York Manual: Commendations and Burial of the Dead (printed editions 1509–1530)

The Commendations of the Dead at the Bier

After Mass the priest, in alb and cope (alone in a silk cope), censes the body, while the responsory is sung:

R. Come to his aid, saints of God; come forth to meet him, angels of the Lord, receiving his soul, offering it in the sight of the Most High. V. May Christ receive you, who has called you, and may the angels lead you into Abraham's bosom. Offering it.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. Let us pray.

Enter not into judgement with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no man be justified, unless through thee remission of all his sins be granted him. Let not, we beseech thee, the sentence of thy judgement weigh upon him whom the true prayer of Christian faith commends to thee; but by the help of thy grace may he be counted worthy to escape the judgement of vengeance, who while he lived was sealed with the sign of the Holy Trinity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The body is censed while the responsory is sung: R. Before I was born thou knewest me; in thine image, O Lord, thou didst form me. Now I give back my soul to thee, my creator. V. I tremble at my misdeeds, and blush before thee; when thou comest to judge, condemn me not. Now I give back.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. Let us pray.

O God, to whom all things live, and for whom our bodies do not perish by dying but are changed for the better: we humbly beseech thee that whatever the soul of thy servant has contracted of vice and of what is contrary to thy will, through the deceit of the devil and its own iniquity and frailty, thou, merciful and kind, wouldest wash away by pardoning; and bid it be received by the hands of thy holy angels, to be led into the bosom of thy patriarchs, namely of Abraham thy friend, Isaac thy chosen, and Jacob thy beloved, whence grief and sadness and sighing have fled away, and where the souls of the faithful rejoice in full and happy gladness; that on the last day of the great judgement thou mayest cause it to receive among thy saints and elect a portion of everlasting glory, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, which thou hast prepared for them that love thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with thee.

The body is censed while the responsory is sung: Woe is me, O Lord (as above).

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. Let us pray.

Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord, this mercy to thy servant N. departed, that he may not receive in punishment the requital of his deeds, who in his desires held fast thy will; that as here true faith joined him to the company of the faithful, so there thy mercy may unite him to the choirs of angels. Through Christ our Lord.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Here let him ask those standing round to pray for him: Our Father, said silently. And lead us not. Rest eternal. I believe that I shall see. From the gate of hell. The Lord be with you.

For a priest, the prayer: Almighty, everlasting God, to whom never… For a man: Incline, O Lord… For a woman: We beseech thee, O Lord, of thy goodness…

Here let the body be sprinkled and censed three times, and carried out to the grave.

The Procession to the Grave

Ant. Open [to him the gates of righteousness]. Psalm 118 (O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious), sung in full. Rest eternal.

Ant. Open to him the gates of righteousness; let him go into them and give thanks unto the Lord; this is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter into it.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. Let us pray.

With loving remembrance, dearest brethren, we make commemoration of our dear one, whom the Lord has taken from the prison-house of this world; beseeching the mercy of our God, that he may vouchsafe to grant him a calm and quiet dwelling, and forgive all the offences of slippery rashness; that, the pardon of full forgiveness being granted, whatever he has done amiss in this world by his own or another's fault, he may wholly blot out and wipe away by his unspeakable goodness and kindness. Who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ant. I will go. Psalm 42 (Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks), sung in full. Ant. I will go into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even unto the house of God.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. Let us pray.

We beseech thy mercy, almighty, everlasting God, who didst vouchsafe to create man in thine own image, that thou wouldest gently and lightly receive the spirit and soul of thy servant, whom on this day thou hast bidden be taken from human affairs and summoned to thee. Let not the shadows of death have dominion over him; let not the chaos and gloom of darkness cover him; but, stripped of the stain of all his sins and set in the bosom of Abraham the patriarch, may he rejoice that he has reached the place of light and refreshment; that when the day of the great judgement comes, thou mayest bid him be raised up with thy saints and elect. Through Christ our Lord.

The Laying in the Grave

Here let the body be sprinkled and censed, and laid in the tomb. [The Bodleian manuscript adds here, and the Cambridge manuscript in the margin: We pray thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God, that thou wouldest vouchsafe to bless and sanctify this tomb and the body to be laid in it; that it may be a healing remedy to him who rests in it, and redemption of his soul, and a safeguard and defence to him against the cruel darts of the enemy. Through Christ.]

Ant. This is my rest. Psalm 132 (Lord, remember David), sung in full. Rest eternal. Ant. This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. Let us pray.

