For a change, how about some incredibly good news?
A priest has agreed to offer a Requiem Mass in the Venerable Rite of Pius V every week “for the repose of the souls of the faithful who died last week, especially those who did not have a Requiem Mass.”
This is huge, folks. Most people who have died since December of ARSH 1969 have not had a Requiem Mass said for them. Sadly, if you have been to a Catholic funeral Mass lately, it was probably called a “Mass of the Resurrection” wherein the decedent was “canonized” and declared to be in heaven. There was probably a “eulogy” instead of a homily, in which the decedent was discussed in only the most glowing terms, and not infrequently do these eulogies descend into stand-up comedy routines.
Because, you know, no one should ever, ever be sad, and certainly no one should ever give the least thought to sin, judgment, Purgatory or hell. Not in the context of the decedent, and certainly not in the context of the living.
And so, thank God, at least now every person who dies will have a Requiem Mass offered for them within the week after the week of their death. No, the families won’t be there, and the body won’t be there, but the entire host of heaven will be there. Every angel, of which there are probably quadrillions, and the entire Communion of Saints. Think of that. EVERY SAINT, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN. Pleading for the souls of the recently deceased in the context of a proper Requiem in the Venerable Gregorian Rite.
Please pray for the good priest who will be undertaking this commitment. He is no spring chicken, and is very, very grateful for our prayers, and desires them above any earthly compensation.
The day of the week is going to jump around, per the liturgical calendar, and per our good priest’s schedule, so please perhaps add a Hail Mary for this intention to your daily prayers.
Here is the conclusion of the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) Sequence of the Requiem Mass. This hymn was written by Thomas of Celano in the 13th century, and became the Sequence in the Mass of All Souls and Requiem Masses in general. This portion is the last stanza of the Dies Irae, the “Lacrimosa” (Tearful/Mournful) from Mozart’s Requiem Mass. I consider this to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed. Note especially how the music changes from intense severity to a hopeful tenderness at the words, “Pie Jesu Domine” (Gentle Lord Jesus).