Funeral planning typically takes place during a meeting between the priest or deacon who will be presiding over the funeral rites and family members of the deceased. If a funeral home is involved, they will assist the family in arranging this meeting. If a funeral home is not involved, the family should contact the parish offices by calling (215) 739-3500 to schedule a meeting to make the necessary arrangements. 

Please choose one reading from the Old Testament and one reading from the New Testament

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL (Petitions/Intercessions) are at the bottom of this page.

OLD TESTAMENT READINGS

Reading #1.

FIRST READING

A Reading from the book of Job

 Job answered and said:

Oh, would that my words were written down!

  Would that they were inscribed in a record:

That with an iron chisel and with lead

  they were cut in the rock forever!

But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives,

  and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;

Whom I myself shall see:

  my own eyes, not another’s, shall behold him,

And from my flesh I shall see God;

  my innermost being is consumed with longing.

The Word of the Lord.

OLD TESTAMENT

Reading #2.

FIRST READING 

 A Reading from the book of Wisdom

  The souls of the just are in the hand of God,

  and no torment shall touch them.

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;

  and their passing away was thought an affliction

  and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

But they are in peace.

For if before men, indeed, they punished,

  yet is their hope full of immortality;

Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,

  because God tried them

  and found them worthy of himself.

As gold in the furnace, he proved them,

  and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth,

  and the faithful shall abide with him in love:

Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,

  and his care is with his elect.

 The Word of the Lord.

 OLD TESTAMENT

Reading #3. 

 FIRST READING 

 A reading from the book of Wisdom

   The just man, though he die early, shall be at rest.

For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time,

  nor can it be measured in terms of years.

Rather, understanding is the hoary crown for men,

  and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.

He who pleased God was loved;

  he who lived among sinners was transported-

Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind

  or deceit beguile his soul;

For the witchery of paltry things obscures what is right

  and the whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind.

Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of

a long career;

  for his soul was pleasing to the Lord.

  therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness.

But the people saw and did not understand,

  nor did they take this into account.

The Word of the Lord.

OLD TESTAMENT

Reading #4. 

 FIRST READING 

 A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

 On this mountain the Lord of hosts

  will provide for all peoples.

On this mountain he will destroy

  the veil that veils all peoples,

The web that is woven over all nations;

  he will destroy death forever.

The Lord God will wipe away

the tears from all faces;

The reproach of his people he will remove

from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.

On that day it will be said:

“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!

This is the Lord for whom we looked;

let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”

 The Word of the Lord.

 OLD TESTAMENT

 Reading #5. 

 FIRST READING 

 A  reading from the book of Lamentations

 My soul is deprived of peace,

  I have forgotten what happiness is;

I tell myself my future is lost,

  all that I hoped for from the Lord.

The thought of my homeless poverty

  is wormwood and gall;

Remembering it over and over

  leaves my soul downcast within me.

But I will call this to mind,

  as my reason to have hope:

The favors of the Lord are not exhausted,

  his mercies are not spent;

They are renewed each morning,

   so great is his faithfulness.

My portion is the Lord, says my soul;

  therefore will I hope in him.

Good is the Lord to one who waits for him,

  to the soul that seeks him;

It is good to hope in silence

  for the saving help of the Lord.

  The Word of the Lord.

OLD TESTAMENT

Reading #6. 

 FIRST READING

 A reading from the book of the prophet Daniel

 [I, Daniel, mourned and I heard this word of the Lord:]

“At that time there shall arise

  Michael, the great prince,

  guardian of your people;

It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress

  since nations began until that time.

At that time your people shall escape,

  everyone who is found written in the book.

Many of those who sleep

  in the dust of the earth shall awake;

Some shall live forever,

  others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

But the wise shall shine brightly

  like the splendor of the firmament,

And those who lead the many to justice

  shall be like the stars forever.”

 The word of the Lord.    

NEW TESTAMENT READINGS

Reading #1.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

  Peter proceeded to address the people in these words:

 “In truth, I see that God shows no impartiality.  Rather, in every

nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed

peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.  He commissioned

us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed

by God as judge of the living and the dead.  To him all the

prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive

forgiveness of sins through his name.”

 The Word of the Lord.

