls’ Day, and at the Requiem of bishops, including the Pope, and on their anniversaries, the following is sung instead.

Responsorium diaconi Rogamus te, Domine Deus, quia peccavimus tibi: veniam petimus quam non meremur. * Manum tuam porrige lapsis, qui latroni confitenti paradisi januas aperuisti V. Vita nostra in dolore suspirat, et in opere non emendat: si expectas, non corripimur, et si vindicas, non duramus. Manum tuam... – We ask Thee, Lord God, because we have sinned against Thee: we seek forgiveness, which we do not deserve. * Stretch out Thy hand to the fallen, Who didst open the gates of Paradise to the thief that confessed. V. Our life sigheth in sorrow, and emendeth not in deed; if Thou forbear, we are not reproved, and if Thou avenge, we cannot endure. Stretch out ...

The celebrant and servers standing at the head of the catafalque. This absolution was celebrated at the end of a Requiem Mass for our departed friend Mons. Angelo Amodeo, with our own Nicola dei Grandi serving as the master of ceremonies.

After the responsory, a special form of the Litany of the Saints is said, with all present kneeling. Two cantors begin with “Domine, miserere – Lord, have mercy” three times, each repeated by the choir, then “Christe, libera nos – Christ, deliver us” three times, to which the choir answers “Salvator, libera nos – o Savior, deliver us.” The names of the Saints are then sung by the cantors, to which all others answer “intercede pro eo (ea, eis).” In the Roman Rite, the list of the Saints in the litany is always the same, although other names may be added by immemorial custom; in the Ambrosian Rite, the Saints named in the litany change from one occasion to another. At the Absolution, after the Virgin Mary, the three Archangels are named, followed by Ss John the Baptist and Joseph, and the Apostles Peter, Paul, and Andrew; the martyrs Stephen, Lawrence, Vincent, Nazarius, Celsus, Protasius, Gervasius, George and Sebastian; the Virgin Martyrs Thecla, Catherine, Lucy, Apollonia, Agnes, Euphemia, Cecilia and Ursula; then Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Anne; the bishops Dionysius, Simplician, Eustorgius, Pope Gregory the Great and Augustine; the confessors Jerome, Anthony, and Martin; then Galdinus, Charles Borromeo, and Ambrose, who always conclude the litanies in the Ambrosian Rite, and lastly, “All ye Saints.” The litany ends with three repetitions of “Exaudi, Christe. R. Voces nostras. Exaudi, Deus. R. Et miserere nobis.”, (Hear, o Christ, our voices. Hear o God, and have mercy on us.), and three Kyrie eleisons. (In the first video, it runs from 10:07 to 13:17, sung in an abbreviated form.)

As in the Roman Rite, the celebrant makes the sign of the Cross over the catafalque, saying “Requiem aeternam dona ei (eis) Domine. R. Et lux perpetua luceat ei (eis).” He adds “Anima istius, et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace. R. Amen.” The celebrant and ministers then all return in procession to the sacristy.

Benedict Sheehan’s Ukrainian War Requiem, Reviewed by Thomas Neal

Today marks the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We are honored to share this review by our friend Thomas Neal of a recording of the Ukrainian War Requiem, commissioned by the Axios Men’s Ensemble from composer Benedict Sheehan, in remembrance of the victims of the invasion. The recording is now available from Capella Records. We urge all of our readers to continue pray for an end to the conflict and the establishment of a just peace.

In 2022, Damein Zakordonski and Steven Brese of the Axios Men’s Ensemble commissioned the multiple Grammy-nominated composer Benedict Sheehan to create a new work in honour of those fallen in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The result is a substantial composition in twelve movements titled Ukrainian War Requiem, which received its premiere performance in April 2024. (Video of the part of the premiere performance at the church of St Basil the Great in Edmonton, Alberta; photos below.)

Described as “one of the leading voices in religious classical music in the 21st century” (ConcertoNet), Sheehan works out of the sacred choral traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and has gained international recognition for his Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (2020) and Vespers (2021).

His Ukrainian War Requiem follows the basic structure of the panakhyda, the Byzantine Rite’s memorial service for the dead:

    I. Trisagion Prayers (Трисвятi Молитви)

    II. Psalm 90 (Псалом 90)
    III. Great Litany (Велика Ектенія)
    IV. Alleluia & Troparia (Алилуя і Тропарі)
    V. Evlogitaria of the Departed (Евлогитарії)
    VI. Sessional Hymn of the Departed (Сідальний: Упокой, Спасе наш)
    VII. Psalm 50 (Псалом 50)
    VIII. Canon (Канон)
    IX. With the Souls (З Духами спочилих праведників)
    X. Litany for the Dead (Заупокійна ектенія)
    XI. Eternal Memory & Light (Вічная Пам’ять)

    XII. In Paradisum

As Dr. Deacon Nicholas Denysenko explains in the liner notes:

Ukrainians remember the dead in a beloved ritual called a panakhyda—a type of vigil centred on song. Mourners stand before God, in solidarity with survivors, and sing a panakhyda. It is a ritual reflecting on life and death, a lament of grief and loss, and of hope. [In the face of recent world events] the Ukrainian spirit continues to cry out to God in the panakhyda, commending the dead to God, singing them into God’s realm, remembering them for their sacrifice.

Sheehan selected sacred texts in Ukrainian, English, and Latin, sometimes combining different languages in the same movement. And he has drawn on a variety of musical influences including Ukrainian and Galician chant (галицький розспів), Western plainchant, and a Ukrainian Jewish psalm tone (nusach). These disparate elements are brought together with original thematic material, and the various movements are unified through frequent use of the melody of the Ukrainian national anthem, Shche Ne Vmerla Ukraïna, by Mykhailo Verbytskyi.

