Justin Appel

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today is the Feast of All Souls’ Day, a day on which we remember in prayer loved ones who have died. At Saint Philip’s, we celebrate this day by singing the Requiem Mass, speaking the names of the dead, and celebrating the mass in candlelight.

Accordingly, and without commentary, I would like to offer two liturgical fragments today, one from the Eastern Akathist for the Departed, and the other from the Western Requiem Mass.

Pray for those who have died — with faith in God’s mercy!

Yours in Christ,
Justin

Rise out of the ancient past, you who are redeemed by the Blood of the Son of God,
restored to life by His death,
for the light of the Resurrection has dawned upon you.
Open to them now, O Lord, the whole abyss of Thy perfections.
Thou hast shone upon them with the light of the sun and moon,
that they may see the glory of the radiant choirs of Angels,
Thou hast delighted them with the magnificence of the heavenly lights of East and West,
that they may also see the never-setting light of Thy Divinity.
- from Ikos 11 of the Akathist for the Departed

May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once a poor man, may you have eternal rest.
- In Paradisum, antiphon from the the Requiem Mass