dominican saints
Anniversary of those buried in our cemeteries
Feast Day July 12th
Perhaps when we have visited the cemeteries where our dear departed await the coming of the Last Judgment, we have wished that we could raise to their memory more suitable monuments to show how much respect and love we hold for their lives of unselfish devotion. We sometimes forget that we are not children of this world, but children of light, and that we can raise imperishable monuments to the memory of our beloved dead by having Masses said for the repose of their souls, by offering our Holy Communions, Masses and prayers that God may conduct them from the darkness of Purgatory to the joys of the beatific vision.
The Office of the Dead is also prayed should be prayed on this particular day. Should the anniversary fall on Sunday, the Office may be postponed till Monday. (The New Dominican Tertiaries’ Manual, 1935.)
Prayers/Commemorations
First Prayer on the Anniversaries
O Lord God of mercies, grant to the souls of Thy servants and handmaids, the anniversary of whose decease we commemorate, a seat of refreshment, the blessedness of rest and the brightness of light. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
Second Prayer on the Anniversaries
O God, the Giver of pardon and the Author of man’s salvation, we beseech Thy clemency, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of all Thy saints, to admit the brethren and sisters, the friends and benefactors of our congregation,to the fellowship of eternal bliss. R. Amen.
Third Prayer on the Anniversaries
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, give unto the souls of Thy servants and handmaids the remission of all sins, that through pious supplication they may obtain the pardon they have always desired. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen,
Prayer for Benefactors from the Dominican Breviary
For Thy Holy Name’s sake, O Lord, deign to grant eternal life to all who do us good.