Sheehan explains the use of such disparate elements by pointing out that Ukrainian culture and artistic heritage is both multicultural and multireligious. It is very much to the composer’s credit that he has succeeded in drawing on this great variety of musical-liturgical traditions, holding them in creative tension, and making them ‘speak’ to, and of, each other. The result could so easily have been overly sentimental, even kitsch; instead, it is an ‘authentic’ work in the best sense of the term. Sheehan’s Requiem is firmly grounded in musical traditions; but, like the householder “who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old” (Matthew 13, 52), he has not shied away from handling the material with a contemporary voice. The result is a remarkably homogenous composition: the variety of styles, traditions, and languages gives the work a clear structure that is well-proportioned and well-paced.

Sheehan’s Ukrainian War Requiem has now been recorded by the Axios Men’s Ensemble, together with the tenors and basses of Pro Coro Canada, under the direction of Michael Zaugg. The performance is astonishingly good. The exceptional quality of the voices, the consistency of tone throughout the tessitura, and the impeccable tuning and ensemble make for an outstanding performance.

The recording has been released by Cappella Records (CR 432) in time to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (24 February 2022-25). The album includes a 28-page booklet with essays by the composer and Dr. Deacon Nicholas Denysenko, attractive photography, and all texts and translations (the downloaded version includes a PDF of the full booklet).

Sheehan is, without doubt, one of the most innovative and exciting voices in contemporary liturgical composition, and I am sure many NLM readers will want to own this tremendous and timely new release.

Photos of the premiere performance...

conducted by Michael Zaugg of Pro Coro Canada.

soloist Yuliia Zasimova

The Dominican 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 dozens of variants are attested. Here is the text of the Dominican version as sung on All Souls’ Day, which has three additional verses; the last and longest of these is particularly beautiful. Note that the verses Tremens factus sum and Dies illa are in the opposite order from the Roman version, and the Dominicans do not sing the words Requiem aeternam ... luceat eis with any of the responsories in their Office of the Dead. The verses Quid ego miserrimus and Nunc Christe are sung only on November 2.

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.
V. ij  Tremens factus sum ego et tímeo, dum discussio vénerit atque ventúra ira. Dum.
V. iij  Quid ego misérrimus, quid dicam, vel quid faciam, cum nil boni pérferam ante tantum júdicem? Quando.
V. iv  Nunc, Christe, te pétimus, miserére, quæsumus; qui venisti redímere pérditos, noli damnáre redemptos. Dum.
V. v  Creátor omnium rerum Deus, qui me de limo terrae formasti, et mirabíliter proprio sánguine redemisti, corpusque meum, licet modo putrescat, de sepulchro facies in die judicii resuscitári: exaudi, exaudi me, ut ánimam meam in sinu Abrahae, Patriarchae tui, júbeas collocári.
Repetitur R. Líbera me.

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...
V. ij  Trembling do I become, and fearful, when the trial and wrath shall come. When Thou shalt come...
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? When the heavens...
V. iv  Now, o Christ, we ask Thee, have mercy, we beseech Thee; Thou who came to redeem the lost, condemn not the redeemed. When Thou shalt come....
V. v  Creator of all things, o God, Who formed me from the slime of the earth, and wondrously redeemed me with Thy own Blood, and, although it now rot, will cause my body to be raised up from the grave on the day of judgment: hear, o hear me, that Thou may command my soul to be placed in the bosom of Abraham, Thy Patriarch. Deliver me, o Lord...

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.

The Ambrosian Office of the Dead

Since I recently described the Ambrosian Rite’s Requiem Mass and Absolution at the catafalque, in this final post of the series, I will describe its Office of the Dead. Since it is very similar to the Roman version, from which it was mostly copied, it will be sufficient to describe it in broad terms, with particular attention to the notable variants. The Roman Office of the Dead can be consulted in any version of the traditional breviary, and is also available on the Divinum Officium website. Various editions of the Ambrosian Breviary are available on Google Books.

Our longtime Ambrosian writer Nicola de’ Grandi intones an antiphon at Matins of the Dead, sung before a Requiem Mass for Mons. Angelo Amodeo in November of 2012, a couple of months after his death, with the Schola Sainte-Cécile.

First, some general principles. The Ambrosian Office uses an Old Latin text of the psalms and canticles, different from that of the Roman Breviary known as the Gallican Psalter. The Office of the Dead is even more stripped down [1] than the Roman one. Where I write that a text is the same as in the Roman Rite, it should always be understood that the music for it is different. There are no introductory formulae at all, not even the silent Pater, Ave and Credo; the hours simply begin with the first antiphon, and all antiphons are semidoubled. The versicles, which are not a feature of the Ambrosian Office, are also everywhere omitted. The most notable difference from the Roman Office is that the words “Requiem aeternam…luceat eis” are not said at the end of the psalms in place of the doxology, which is simply omitted everywhere.

At Vespers, the same five psalms are said as in the Roman Rite (114, 119, 120, 129 and 137 by the traditional numeration). Their antiphons are almost the same, with a few minor variants in wording (e.g. “complacebo” instead of “placebo” for the first one.) The antiphon of 119 is slightly longer: “Alas for me, that my sojourning is prolonged, to dwell with them that dwell in Cedar.” The antiphon of the Magnificat consists of the same words which are used as the versicle in the Roman Rite: “I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord.’ ”

As in the Roman Rite, the Lord’s Prayer is said in silence as all kneel. The preces which follow it are longer than the Roman ones.
V. Requiem aeternam. R. Et lux.
V. Non intres in judicium. R. Cum servis tuis, Domine. (Enter not into judgment with Thy servants, o Lord.)
V. Ne tradas bestiis animas confitentium tibi. R. Animas pauperum tuorum ne obliviscaris in finem. (Deliver not up to beasts the souls of them that confess to Thee: forget not to the end the souls of Thy poor.)
V. Domine, exaudi orationem nostram. R. Et clamor noster ad te perveniat. (Hear, O Lord, our prayer: and let our cry come to Thee.)
V. Exsurge, Christe, adjuva nos. R. Et libera nos propter nomen tuum. (Arise, o Christ, help us, and deliver us for Thy name’s sake.)

