Grave blessing
The grave blessing is a sacramental of the Catholic Church .
Around 1000 AD, following old ecclesiastical customs, initiated by Abbot Odilo of the reformed monastery of Cluny , the Western Church introduced the memory of all deceased believers (all souls), which is based on the feast of All Saints' Day , which is celebrated on November 1st leaned on. The memorial of All Souls' Day , celebrated on November 2nd, spread rapidly through the reformed Cluniac monasteries. The festival was celebrated in Liège and Milan up to the 12th century, and in Rome in the 14th century . Grave blessings on this day of the church year have been attested at least since the last quarter of the 16th century .
On All Souls' Day or even on the afternoon of the Solemnity of All Saints the graves blessing is committed and begins with a prayer , often in the cemetery chapel is held. The previously freshly decorated mostly in the days graves on which grave lights burning, are usually provided by the priest or deacon , in some communities, but also from one commissioned by the Bishop to lay blessed, possibly with incense incenses and holy water sprinkled. The form for this blessing can be found in the Rituale Romanum or in the German Benediktionale from 1978 (No. 11, pp. 72–82). The service book for the new praise of God also contains a corresponding form (No. 8, pp. 61–65).
The commemoration of the dead and the associated blessing of the graves on All Saints 'Day or All Souls' Day are shaped by “death and mourning in the light of the good news”. In this respect, the Paschal character is an essential feature of these celebrations, especially when it is prayed that God will “complete in our deceased what he began with them in the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit”. Remembrance of the dead expresses the lasting communion of the living and the dead as children of God, who are liberated through the gift of the Holy Spirit to freedom and glory in God (cf. Rom 8:21 EU ).
In addition to the grave blessing at the festivals mentioned, it is customary in many places to bless the family grave by sprinkling it with holy water when visiting the cemetery. This is an expression of everyone's mission to be a blessing (cf. Gen 12.2 EU ).
literature
- Liturgical Institutes Salzburg, Trier, Zurich (Ed.): Benediktionale , study edition for the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area. Freiburg im Breisgau, Herder 2004, ISBN 3-451-17984-9 . (No. 11, pp. 72–82)
- Friedhelm Hofmann (Ed.): Gotteslob. Service book. Trier, VzF German Liturgical Institute 2015, DLI order no .: 5297. (No. 8, pp. 61–65)
- Martin Klöckener: "Rest in consecrated earth". The grave blessing on All Saints / All Souls , in: Andreas Heinz, Heinrich Rennings: Today bless. Workbook on the Benediction. Freiburg im Breisgau, Herder 1987, pp. 248-258, ISBN 3-451-21064-9 .
- Jürgen Bärsch: All Saints' Day. Studies on the liturgy and customs of a day of remembrance of the dead in the occidental church (liturgical scientific sources and research 90). Münster, Aschendorff 2004, ISBN 978-3-402-04069-0 .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Called to common service - the leadership of religious service celebrations - framework for cooperation between priests, deacons and lay people in the field of liturgy (PDF; 260 kB), Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference, 62, 7th corrected edition (2007), no. 53 , P. 43f.
- ^ Liturgical Institutes Salzburg, Trier, Zurich; [Ed.]: Benediktionale , study edition for the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area. Freiburg im Breisgau, Herder 2004, p. 72.
- ^ Liturgical Institutes Salzburg, Trier, Zurich; [Ed.]: Benediktionale , study edition for the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area. Freiburg im Breisgau, Herder 2004, p. 75.