All Souls' Day- A time to pray, walk and remember.

Good Evening Dear Family!

Happy Feast of All the Faithful Departed or as it is commonly called All Souls' Day. This is one of the rare feast day where the liturgical color of vestments, altar hangings, paraments, may be black. That's TMI! Today I woke up with a bruiser of a headache and didn't know if my plans for a creative prayer walk would work but after a bottle of Coca-Cola (R) I made it out to do what I had planned. Please follow the photos and pray along with me. 

God  we enter this time of prayer to remember all our family members who have entered Eternal Joy.

We pray and remember especially this day those whose lives were cut short by any kind of violence.

We pray for all of our  family members whose lives were brought down by gun violence.

We give thanks to all organizations that help us remember our loved ones. 

God we pray for all who are dying and have died in the hospital today. We pray for those who mourn and who are pre-grieving.

Let us walk and pray as we remember All the Faithful Departed:

God give us peace of mind as we do this.

We consecrate this labyrinth walk to all who have died.

Let us begin by listening to Bobby McFerrin's  Psalm 23

God, as we place our feet on this sacred path let us be still and know that you are God and are with us always. 

Respond by saying 

"IF YOU SPEAK MY NAME, I WILL LIVE FOREVER"

God, we pray for all our departed loved ones remembering________________

God,we pray for all who have lost their lives to incurable diseases remembering ________

God, we pray for all who have died due to domestic violence remembering ______________

God, we pray for all who have died because of their gender and sexual expression remembering_____________

God we pray and remember those who have been victims of terror especially this week those in New York City.

God we pray and remember: the many places where violence and terror have occurred remembering: your beloved children who lost their lives.

Kent State
Stonewall
Sandy Hook
Paducah
Columbine
New York City on 9/11
New York City this week.
San Bernardino
Las Vegas
Charlottsville
Egypt
Charlotte
Orlando
Oklahoma City
Medina
Isla Vista.
Ferguson,
Staten Island
Istanbul
Mogadishu
London
 Sydney
Nice
Peshwar 
Brussels
Solana Beach

And the Many Cities throughout the world. God help us to remember if we can.

God we pray and remember the victims of racial and religious persecution and murder. This year we remember all who have been victims of lynching and violent acts towards Native Americans.

God we pray and remember all who have lost their lives fleeing nations where there is oppression, religious persecution and seeking a better life. We remember those in Syria, Central America, and Mexico.

God we pray and remember those who have lost their lives as victims of torture, human trafficking, and slavery. 

God we pray for all women who have died in honor killings, female genital mutilation, and for speaking truth to power.

God we pray and lift up those who are near and dear to us this day ______________

We lift these souls to you O God of All. Amen.


Prayers for the dead (Christian)

N , go forth upon your journey from this world,
in the name of God the Father almighty who created you;
in the name of Jesus Christ who suffered death for you;
in the name of the Holy Spirit who strengthens you;
in communion with the blessed saints,
and aided by angels and archangels,
and all the armies of the heavenly host.
May your portion this day be in peace,
and your dwelling the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen



The Mourner's Kaddish (Judaism)


Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world
which He has created according to His will.
May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days,
and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon;
and say, Amen.
May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored,
adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,
beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
He who creates peace in His celestial heights,
may He create peace for us and for all Israel;
and say, Amen



Salat al-Janazah - Islam

"O God, forgive our living and our dead, those who are present among us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our males and our females. O God, whoever You keep alive, keep him alive in Islam, and whoever You cause to die, cause him to die with faith. O God, do not deprive us of the reward and do not cause us to go astray after this. O God, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and sound and forgive him, honour his rest and ease his entrance; wash him with water and snow and hail, and cleanse him of sin as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O God, give him a home better than his home and a family better than his family. O God, admit him to Paradise and protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of Hell-fire; make his grave spacious and fill it with light."

Let us close our Labyrinth Walk with the  Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
    hallowed be thy Name,
    thy kingdom come,
    thy will be done,
        on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
    as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
    for ever and ever. Amen.

And now we continue on to tonight's Evening Prayer and meditation. 


O Gracious Light Phos hilaron 
O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds

Let the righteous rejoice * in the presence of God.
Let the righteous rejoice in the presence of God.
Let them be merry and joyful:
In the presence of God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Let the righteous rejoice in the presence of God.
V. Their sound has gone out into all lands:
R. And their message to the ends of the world

I am Resurrection and I am Life, says the Lord.
Whoever has faith in me shall have life,
even though he die.
And everyone who has life,
and has committed himself to me in faith,
shall not die for ever.

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him
who is my friend and not a stranger.

For none of us has life in himself,
and none becomes his own master when he dies.
For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,
and if we die, we die in the Lord.
So, then, whether we live or die,
we are the Lord's possession.

Happy from now on
are those who die in the Lord!
So it is, says the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.
 


Psalm 116: 11-17

10 How shall I repay the Lord *
for all the good things he has done for me?

11 I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the Name of the Lord.
12 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people.

13 Precious in the sight of the Lord *
is the death of his servants.

14 O Lord, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.

15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the Name of the Lord.