Psalm 50 is then said, followed by another verse of the preces: V. Averte faciem tuam a peccatis nostris. R. Et omnes iniquitates nostras dele. (“Turn away Thy face from our sins, and blot out all our iniquities.”, the 11th verse of the preceding psalm, converted to the plural.) The celebrant then says “Dominus vobiscum” and the prayer or prayers relevant to the occasion. The hour concludes with V. Requiem aeternam and V. Animae istorum et omnium fidelium defunctorum per Dei misericordiam requiéscant in pace. R. Amen. (May the souls of these, (i.e., of those for whom the Office is specifically said) and of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. R. Amen.)

At Matins, there is no invitatory. (The regular Ambrosian Office does have an introductory section analogous to the Roman invitatory, but Psalm 94 is not a part of it.) The psalms, antiphons and readings of the first nocturn are the same as in the Roman Office. Following the normal pattern of Ambrosian Matins, there is a responsory after the first two readings, but not the third. The corpus of responsories is different from the Roman one, and will be explained in greater detail below.

In the second nocturn, the first two psalms (22 and 24) and their antiphons are the same as in the Roman Rite, as are the three readings; the third psalm, however, is Psalm 30 (where the Roman has 26), with the antiphon “Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth; into thy hands I commend my spirit.” This was certainly chosen because the Lord Himself spoke these same words on the Cross.

In the third nocturn, the psalms are 34, 39 and 41, where the Roman Rite has 39, 40 and 41. The antiphon of Psalm 34 is “But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; and shall be delighted for his salvation.” Those of the other two psalms are the same as in the Roman Rite. The first two readings are also the same; the third, however, is 2 Maccabees 12, 43-46, the Roman Epistle for an anniversary Requiem Mass, and a foundational text for the theology of prayer for the dead.

“In those days: the most valiant Judas, have made a collection, sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection. For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead; and because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”

Judah Maccabee Redeeming the Sins of the Dead. From the Hours of Anne de Montmorency, 1550 (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)

Lauds begins with its first antiphon as soon as the last reading is done. The psalmody is the same as in the traditional Roman Rite: 50, 64, 62 and 66, said as a single psalm, an Old Testament canticle, and 148-149-150, said as a single psalm. (Psalms 66, 149 and 150 were not removed after St Pius X’s reform of the Psalter, which was not applied to the Ambrosian Rite in any way.) The antiphon of Psalm 50 is different, however: “In iniquitatibus conceptus sum: peccavi coram te, Domine: miserere mei.” (In iniquities was I conceived; I have sinned before Thee, o Lord; have mercy on me.”) The word “peccavi” instead of “malum feci” is chosen in reference to what King David says when confronted by the prophet Nathan about his affair with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, since it was on this occasion that he composed this Psalm, as is stated in its title.

The Ambrosian repertoire of Old Testament canticles does not include the canticle of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38, 10-20) which is said in the Roman Office of the Dead, and at the ferial office of Tuesday. The Ambrosian Office of the Dead therefore replaces it with Jonah 2, 3-10, which is also sung at Sunday Matins in summertime, and is one of the odes of Byzantine Orthros. However, the antiphon with which it is said is a slightly different version of the Roman antiphon from the canticle of Hezekiah: “A porta inferi erue, Domine, animas eorum.” (“From the gates of hell deliver their souls, o Lord.” The Roman version reads “deliver my soul.”)

The Benedictus follows immediately after the psalmody, with the same antiphon. The rest of Lauds is the same as the end of Vespers (from the Lord’s Prayer forward), except that Psalm 142 is said in place of Psalm 50.

The most significant divergence from the Roman Office for the Dead lies in the corpus of Matins responsories. Those of the first two nocturns correspond to some of the Roman responsories which accompany the readings from the book of Job at the beginning of September, rather than those of the Roman Office of the Dead. The third nocturne includes the Ambrosian version of the Libera me, which is much shorter than its Roman counterpart, and also serves as the Offertory chant of the daily and anniversary Requiem Mass. The final responsory is uniquely Ambrosian.

R. Non timebis, anima, quia Christus passus est, * per cujus passionem nos redempti sumus. V. Dominus custodiat te ab omni malo; custodiat animam tuam Dominus. Per cujus… (Thou shalt not fear, o soul, because Christ hath suffer, and by His passion we are redeemed. May the Lord keep thee from all evil: may the Lord keep thy soul. And by…)

Crucifix by Filippo Brunelleschi, ca. 1415, from the Chapel of the Cross in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Back when it was common to have a Requiem Mass daily in cathedrals and large religious houses, the chapel for them was usually dedicated to the Cross.

The second volume of the Breviary also contains a special repertoire of fourteen responsories to be said in Lent, when the Office of the Dead was said on every ferial day. (This obligation was still kept until 1914, and amounted to daily recitation, since the only two feasts which are celebrated in Lent are those of St Joseph and the Annunciation.) Here is one particularly nice example.

R. Scio, Domine, quia morti me traditurus es, ubi constituta est domus omnis viventis. Credo in te, Domine, quia non ad consumptionem meam emittis manum tuam: * Si in profundo inferni demersus fuero, inde me liberabis. V. Memento, Domine, quia manus tuae fecerunt me, pelle et carne me induisti, vitam et misericoridam dedisti mihi. Si in profundo … (I know, o Lord, that Thou shalt hand me over to death, where the house of every man that liveth is established. I believe in Thee, o Lord, that Thou puttest forth Thy hand not to my destruction. If I shall be sunk down in the depth of hell, thence shalt Thou deliver me. Remember, o Lord, that Thy hands did make me, Thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh, and give me life and mercy. If I shall be...)

[1] For descriptive purposes, it is easier to say that the Office of the Dead is “stripped down” compared to the regular Office. It would of course be more accurate to describe it as “not built up”, since the absence of hymns, chapters, the introductory formulae etc. represents an archaic state of the Office before these elements were introduced.

The Ambrosian Absolution at the Catafalque

On All Souls’ Day, I posted a description of the Ambrosian Requiem Mass; as a follow-up, here is a description of the Ambrosian Absolution at the catafalque.