 NEW TESTAMENT

Reading #2.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

 Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been

poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has

been given to us.  For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet

died at the appointed time for the ungodly.  Indeed, only with

difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a

good person one might even find courage to die.  But God

proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ

died for us.  How much more then, since we are now justified

by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath.

Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God

through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled,

will we be saved by his life.  Not only that, but we also boast

of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have

now received reconciliation.

 The Word of the Lord.

NEW TESTAMENT

 Reading #3.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

 Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into his death?  We were indeed buried with

him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was

raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might

live in newness of life.  If, then, we have died with Christ, we

believe that we shall also live with him.  We know that Christ,

raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power

over him.

T he Word of the Lord.

 NEW TESTAMENT

Reading #4.

 SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

 Those who are led by the spirit of God are children of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,

but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry,

Abba, “Father!”  The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit

that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs

of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him

so that we may also be glorified with him.

 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing

compared with the glory to be revealed for us.  For creation

awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of

God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own

accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that

creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption

and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even

until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have

the first fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves

as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

 The Word of the Lord.

 NEW TESTAMENT

Reading #5.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

 If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare

his own Son but handed him over for us all, how did he not

also give us everything else along with him?  Who will bring

a charge against God’s chosen ones?  It is God who acquits us.

Who will condemn?  It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was

raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed

intercedes for us.

 What will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will anguish or

distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or

the sword?  No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly

through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither

death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present

things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,

nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the

love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 The word of the Lord.

 NEW TESTAMENT

 Reading #6.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

 None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.  For if

we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord;

so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  For this is

why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of

both the dead and the living.  For we shall all stand before the

judgement seat of God; for it is written:

          “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,

          and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

 The Word of the Lord.

 NEW TESTAMENT

 Reading #7.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians

 Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those

who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a

human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through

a human being.  For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ

shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order:

Christ the first fruits; then, at his comings, those who belong to

Christ.

 The Word of the Lord.

 NEW TESTAMENT

 Reading #8.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians

 Behold, I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all fall asleep, but

we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at

the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be

raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For that which

is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that

which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.  And when

that which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility

and that which is mortal clothes itself with immorality, then

the word that is written shall come about:

          “Death is swallowed up in victory,

          Where, O death, is your victory?

          Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But

thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus

Christ.

 The Word of the Lord.

NEW TESTAMENT

 Reading #9.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the letter of Paul to the Phillippians

 Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a

saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He will change our lowly body

to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables

him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

 The Word of the Lord.

NEW TESTAMENT

Reading #10.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians

 We, do not want you to be unaware, brothers [and

sisters], about those who have fallen asleep, so that you

may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.  For if we

believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through

Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we

who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,

will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For

the Lord himself with a word of command, with the voice

of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come

down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up

together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the

air.  Thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore,

console one another with these words.

The Word of the Lord.

NEW TESTAMENT

Reading #11.

 SECOND READING

 A reading from the first letter of John

 See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may

be called the children of God.  Yet so we are.  The reason

the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has

not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is

revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

 The Word of the Lord.

 NEW TESTAMENT

Reading #12.

SECOND READING

 A reading from the book of Revelations

 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:  Blessed are the

Dead who die in the Lord from now on.”  “Yes,” said the Spirit,

“let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany

them.”

The Word of the Lord.

 PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

(Petitions/General Intercessions)

FUNERAL MASS

Celebrant:

We pray not only for light and rest for all the dead, but also for dignified and happy life for all the living.

Reader:

Please respond: Let us pray to the Lord

That we may all face death with faith and the conviction that we will see God face to face,

Let us pray to the Lord

That we who await Jesus’ coming in glory may one day be reunited with our loved ones,

Let us pray to the Lord

That God may welcome _______________ into heavenly peace and rest,

Let us pray to the Lord

That we may live our lives in Christian service so as to warrant God’s reward to the just,

Let us pray to the Lord

For all the faithful departed that they may enjoy the blessedness of eternal life and the brightness of eternal light,

Let us pray to the Lord

We may pause now to add our own intentions in silence,

(pause)

Let us pray to the Lord

Celebrant: Gracious God, hear our prayers for eternal light for the deceased.  Bring our loved ones and all the departed to the fullness of salvation in the brilliance of your glory.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen