Church prayers for the death
The church dying prayers , since the Middle Ages as Commendatio animæ ( Latin commendatio "recommendation", animæ "the soul"), since 1972 as Commendatio morientium (Latin morientium "the dying"), are prayers and chants that before and after be spoken or sung after passing on the deathbed. They put the dying soul into the hands of God. The first known liturgical order is from the 7th / 8th centuries. The oldest prayer texts still in use today date from the same period.
History and elements of the liturgy of death
Early Christianity found diverse Jewish and pagan customs of mourning for the dead between death and burial, from which it partly distanced itself, shaped by its belief in the resurrection . In their place came psalm song , biblical reading and prayer . A coherent description of the rites accompanying death has not been handed down. From the beginning, however, the proclamation of the resurrection played a major role in strengthening the hope of the bereaved.
The First Council of Nicaea in 325 stated that the Viaticum , communion as “food for the journey” at the hour of death, should not be withheld from anyone. Since the Roman Ritual of 1614, the “Last Unction” took the place of the Viaticum as the sacrament of death, until the Second Vatican Council put communion on death back at the center of care for the dying.
The oldest surviving order for a developed ecclesiastical liturgy comes from the 7th / 8th centuries. Century. After receiving communion, the reading of the passion of Jesus according to the Gospel of John followed. In the period that followed, the process was expanded; According to the Roman Ritual of 1614, the dying received a special apostolic blessing and was sprinkled with holy water, and a collection of psalms, litanies and orations was available for the time leading up to death, including Proficiscere, anima christiana . The Salve Regina could also be sung and the abbreviated All Saints litany could be spoken as “ litania for death” ( litania pro agonizantibus ). A candle burned in the dying room, and a crucifix was set up so that the dying person could see it or put it in his hand.
After the death, the was already since the 7./8. Century known alternating chant Subvenite sancti Dei spoken or sung, with which angels and saints are invoked to receive the deceased. Further orations can follow. The hymn In paradisum from the same period was originally part of the prayers for the dead; his song later became part of the exequies and takes place at the beginning of the escort of the coffin to the grave.
The book of rites, the celebration of the sacraments of the sick , which has been valid since 1994, offers an expanded collection of written words, short prayers - also to read them to the dying -, litanies and hymns. The rosary is also recommended as a common prayer on the deathbed. The praise of God contains the old prayers Proficiscere, anima Christiana and Subvenite Sancti Dei in German translation (no. 608) and has a house of prayer for the dead (no. 28), a short devotion which can be prayed at the deathbed. As a conclusion, it is suggested that those present draw a cross on the forehead of the deceased or bless them with holy water. In addition, the blessing prayer God the Father bless you is spoken.
Dying prayers
Proficiscere, anima christiana
The prayer Proficiscere, anima christiana (after the opening words of the Latin text) from the 8th century is said immediately before death and is characterized by the hope of eternal life:
“The Christian, who unites his death with the death of Jesus, understands death as a coming to Jesus and as an entry into eternal life. The Church, by the dying Christians spoke for the last time in the name of Christ the Lossprechungsworte him for the last time with a strengthening anointing sealed and him in the Viaticum donated as food for the journey Christ, she says to him with gentle firmness: Break on, Christian soul, from this world. '"
“Proficiscere, anima christiana, de hoc mundo,
In nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis, qui te creavit,
In nomine Iesu Christi Filii Dei vivi, qui pro te passus est,
In nomine Spiritus Sancti, qui in te effusus est;
Hodie sit in pace locus tuus
et habitatio tua apud Deum in sancta Sion,
cum sancta Dei Genitrice Virgine Maria,
cum sancto Ioseph, et omnibus Angelis et Sanctis Dei.
Ad auctorem tuum,
qui te de limo terrae formavit, revertaris.
Tibi itaque egredienti de hac vita sancta Maria,
Angeli et omnes Sancti occurrant. […]
Redemptorem tuum facie ad faciem videas
et contemplatione Dei potiaris in saecula saeculorum.
Amen."