When the Mass is over, the celebrant and major ministers go to the Epistle side and remove their maniples; the celebrant removes his chasuble and dons a black cope. They then process out to the catafalque and stand at the head of it, preceded by two acolytes, one carrying the thurible and boat, and the other the holy water vessel and aspergil. In the meantime, the following antiphons are sung; the ninth, “In paradisum”, is sung only for the funeral of a bishop, priest or deacon. The music for these is quite simple, much of it with only one note per syllable, and the total length by note-count is less than that of the responsory Libera me which is sung at the Roman Absolution. (There are a number of other rites in the Ambrosian liturgy at which several antiphons are sung in a row without psalmody in this fashion, e.g. the Rogation days.)

Usque in vita mea laudavi te, Domine: da requiem mihi cum Sanctis tuis in regione vivorum, et salva me.	In my life I have always praised Thee, o Lord; grant me rest with Thy Saints in the land of the living, and save me.
Memorare, Domine, quae sit mea substantia; quis est homo qui vivit, et non videbit mor- tem?	Remember, O Lord, what I am made of; what man liveth, and shall not see death?
Adhaesit pavimento anima mea: vivifica me, Domine, secundum verbum tuum.	My soul hath cleaved to the pave- ment: quicken Thou me according to thy word. Ps. 118, 25
Portio mea in terra viventium: me expectant justi, donec retri- buas mihi.	My portion in the land of the living; the just wait for me, until Thou re- ward me. Ps. 141, 6 & 8
Vide, Domine, humilitatem me- am, et dimitte omnia peccata mea.	See, o Lord, my abjection, and for- give all my sins. Ps. 24, 18
Tu jussisti nasci me, Domine; repromisisti, ut resurgerem. Jussione tua venio, Sanctissime; ne derelinquas me, quia pius es.	Thou didst command me to be born, o Lord, that I might rise again. At Thy command I come, o most Holy one; abandon me not, for Thou art gracious.
Credo, quod Dominus non me derelinquet, nec condemnabit me, cum venerit ad judicandum, sed miserebitur mei Redemptor meus, pius Deus.	I believe that the Lord will not abandon me, nor condemn me, when He shall come to judge, but my Redeemer, the gracious God, will have mercy on me.
Etenim pauci fuerunt dies mei; da mihi requiem cum Sanctis tuis, Domine.	And indeed my days have been few; give me rest with Thy Saints, o Lord.
In paradisum deducant te An- geli, et cum gaudio suscipiant te sancti Martyres Dei.	May the Angels lead thee into Para- dise, and may the holy Martyrs of God receive thee with joy.
Tu es, Domine, protector meus; in manus tuas, Domine, com- mendo spiritum meum.	Thou art my protector, o Lord; into Thy hands, o Lord, I commend my spirit. Ps. 30, 5-6

In the following video, the antiphons are sung (from 0:36 to 4:43) alternating between the women’s and men’s sections of the choir; In paradisum is included, with the object “te” changed to the plural “vos”.

Once the antiphons are finished, the deacon intones another: “Redemptor meus vivit, * et in novissimo me renovabit. V. Renovabuntur denuo ossa mea, et in carne mea videbo Dominum Deum. – My Redeemer liveth, and at the end he shall renew me. V. My bones shall be renewed again, and in my flesh I shall see the Lord my God.” (Job 19, 25-26) This is a rare example of an “antiphona duplex”, an antiphon which is sung in full both before and after the psalm; the two parts (before and after the V.) are sung by two groups within the choir. The choir then begins Psalm 50, and the celebrant imposes incense in the thurible without blessing it.

At the verse “Asperges me hyssopo”, the celebrant takes the aspergil, and accompanied by the acolytes, who hold up the ends of the cope, he makes a circuit around the catafalque as in the Roman Rite, sprinkling each side of it with holy water three times. At the same time, the deacon takes the thurible and, walking immediately behind him, incenses the catafalque three times on each side. They return together to their place at the head of the catafalque. When the psalm is finished (without Gloria Patri or Requiem aeternam, neither of which is said with the psalms and canticles in the Office of the Dead), and the antiphon repeated, the celebrant says “Dominus vobiscum”, and a prayer appropriate to the occasion.

The deacon incensing the catafalque.

There follows a responsory from the Office of the Dead, which is also sung at the Requiem Mass as the Psalmellus, the Ambrosian equivalent of the Gradual. The rubric lectoris indicates that the chant is to be led by a lector; there are many parts of the Ambrosian liturgy which are assigned to specific members of the clergy or choir in this way.

Responsorium lectoris Qui suscitasti Lazarum quatriduanum foetidum, tu dona eis requiem, et locum indulgentiae. V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Dómine: et lux perpétua lúceat eis. Tu dona eis requiem, et locum indulgentiae. – Thou who raised Lazarus that stank on the fourth day, grant to them rest, and a place of indulgence. Eternal rest grant to them, o Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. Grant to them rest, and a place of indulgence.

However, on All Souls’ Day, and at the Requiem of bishops, including the Pope, and on their anniversaries, the following is sung instead.

Responsorium diaconi Rogamus te, Domine Deus, quia peccavimus tibi: veniam petimus quam non meremur. * Manum tuam porrige lapsis, qui latroni confitenti paradisi januas aperuisti V. Vita nostra in dolore suspirat, et in opere non emendat: si expectas, non corripimur, et si vindicas, non duramus. Manum tuam... – We ask Thee, Lord God, because we have sinned against Thee: we seek forgiveness, which we do not deserve. * Stretch out Thy hand to the fallen, Who didst open the gates of Paradise to the thief that confessed. V. Our life sigheth in sorrow, and emendeth not in deed; if Thou forbear, we are not reproved, and if Thou avenge, we cannot endure. Stretch out ...

The celebrant and servers standing at the head of the catafalque. This absolution was celebrated at the end of a Requiem Mass for our departed friend Mons. Angelo Amodeo, with our own Nicola dei Grandi serving as the master of ceremonies.