16 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people,

17 In the courts of the Lord's house, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
 

Wisdom 3:1-9

3But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them. 
² In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be a disaster, 
³ and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace. 
⁴ For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality. 
⁵ Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; 
⁶ like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt-offering he accepted them. 
⁷ In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble. 
⁸ They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them for ever. 
⁹ Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with him in love,
because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,
and he watches over his elect.^* 

130 De profundis

1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

2 If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, *
O Lord, who could stand?

3 For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.
4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; *
in his word is my hope.

5 My soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning, *
more than watchmen for the morning.

6 O Israel, wait for the Lord, *
for with the Lord there is mercy;

7 With him there is plenteous redemption, *
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins

Isaiah 25:6-9

⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
   a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
   of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. 
⁷ And he will destroy on this mountain
   the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
   the sheet that is spread over all nations; 
⁸ he will swallow up death for ever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
   and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
   for the Lord has spoken. 
⁹ It will be said on that day,
   Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
   This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
   let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Psalm 121    Levavi oculos

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; *
    from whence cometh my help?
My help cometh even from the LORD, *
    who hath made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved, *
    and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel *
    shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD himself is thy keeper; *
    the LORD is thy defence upon thy right hand;
So that the sun shall not burn by day, *
    neither the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil; *
    yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in, *
    from this time forth for evermore.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,^*about those who have died,^* so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.^*15For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.^* 16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever.¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Psalm 23    King James Version

The LORD is my shepherd; *
    I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; *
    he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul; *
    he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his
                                Name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; *
    for thou art with me;
    thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
                                mine enemies; *
    thou anointest my head with oil;
    my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
                                of my life, *
    and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters,^* is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,^* but we will all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality.⁵⁴When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ 
⁵⁵ ‘Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?’ 
⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved,^* be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. 

Psalm 27    Dominus illuminatio

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear? *
    the LORD is the strength of my life;
    of whom then shall I be afraid?
One thing have I desired of the LORD, which I will require, *
    even that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the
                                days of my life,
    to behold the fair beauty of the LORD, and to visit his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his tabernacle; *
    yea, in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me,
    and set me up upon a rock of stone.
And now shall he lift up mine head *
    above mine enemies round about me.
Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation with
                                great gladness; *
    I will sing and speak praises unto the LORD.
Hearken unto my voice, O LORD, when I cry unto thee; *
    have mercy upon me, and hear me.

My heart hath talked of thee, Seek ye my face. *
    Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
O hide not thou thy face from me, *
    nor cast thy servant away in displeasure.
I should utterly have fainted, *
    but that I believe verily to see the goodness of the LORD in
                                the land of the living.
O tarry thou the LORD's leisure; *
    be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart;
    and put thou thy trust in the LORD.

John 5:24-27

²⁴Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.

25 ‘Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; ²⁷and he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man.

Psalm 106    Confitemini Domino

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is gracious, *
    and his mercy endureth for ever.
Who can express the noble acts of the LORD, *
    or show forth all his praise?
Blessed are they that alway keep judgment, *
    and do righteousness.
Remember me, O LORD, according to the favor that thou
                                bearest unto thy people; *
    O visit me with thy salvation.
That I may see the felicity of thy chosen, *
    and rejoice in the gladness of thy people,
    and give thanks with thine inheritance.

Kyrie Eleison

Christe Eleison

Kyrie Eleison

The Song of Mary    Magnificat 

Luke 1:46-55 

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
    for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. 
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
    the Almighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his Name. 
He has mercy on those who fear him *
    in every generation. 
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
    he has scattered the proud in their conceit. 
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
    and has lifted up the lowly. 
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
    and the rich he has sent away empty. 
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
    for he has remembered his promise of mercy, 
The promise he made to our fathers, *
    to Abraham and his children for ever. 

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

O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers: Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son; that on the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever. Amen 
 

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that comets to me I will in no wise cast out.
He that raised up Jesus from the dead
will also give life to our mortal bodies,
by his Spirit that dwelleth in us.

Wherefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoiceth;
my flesh also shall rest in hope.

Thou shalt show me the path of life;
in thy presence is the fullness of joy,
and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore.



Jesus  (God, G_d) we pray for all of our family members nearby,stranger, and enemy and in particular those mentioned about that we may love one another as you have loved us . May we strive to be better at loving, accepting, and including everyone. We know that in  Your world all means all and not some. May we continue to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you to the end of our days and beyond. Amen.

The Song of Simeon    Nunc Dimittis

Luke 2:29-32

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
    to go in peace as you have promised; 
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
    whom you have prepared for all the world to see: 
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
    and the glory of your people Israel. 

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

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord;
And let light perpetual shine upon him.
 
May  the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

 

Good Night Dear Brothers and Sisters ! I love you! May we rest gentle in God's arms tonight as we remember our beloved ones who are safe in the Thin Places.

With love and peace,

Sara

Resources

Book of Common Prayer

Book of Occasional Services

Walk With Me On Our Journey

Quote sites for prayers of the dead

Satucket Lectionary for today's readings: All the Faithful Departed

YouTube for Psalm 23 -Bobby McFerrin