Prayers for the dead
“It is an important duty of ours to pray for the dead because although they may have died in grace and in friendship with God, they may still be in need of a last purification in order to enter into the joy of heaven.
"Prayer for the souls of the dead can be expressed in various ways, including a visit to the cemetery. Going to these sacred places provides an auspicious occasion to reflect on the meaning of earthly life and to nourish, at the same time, hope in the blessed eternity of paradise.” (John Paul II)
Dying is the last page of time and the first page of eternity. O loving God . . . I pray you to welcome my deceased family, friends, loved ones into heaven with you. Forgive them their sins and reward them their goodness. Grant that I may be with them again in your Peaceful presence. Amen. O God our Father, Creator of all the living, we entrust to Your gentle care all those we love who have gone before us; and have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 
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