After the responsory, a special form of the Litany of the Saints is said, with all present kneeling. Two cantors begin with “Domine, miserere – Lord, have mercy” three times, each repeated by the choir, then “Christe, libera nos – Christ, deliver us” three times, to which the choir answers “Salvator, libera nos – o Savior, deliver us.” The names of the Saints are then sung by the cantors, to which all others answer “intercede pro eo (ea, eis).” In the Roman Rite, the list of the Saints in the litany is always the same, although other names may be added by immemorial custom; in the Ambrosian Rite, the Saints named in the litany change from one occasion to another. At the Absolution, after the Virgin Mary, the three Archangels are named, followed by Ss John the Baptist and Joseph, and the Apostles Peter, Paul, and Andrew; the martyrs Stephen, Lawrence, Vincent, Nazarius, Celsus, Protasius, Gervasius, George and Sebastian; the Virgin Martyrs Thecla, Catherine, Lucy, Apollonia, Agnes, Euphemia, Cecilia and Ursula; then Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Anne; the bishops Dionysius, Simplician, Eustorgius, Pope Gregory the Great and Augustine; the confessors Jerome, Anthony, and Martin; then Galdinus, Charles Borromeo, and Ambrose, who always conclude the litanies in the Ambrosian Rite, and lastly, “All ye Saints.” The litany ends with three repetitions of “Exaudi, Christe. R. Voces nostras. Exaudi, Deus. R. Et miserere nobis.”, (Hear, o Christ, our voices. Hear o God, and have mercy on us.), and three Kyrie eleisons. (In the first video, it runs from 10:07 to 13:17, sung in an abbreviated form.)

As in the Roman Rite, the celebrant makes the sign of the Cross over the catafalque, saying “Requiem aeternam dona ei (eis) Domine. R. Et lux perpetua luceat ei (eis).” He adds “Anima istius, et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace. R. Amen.” The celebrant and ministers then all return in procession to the sacristy.

Requiem Mass for Ignatius Card. Kung in Washington DC, Febr. 26

The church of St Anthony of Padua in Washngton, D.C., will have a Solemn High Requiem Mass for Ignatius Cardinal Kung, in solidarity with the persecuted Church in China on Saturday, February 26th, at 11:00 AM. The church is located at 1029 Monroe Street NE.

Ignatius Cardinal Kung was consecrated Bishop of Shanghai in 1950 and in 1955 was imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party for 33 years as punishment for refusing to join the Patriotic Association. In 1986 he was named a cardinal in secret by St. John Paul II. In 1986 he was released from prison and settled in America. His courageous example of resisting tyranny and standing up for the truth inspires Catholics around the world. When receiving his cardinal red hat from John Paul II, the audience gave him a 7-minute standing ovation. Cardinal Kung died in March 2000 at the age of 98 in Connecticut.

Persecutions of Catholics in China and around the world still take place on a daily basis. As Catholics living in the free world, it is imperative that we pray for persecuted Christians, especially those who live under totalitarian regimes.

A Sermon on the Death of a Poor Man

Just under two weeks ago, a Sicilian man by the name of Gaetano Tinnirello, who had long lived homeless on the streets of Rome, passed away in hospital about a month after his 33rd birthday. He had long struggled with addiction; this was not the immediate cause of his death, which was brought on by a pulmonary infection, but had certainly weakened him. In recent years, he had taken to spending much of his time on the steps of the FSSP church in Rome, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, and as he himself stated, “Since I have come close to this church, I feel better. I feel changed.” (This is written on the back of his funeral card.) Despite the many serious adversities of his life, he was always a cheerful man. After his death, the parish celebrated his funerary rites, and arranged for his body to be returned to his family in Sicily for burial.

The following sermon was preached at his funeral Mass by Fr Vilmar Pavesi, who had attended Gaetano in the hospital; it is, I think, one of the most beautiful sermons I have ever read. Particularly in the winter, and in the holiday seasons, let us not forget that all thanksgiving belongs above all to One who was born in the poverty of a stable, and that we are charged by Him to care for the least of His brethren. And please offer a prayer for the repose of the poor man Gaetano. (Our thanks to Fr Pavesi and Fr Brice Messonier, the pastor of Santissima Trinità, for permission to reprint the sermon, and to Mr Jacob Stein, author of the blog PassioXpi, for the pictures. The text has appeared elsewhere; I have here corrected it against the original Italian.)

“I am thirsty”. On the Cross, in his agony, Jesus was thirsty. It was an immense thirst, caused by his wounds. But it was above all a spiritual thirst. Jesus was thirsty, and He still thirsts for souls, because He seeks souls to save them, without despising any of them.

Gaetano also felt thirsty. When I met him in the hospital, his mouth was dry. “Father, I’m thirsty, give me something to drink”, was the first thing he asked me. After asking if I could do this, I started giving him a drink using a syringe and a straw. He couldn’t move. After he drank half a bottle of water, I told him, “Gaetano, think of Jesus Christ on the Cross. He too was thirsty, but no one gave Him anything to drink. Now you can understand it better.” He nodded his head. Then I asked him if he wanted to confess. He said yes. He was perfectly lucid. He didn’t get tired. He confessed with the best dispositions of the soul, with humility and sincerity. And then we prayed his penance together. Afterwards, seeing signs of suffering in his face, for his pains, I advised him to offer everything up for the love of God: “Jesus, I offer this up for love of you.” And he repeated with me, like a child, “Jesus, I offer this up for love of you.”

Then I told him that I also wanted to give him Extreme Unction, and he agreed. After the Extreme Unction he asked me for more water, because he was still thirsty. Our poor Gaetano, who was still thirsty, with his Confession and with the Extreme Unction had instead eased the thirst which God felt in His soul. Before leaving him, we talked about various things and his life after the hospital. So he asked me to find him a place to live, and I promised him I would.

Then he asked me where he was at that moment. “At the San Camillo hospital”, I replied. “How far is it from the parish?” “10 minutes by tram,” I told him. “When will I take the tram again?” “When God wills, you don’t have to worry about the future. Lord, your will be done.” And he once again, like a child, repeated: “Lord, your will be done.”

