English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Summary
- The opening prayer at a funeral, often called the invocation, asks God’s presence at the start of the service, names the person who has died and asks comfort for the family.
- Short opening prayers are given for a Christian who died in faith, a father or husband, a mother or wife, a sudden or tragic death, a young person, and a family of mixed beliefs.
- The 1928 Book of Common Prayer opens its burial service with “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25–26), Job 19:25–26 and Job 1:21; the old Catholic funeral Mass opens with “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.”
- Catholics and Orthodox pray for the soul of the dead, as the Orthodox prayer “O God of spirits, and of all flesh” does; most Protestant funerals pray only for the living.
- A graveside prayer, a grace for the funeral meal and the closing blessing from Numbers 6 complete the service.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Numbers 6:24–26; Job 1:21; 19:25–26; Matthew 5:4; John 11:25–26, 35; 1 Timothy 6:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. The Order for the Burial of the Dead: opening sentences, p. 324; blessing “Unto God’s gracious mercy and protection,” p. 332; committal, p. 333; prayers, pp. 334–336. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
- A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared and published by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. The Mass for the Dead, on the Day of Decease or Burial, Introit and Prayer, pp. 571–572. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888
- Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. The Order for the Burial of the Dead (Laymen), p. 370. https://archive.org/details/ServiceBookOfHolyOrthodoxChurchByHapgood
- Merriam-Webster. “Invocation.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invocation
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. https://988lifeline.org/
- Samaritans. “Contact Samaritans.” https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
Leave a Reply