“Set out, Christian soul, from this world,
in the name of God, the almighty Father who created you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who suffered for you,
in the name of the Holy Spirit who came over you has been poured out.
Today your place be prepared for you in peace,
your dwelling with God in holy Zion,
with the holy virgin and the mother of God Mary,
with holy Joseph and with all angels and saints of God.
You return to your Creator,
who formed you from the clay of the earth.
When you leave this life, may you
meet St. Mary, the angels and all the saints.
May you see your Savior face to face
and enjoy the knowledge of God forever.
Amen."
Today's liturgical text versions replace the literal Christian soul with brother or sister . The third section is not printed in the rituals of 1994 and in the praise of God (No. 608,3), in the second section the name of the dying person's patron is provided in the praise of God after the naming of Saint Joseph .
Subvenite sancti Dei
After the departure, the old Responsorium Subvenite sancti Dei is spoken or sung:
Responsum:
"Subvenite sancti Dei,
occurrite angeli Domini:
suscipientes animam eius:
offerentes eam in conspectu Altissimi."
Verses:
“Suscipiat te Christ qui vocavit te
et in sinum Abrahae angeli deducant te.
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat ei. "
Responsum :
"Come here, ye holy ones of God, rush to meet
him (her), ye angels of the Lord,
take upon his (her) soul
and lead it before the face of the Most High."
Verses:
“Christ receive you, who called you,
and angels are to guide you into Abraham's bosom.
Lord, give him eternal rest,
and the eternal light shine on him. "
The rituals of 1994 and the praise of God (608.4) translate into Abraham's bosom with the kingdom of heaven .
Blessing prayer after death
“May God bless you, the Father, who created you in his image.
May God, the Son, bless you, who redeemed you through his suffering and death.
May God bless you, the Holy Spirit, who has called and sanctified you to eternal life.
God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, guide you through the darkness of death into his light. May he be gracious to you in judgment and give you peace and eternal life.
Amen."
This prayer of blessing can also be found as a "farewell blessing" in the service book for the Evangelical Church in Württemberg.
literature
- The celebration of the sacraments of the sick. The anointing of the sick and the order of the pastoral care of the sick in the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area. Second edition. Benzinger [and others], Solothurn - Düsseldorf [and others] a.] 1994, ISBN 3-545-50631-2 .
- Reiner Kaczynski : Death and funeral liturgy. In: Bruno Kleinheyer , Emmanuel von Severus , Reiner Kaczynski: Sacramentous Celebrations II. Pustet, Regensburg 1984, ISBN 3-7917-0940-2 (Church Service, Handbook of Liturgical Studies, Part 8), pp. 193-232.
Web links
- Peter Godzik (Ed.): To be a dying friend. Texts from the pastoral and liturgical tradition of the church (texts from VELKD 55/1993) , Lutheran Church Office, Hanover 1993. (online at pkgodzik.de) (PDF; 695 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reiner Kaczynski: Commendatio morientium . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 2 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1994.
- ^ Reiner Kaczynski: Death and burial liturgy. In: Bruno Kleinheyer, Emmanuel von Severus, Reiner Kaczynski: Sacramentous Celebrations II. Pustet, Regensburg 1984, ISBN 3-7917-0940-2 (Church Service, Handbook of Liturgical Science, Part 8), p. 206ff.
- ↑ Heinrich Denzinger : Compendium of the creeds and church teaching decisions. = Enchiridion symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum. Edited by Peter Hünermann . 43rd edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau et al. 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-37000-7 , No. 129.
- ↑ Balthasar Fischer : Litany. I. Liturgical . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 6 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, Sp. 955 .
- ↑ Reiner Kaczynski: Liturgy of Death . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 9 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2000.
- ↑ The celebration of the sacraments of the sick. The anointing of the sick and the order of pastoral care for the sick in the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area . 2nd Edition. Benziger et al., Einsiedeln et al. 1994, ISBN 3-545-50631-2 .
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church , 1997 [1]
- ^ Service book for the Evangelical Church in Württemberg