I brought to Gaetano the greetings of all the priests of the parish, especially the parish priest, and of the people who cherished affection and pity for him. At some point I had to leave. “Ah, you have to go. So, please give me some more water and then you can leave.” After the last blessing and greeting, he said to me, “Father, thank you. You made me very happy.”

The first time I went to see him in the hospital was on Saturday, after the first surgery. He was in a coma and in grave danger of death. Normally, I always carry the oil of the sick with me, but that day, by chance, I didn’t have it. And since it was too late, they didn’t let me see him. So I returned on Monday, this time with the holy oil. Gaetano was perfectly lucid. The next day he would go back into a coma, undergo another operation, and remain in a coma until the day of his death. He would seem to have returned to a state of lucidity only for a few hours, like that child who was resurrected at the time of San Filippo Neri, only to be able to confess and receive the Extreme Unction, and then die again.

Speaking of St. Philip Neri, without knowing it, Gaetano lived one of his counsels. In fact, every day he entered the church, greeted all the saints, and then when he approached the main altar, he prostrated himself on the ground, kissed the floor and prayed. This was exactly what St. Philip Neri taught: “When you have little time or can’t pray well, go into a church and greet the saints. You will have said an excellent prayer.” I always thought that the Lord would save him for this act of piety, done with such sincerity, and also for the rosary and the Miraculous Medal that he wore around his neck.

Once I found him in the church fixing the floor. Do you remember when the marbles in the back were moved out of place? Without saying anything to anyone, he began to arrange the marble plaques, which more than one person had tripped on. “Gaetano, what are you doing?” “I’m fixing the marbles! It’s dangerous as it is. I’m not doing it for money. I’m doing it because it is God’s house and God’s house is mine too.”

He wanted to work. He wanted to be helpful. He cleaned the street because he said he lived there, and therefore he wanted it clean. He also cleaned the church’s staircase. I have seen him more than once spontaneously helping the garbagemen to collect the garbage. He did it without any self-interest, just to help out.

When he got here, he wore earrings. I can’t stand men with earrings, so one day I asked him to sell me his earrings. When Gaetano understood the reason why I wanted to buy them, he took them off, went to throw them in the sewer, and promised me that he would no longer wear them, and did not want the money. And so it was.

Gaetano’s death at the age of 33 is a great grief for all of us. His presence gave a picturesque face to the parish. His was a good presence. He knew how to make everyone love him. Even his dog looked so good together with him. The death of Gaetano is a great grief for everyone, because in the depths of our soul, we all feel a little responsible. He was one of those littlest brothers of Christ, because he had an immense need to be helped in his body and in his soul. More than money, he needed sincere affection and opportunity.

How many times did we repay his spontaneous “Good evening” with indifference, coldness or haste? How many times did we pass by him, without even looking at him, when he was not well? “Whenever you have done these things to one of these least of my brothers, you will have done it to me.” (Matt. 25)

Lord, before this body we ask your forgiveness for all the good we could have done for Gaetano, and did not do. Lord, before this body, we promise you to receive with generosity and love the poor whom your Providence will deign to send us.

However, I would be unjust if I only had reproaches before this body. Gaetano’s death has already begun to bear fruit. Many felt touched in their hearts and opened themselves more to charity. Very edifying is the number of people who continually ask for Masses for his soul. This is a great charity. Others offered to give him a decent burial. This too is a work of mercy, pleasing to the Lord. Some young people took care of Gaetano with true love during his last weeks. They are the ones who took brought and accompanied me to the hospital. May the Lord bless you.

Gaetano still has a great mission among us. Indeed, his mission has just begun. He, poor, but blessed by the Lord, must teach us to be charitable. He must teach us to have great hope in God. The Lord brought him close to this parish. He caused him to find the Christian affection of His faithful and priests, because He wanted to give him the eternal happiness of Heaven. Gaetano also has the mission of giving to the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Trinity a new impetus in its works of spiritual and corporal charity.

Saint Philip Neri, pray for him.
Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, pray for him.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for him.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

The Dominican 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 dozens of variants are attested. Here is the text of the Dominican version as sung on All Souls’ Day, which has three additional verses; the last and longest of these is particularly beautiful. Note that the verses Tremens factus sum and Dies illa are in the opposite order from the Roman version, and the Dominicans do not sing the words Requiem aeternam ... luceat eis with any of the responsories in their Office of the Dead. The verses Quid ego miserrimus and Nunc Christe are sung only on November 2.

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.
V. ij  Tremens factus sum ego et tímeo, dum discussio vénerit atque ventúra ira. Dum.
V. iij  Quid ego misérrimus, quid dicam, vel quid faciam, cum nil boni pérferam ante tantum júdicem? Quando.
V. iv  Nunc, Christe, te pétimus, miserére, quæsumus; qui venisti redímere pérditos, noli damnáre redemptos. Dum.
V. v  Creátor omnium rerum Deus, qui me de limo terrae formasti, et mirabíliter proprio sánguine redemisti, corpusque meum, licet modo putrescat, de sepulchro facies in die judicii resuscitári: exaudi, exaudi me, ut ánimam meam in sinu Abrahae, Patriarchae tui, júbeas collocári.
Repetitur R. Líbera me.

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...
V. ij  Trembling do I become, and fearful, when the trial and wrath shall come. When Thou shalt come...
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? When the heavens...
V. iv  Now, o Christ, we ask Thee, have mercy, we beseech Thee; Thou who came to redeem the lost, condemn not the redeemed. When Thou shalt come....
V. v  Creator of all things, o God, Who formed me from the slime of the earth, and wondrously redeemed me with Thy own Blood, and, although it now rot, will cause my body to be raised up from the grave on the day of judgment: hear, o hear me, that Thou may command my soul to be placed in the bosom of Abraham, Thy Patriarch. Deliver me, o Lord...

Do We Pray for “the Dead” or for “the Faithful Departed”?

This article was originally published at NLM on October 28, 2013, and is republished for the Commemoration of All Souls.