O God, with whom the spirits of the dead live, and in whom the souls of the elect, the burden of the flesh laid down, rejoice in full blessedness: grant to us who pray, that the soul of thy servant, which through the body has been deprived of the sight of this present light, may enjoy the comfort of that eternal light. Let not the torment of death touch him; let not the grief of a dreadful vision afflict him; let not the fear of punishment torture him; let not the chain of the guilty bind him close; but, pardon of all his offences being granted him, may he attain the longed-for joys of the rest that has been promised. Through Christ our Lord.

The Absolution over the Body in the Grave

May the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave to blessed Peter the apostle and to his other disciples leave to bind and to loose, himself absolve thee from every bond of sin; and so far as is permitted to my frailty, mayest thou be absolved before the judgement seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, and have eternal life, and live for ever and ever. Amen.

The Casting of Earth

Here let the body be sprinkled and censed; afterwards let earth be cast upon the body in the form of a cross, the priest saying:

Ant. Of earth. Psalm 139 (O Lord, thou hast searched me out), sung in full. Rest eternal. Ant. Of earth thou didst fashion me, and didst clothe me with flesh; my Redeemer, O Lord, raise me up at the last day.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father. Let us pray.

Let us pray, dearest brethren, for the spirit of our dear one, whom the Lord has vouchsafed to call from the prison-house of this world, and whose poor body is today committed to burial, that the Lord in his goodness may vouchsafe to set him in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; that when the day of judgement comes he may cause him to be raised up among his saints and elect, to be crowned on the right hand. By the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father.

The Prayers at the Grave

Let us pray. O God, who art ever ready to hear just supplications, and vouchsafest to look upon devout prayers, grant to thy servant, to whose burial we today show these offices of humanity, a portion of the blessed reward with thy saints and faithful ones. Through Christ.

Let us pray. O God, the giver of life and the restorer of human bodies, who hast willed to be entreated by sinners, hear the prayers which with special devotion we pour out with tears for the soul of thy servant; that thou wouldest vouchsafe to deliver it from the torments of hell and set it among the hosts of thy saints; and bid it be clothed with that heavenly raiment and the robe of immortality, and refreshed with the delights of paradise. Through Christ our Lord.

Let us pray. O God, the eternal lover of human souls, make the soul of thy servant, which while it remained in the body held the true faith, an exile from every torment of hell; that, set apart from the prisons of the underworld, it may be counted worthy to be helped by the fellowship of thy saints. Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son.

Prayer, without "Let us pray". It is indeed rashness, O Lord, that man should dare to commend man, a mortal the dead, ashes ashes, to thee the Lord our God. But because earth receives earth, and dust is turned to dust, until all flesh is brought back to its origin, therefore, O God, most loving Father, we tearfully beseech thy goodness, that thou wouldest receive in the bosom of Abraham thy friend the soul of this thy servant, which thou art leading from the muddy whirlpool of this world to its heavenly homeland, and bathe it with the dew of refreshment. May he be set apart from the fierce burning of seething Gehenna, and joined, by thy gift, to blessed rest. And if there be in him, O Lord, faults worthy of torment, do thou pardon them by the grace of thy most gentle mildness; let him not receive the requital of sin, but feel the tender goodness of thy forgiveness. And when, at the appointed end of the world, the eternal kingdom shall shine upon all, may he, joined to the companies of all the saints, rise with thine elect on the right hand to be crowned. Through Christ our Lord.

Fulfilling, after the manner of the faithful, the due office of burying a human body, let us faithfully pray to God, to whom all things live, that he may raise in the order of his saints this body of our dear one, buried by us in weakness, and bid his spirit be gathered to his saints and faithful, with whom he may be counted worthy to enjoy unspeakable glory and everlasting happiness. By the gift of our Lord, who with the Father.

[Returning,] Psalm 130 (Out of the deep).

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father, said silently. And lead us not. Rest eternal. I believe that I shall see. From the gate of hell. The Lord be with you. Let us pray.

May he obtain a part in the blessed resurrection, and be counted worthy to have eternal life in heaven, through thee, O Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, who with the Father.

Let us pray. Absolve, we beseech thee, O Lord, the soul of thy servant from every bond of sin, that in the glory of the resurrection he may be raised up and breathe again among thy saints and elect. Through Christ our Lord.

Let us pray. O God, by whose mercy the souls of the faithful find rest, graciously grant to thy servants and handmaids, here and everywhere resting in Christ, pardon of their sins, that, absolved from all guilt, they may rejoice with thee without end. Through the same Christ our Lord.

Let us pray. 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. Who livest and reignest.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.