Bishop Eric Menees
Dear friends, I pray all of you are having a blessed Advent season preparing for the coming of Christ! Last week in our study of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer we examined the section titled “Concerning Ministry to the Dying” that gives an explanation of Ministry to the Dying in the BCP. Today we begin by examining the rite itself, specifically the introduction and the Litany at the Time of Death.
The Officiant begins
Peace be to this house [or place], and to all who dwell in it.
LUKE 10:5T
The Officiant continues with the following prayer
Almighty God, look on this your servant, lying in great weakness, and comfort him with the promise of life everlasting, given in the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Note the first rubric, “The Officiant begins.” What this means is that rather than this service having a sacramental nature and needing a priest to lead it, it is structured more like an office, or a prayer service. Because of this if a priest or deacon isn’t available, laity can pray this with their loved ones.
This begins beautifully by speaking God’s peace into the place where the person is dying and to the people there. It’s a wonderful way of reminding people that even though this is a time often filled with anxiety and sorrow, we can turn to God for peace and that’s what he want for us.
LITANY AT THE TIME OF DEATH
The following may be said. When possible, it is desirable that those present join in the responses.
O God the Father,
Have mercy on your servant.
O God the Son,
Have mercy on your servant.
O God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on your servant.
O Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on your servant.
Lord Jesus Christ, deliver your servant from all evil, sin, and tribulation;
Good Lord, deliver him.
By your holy Incarnation, by your Cross and Passion, by your precious Death and Burial,
Good Lord, deliver him.
By your glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Coming of the Holy Spirit,
Good Lord, deliver him.
We sinners beseech you to hear us, Lord Christ: That it may please you to deliver the soul of your servant from the power of evil, and from eternal death,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please you mercifully to pardon all his sins,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please you to give him joy and gladness in your kingdom, with your saints in light,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please you to raise him up at the last day,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
The following or some other suitable anthem may be sung or said
Son of God, we beseech you to hear us.
Son of God, we beseech you to hear us.
O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Have mercy upon him.
O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Have mercy upon him.
O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Grant him your peace.
O Christ, hear us
O Christ, hear us.
A litany is a form of worship with a back and forth series of prayers, often petitions. In Anglicanism the most well known is the Great Litany which is also found in the BCP. The Great Litany is very broad in its petitions but this litany speaks more particularly to the situation at hand.
It starts with a Trinitarian series of petitions asking for God’s mercy, like the Kyrie during the Eucharist. It recognizes that the person dying is a servant of God, a Christian and part of the Church, and God is Lord who alone can have mercy and help in this situation.
That transitions into a series asking God to deliver the person dying from evil, sin, and tribulation. This sums up the reason for the petition. There’s an acknowledgment that the person is dying and God is being asked to fulfill the promises he’s made us through his death, resurrection, and ascension. This is at the same time a petition from those praying for these things as well as a reminder that God has promised them and we as Christians can have a firm and secure hope in them. This is less about the person’s physical needs and more about their spiritual needs, what they face ahead in death.
The rest of the petition fleshes that out and addresses specific ways that hope is worked out in the person’s death, that they be saved from eternal death, that their sins are forgiven, that they dwell with God, and that they be resurrected on the last day. Those petitions end with a reminder that they’re not just promises made to the person dying, that as Christians this is a hope we all have.
I hope you all have a blessed Gaudete Sunday! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
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