On this day and in a month dedicated to praying for All Souls, it seems pertinent to raise the question: Are we in danger of a slow corruption of our understanding of liturgical prayer for the dead? Put differently, for which souls are we praying at Mass?

If one examines liturgical formulae to see how Catholics pray for the dead, one is struck by the specificity of intention, the delimited subject of these prayers — namely, baptized Christians. A much-loved prayer expresses it thus: “May the souls of the faithful departed (fidelium animae defunctorum), through the mercy of God, rest in peace.” As will be demonstrated below, the official liturgical books offer overwhelming evidence for this claim. First, however, let us consider what might be called the problem on the ground.

The Problem on the Ground

In many Ordinary Form Masses, communities pray for the dead in an entirely generic or undifferentiated manner. Consider an otherwise excellent book, Prayers of the Faithful for All Sundays, Solemnities, Major Feasts and Other Occasions, edited by Bishop Peter J. Elliott (New Jersey: Catholic Book Publishing, 2009). Throughout the book, petitions are announced on behalf not only of the “faithful departed” (or variations on that theme: “all who have died in faith,” “all who sleep in Christ,” “the dead who have entered a state of purification,” “our dead,” “our departed brothers and sisters”), as is traditional, but also on behalf of “the dead” or “those who have died” with no specifying language whatsoever:

That the dead may rejoice forever in the house of the Lord… (p. 1); That the Son of Man may grant his salvation to those who have died… (p. 3); That the eternal light of salvation may shine upon those who have died (p. 6); That those who have died may find eternal rest… (p. 7); For our deceased relatives and friends, and all the departed, that they may be gathered into the eternal joy of their heavenly home… (p. 16); That the dead may be cleansed from all their sins… (p. 28); That the departed may taste and see the eternal goodness of God… (p. 39); That those who have died may live for ever in the God who is love (p. 66); That the dead may be called to perfect union with God for ever (p. 67); etc.

Although I have not tabulated the hundreds of petitions for the dead included in this volume, my impression from using the book is that the language goes about half of the time in the traditional direction and the other half of the time in the generic/undifferentiated direction.

An older book, The Prayer of the Faithful for Weekdays, ed. Eltin Griffin, O.Carm. (Dublin: Dominican Publications, 1985; repr. 2003), exhibits a bigger problem in that it rarely has the living faithful praying for the faithful departed at all. When it does, the language tends to be elegant and specific, but with occasional lapses into vapid inclusivism:

Bring all the dead into the light that no darkness can quench; may we all meet in joy with you (p. 59); That Jesus, who is our resurrection and life, may give peace for ever to all who have died (p. 292).

The problem was brought home to me when I was attending Mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City one Sunday morning, and the deacon offered a public prayer for the deceased wife of the head of the Mormon church. This was, on any reading of it, an absurd petition to make, since the true Church of Jesus Christ has already defined that Mormons are not confessionally Christian and that their “baptism” is null and void.

In summary, at a Novus Ordo Mass we will frequently hear something like: “Let us pray for the dead…” or “For all who have died this week…” or “For all our departed loved ones… ”— with no specificity or delineation that we are praying for Christians or faithful who have died.
What’s the Big Deal?
To pray at the liturgy for someone who is either not known to have been a baptized Christian or known to have not been a baptized Christian, or to offer prayers “for the dead” in a completely generic way, without specifying that we are praying for departed brethren and servants of God, is not just a departure from custom; it implies and leads to theological error.

Those who are not Christian when they die cannot be saved; and the only people we know to be Christians in such a manner that we may publicly pray for them are those who were baptized or were formally seeking baptism (e.g., RCIA candidates). Someone who is neither baptized nor known to have been seeking baptism is simply not someone for whom we can publicly pray, as he or she is not known to be a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, and the liturgy of the Church is the prayer of the Mystical Body of Christ, the prayer of the Head and of the members in union with the Head. It is not the prayer of the non-members and it is only a prayer for non-members who have not yet departed from this world. Once non-members depart from this life, they are eternally non-members and they are never prayed for, either on earth or in heaven.

In short, we can and should pray for the living who are not yet joined with us, but we cannot pray for the dead who are not joined with us. This, it seems to me, is the fundamental reason why the Church’s formulas of prayer, stretching back as far as we have records and continuing right into the official liturgical books in use today, nearly always qualify the dead for whom we pray by indicating those who are servants or handmaids of God, those who are baptized, those who are united with the Son in a death like his (another reference to baptism), those who have faith (meaning at very least a votum implicitum for baptism), those on whom God has had mercy (in that they have received the effect of baptism prior to death), etc. — whatever the formula may be, it is never merely, without qualification, “the dead.”

Establishing the Fact

We can establish this fact by reviewing a number of liturgical texts from both the Extraordinary Form and the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, since they agree on this theological point, although the usus antiquior expresses it with greater clarity and frequency.
The Usus Antiquior We begin with the usus antiquior, giving translations from the Baronius Missal.

Offertory. Accept, O holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this unspotted host, which I, Thine unworthy servant, offer to Thee . . . for all faithful Christians, both living and dead . . .

Roman Canon. Remember also, O Lord, Thy servants and handmaidens N. and N., who are gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in the sleep of peace. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshing coolness, light, and peace.

From the Requiem Mass on All Souls:

Collect. O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful: grant to the souls of Thy servants and handmaidens the remission of all their sins: that through pious supplications, they may obtain that pardon, which they have always desired.

Tract. Absolve, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from every bond of sin. And by the help of Thy grace may they be enabled to escape the avenging judgment: and enjoy the bliss of everlasting light. 

Offertory. O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the bottomless pit: deliver them from the lion’s mouth, that hell swallow them not up, that they fall not into darkness, but let the standard-bearer Holy Michael lead them into that holy light, which Thou didst promise to Abraham and to his seed. . . . 

Secret. Mercifully regard, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the Sacrifice which we offer Thee for the souls of Thy servants and handmaidens: that to those to whom Thou didst grant the favour of the Christian Faith, Thou wouldst also grant due reward. 

