Durham Collectar: prayers for the dead (written in the 10th century; glossed in Old English at Chester-le-Street c. 970)

For Many Dead

Sung for many dead. Prayer. O God of consolation and peace, look graciously upon the prayer of thy family, and grant, O Lord of hosts, that the souls of thy servants and handmaids, men and women, who from Adam until this present day have passed from this light, and were baptized or confessed, and persevered in the Catholic faith, and enriched the churches of God from their goods, and by whose alms we have been comforted: we beseech thee, O Lord, that they may rest in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in that seat of thy saints, and soon, raised from the dead, may be found pleasing in the land of the living.

V. Be glad in the Lord.

Prayer. Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord, that by the intercession of the merits of all [thy saints], what we touch with our lips we may receive with a pure heart. Through.

Antiphon. The way of the just is made straight, and the path of the just is prepared. V. Be glad in the Lord.

Prayer. Let us implore the prayers of the saints, that we may be freed, O Lord, from all offences. Through.

Another prayer. Be present, O Lord, at our supplications, which we bring in commemoration of thy saints, that we who have no confidence in our own righteousness may be helped by the merits of those who have pleased thee. Through.

The Office for Very Many Dead

For very many dead. Psalm 116 (I am well pleased). Psalm 121 (I will lift up mine eyes). Psalm 130 (Out of the deep). Psalm 138 (I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart). Psalm 20 (The Lord hear thee)…

The lesson. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ Jesus shall all be made alive; for let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called, each in his own order.

R. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Antiphons. I heard a voice from heaven saying, Blessed are the dead. The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance; he shall not be afraid of any evil tidings; right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. The Lord shall redeem the souls of his servants, and shall not forsake them.

Prayers for the Dead

For very many dead. Prayer. O God, the creator and redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of thy servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins, that by devout supplications they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired. Through.

Sung on the night of the Lord's day and on the following night: Psalm 146 (Praise the Lord, O my soul). Rest eternal. But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord, and no torment shall touch them. With glory and honour.

Prayer. We pray thee, O Lord, bid the souls which thou hast created be received into thy kingdom, and cause them to be set in Abraham's bosom, and to receive their portion with blessed Lazarus. The saints shall rejoice.

Another prayer for the dead. O God, the life of the living, the hope of the dying, the salvation of all who hope in thee, graciously grant, O Lord, that the souls of thy servants and handmaids, loosed from the hurtful darkness of [our] mortality, may rejoice in perpetual light with thy saints. Through.

Another prayer for the dead. May our prayers ascend to thee, O Lord, all the holy hosts of angels interceding, that the souls of thy servants and handmaids, whose names are written here, may receive eternal joys; that those whom thou hast made partakers of adoption thou mayest bid be sharers of thine inheritance. Through.

For One of the Dead

For one. Prayer. O God, whose mercy is without number, receive our prayers for the soul of thy servant N., and grant him light and gladness in the region of thy saints, in the fellowship of the bishops. Through.

Another prayer. O God, who didst make thy servant N. to flourish among the apostolic priests in the dignity of a bishop, grant, we beseech thee, that he may be joined to their fellowship for ever. Through.