Prayers for Grief and Loss
Catholic grief has somewhere to go: the dead can still be prayed for. The Eternal Rest and the De Profundis (Psalm 129) are the Church's daily words for the departed — grief turned into intercession.
Traditional prayers
Eternal Rest (Requiem Aeternam)
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
From Scripture
1A gradual canticle. Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord:
2Lord, hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
3If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
4For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word:
— Psalm 129 (130) — De Profundis, vv. 1-4, Douay-Rheims · read the full chapter
4Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
— Matthew 5, vv. 4, Douay-Rheims · read the full chapter
4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more. Nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.
— Revelation 21, vv. 4, Douay-Rheims · read the full chapter
Psalm numbers follow the Douay-Rheims (Vulgate) numbering; the common Hebrew numbering appears in parentheses.
Pray a novena
How to use these prayers
Have a Mass offered for the person you lost — any parish will arrange it, usually for a small stipend. It is the greatest prayer the Church can offer for the dead.