Preface. For to Thy faithful people, Lord, life is changed, not taken away; and when the home of this earthly sojourn is dissolved, an eternal dwelling is made ready in heaven.

From the Absolution and Burial:

Wherefore suffer not, we beseech Thee, the sentence Thou pronouncest in judgment upon one whom the faithful prayer of Christian people commends to Thee, to be a doom which shall crush him utterly. Rather succour him by Thy gracious favour, that he may escape Thine avenging justice who, in his lifetime, was signed with the seal of the holy Trinity.

Grant to Thy servant departed, O Lord, we beseech Thee, this favour, that he who desired to do Thy will may not receive punishment for his deeds; and that even as here on earth the true faith joined him to the ranks of the faithful, so in heaven by Thy mercy he may have fellowship with the choirs of Angels.

Other prayers could be cited, but that’s plenty to establish the point. From the earliest liturgical records down to the 1962 editio typica of the Missale Romanum, when Catholics of all places and times prayed for the dead, this is how they prayed.

The Ordinary Form Drawing from the current ICEL translation of the Novus Ordo Missae:

Preface I for the Dead. Indeed for your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended, and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust, an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven.

Eucharistic Prayer I. Remember also, Lord, your servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace. Grant them, O Lord, we pray, and all who sleep in Christ, a place of refreshment, light and peace.

Eucharistic Prayer II. Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face.

Eucharistic Prayer II (in Masses for the Dead). Remember your servant N., whom you have called (today) from this world to yourself. Grant that he (she) who was united with your Son in a death like his, may also be one with him in his Resurrection.

Eucharistic Prayer III. To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom. There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world all that is good.

Eucharistic Prayer III (in Masses for the Dead). Remember your servant N. whom you have called (today) from this world to yourself. Grant that he (she) who was united with your Son in a death like his, may also be one with him in his Resurrection, when from the earth he will raise up in the flesh those who have died, and transform our lowly body after the pattern of his own glorious body.

Eucharistic Prayer IV. Remember also those who have died in the peace of your Christ and all the dead, whose faith you alone have known.

The last text, from E.P. IV, is the most ambiguous of the lot, but inasmuch as it mentions the faith of the departed, it is asserting (in line with defined Catholic doctrine) that God knows if a man or woman died with a sufficiently explicit and living faith in Christ the Redeemer to have been a sharer in the fruits of Redemption. “All who have died in your mercy,” from E.P. II, is a similar kind of formula.

On November 2nd, All Souls:

Second Mass, Collect. O God, glory of the faithful and life of the just, by the Death and Resurrection of whose Son we have been redeemed, look mercifully on your departed servants, that, just as they professed the mystery of our resurrection, so they may merit to receive the joys of eternal happiness. 

Second Mass, Prayer over the Offerings. Almighty and merciful God, by means of these sacrificial offerings wash away, we pray, in the Blood of Christ, the sins of your departed servants, for you purify unceasingly by your merciful forgiveness those you once cleansed in the waters of Baptism.

Third Mass, Postcommunion. Through these sacrificial gifts which we have received, O Lord, bestow on your departed servants your great mercy and, to those you have endowed with the grace of Baptism, grant also the fullness of eternal joy.

Again, other texts could be cited, but it is enough to point out that one can see two general trends. In the usus antiquior, the prayers for the dead are worded in such a way that there can be no doubt that the one being prayed for was a member of the Church through baptism. In the Novus Ordo, by contrast, most of the texts use qualifying language, either mentioning baptism explicitly or using words like “servant” or “handmaid,” but some texts are more generic and vague, although one can argue that the meaning is discernible from the context. In any case, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal removes all doubt when it says:

379. The Church offers the Eucharistic Sacrifice of Christ’s Pasch for the dead so that, since all the members of Christ’s Body are in communion with one another, what implores spiritual help for some, may bring comforting hope to others.

In order to benefit from the Eucharistic Sacrifice or any other liturgical action of Christ and His Church, a departed soul must already be in communion with Christ and His Church. This is the reason we pray for those souls.

What’s At Stake and What We Should Do

If one has followed the earlier theological reasoning about the very nature of the liturgy, one can see that the question of whom we pray for, and under what aspect or title, is a far from trivial matter. It goes the very heart of what it means to be a Christian, to be sanctified, to be graced with the very ability to reach heaven. It is not enough that Christ accomplished our Redemption on the Cross (objectively, one can say); we ourselves, each one of us, must actually (or subjectively) participate in it through faith and the sacraments, especially baptism. Without that actual participation in His Death and Resurrection, there is no salvation for us; and we do not, we cannot, find that participation apart from His Mystical Body, the Church, which, in her inner identity, is nothing other than perfect communion with Christ.

Thus, to ask what difference it makes whether we pray for (e.g.) “the dead” or “our dead,” “the departed” or “the faithful departed,” is precisely a test case of whether we adhere to the de fide doctrine extra ecclesiam nulla salus, “outside of the Church there is no salvation,” or have instead imbibed the poison of indifferentism, latitudinarianism, and false ecumenism, all of which involve a denial of Jesus Christ as the one Savior of mankind and the Catholic Church as His very Body in which all will be saved who are to be saved.

Two courses of action therefore suggest themselves. First, at a minimum, the Prayer of the Faithful or General Intercessions in an Ordinary Form liturgy must be written out with care so that we are raising up prayers for “the faithful departed,” “our brothers and sisters in Christ,” etc., and if a published version is used, it should be reviewed ahead of time (and corrected, if need be).

Second, we desperately need a renewal of catechesis in this area, because it touches on fundamentals of the Catholic Faith such as the necessity of belonging to Christ and the Church for salvation, the necessity of dying in a state of sanctifying grace in order to be admitted to the beatific vision (whether immediately or after purgation), the eternity of hell and the impenitence of the damned. These truths are not sufficiently known or preached nowadays, and given the truth of the axiom lex orandi, lex credendi, the way we are praying for the dead, week in and week out, will either confirm true doctrine or reinforce false doctrine.

Animae omnium fidelium defunctorum, per misericordiam Dei, requiescant in pace. Amen.