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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture  
 

Marjorie Greene wrote:

Gorgeous prayer. Anyone know who composed it?

>In paradisum deducant te angeli
>In tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres
>et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
>Chorus angelorum te suscipiat
>Et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
>aeternum habeas requiem.

Short answer.

This is from the Office of the "Absolution of the Dead" (also known as the "Dismissal of the Body"), which is at the end of a Requiem Mass. The anthem, "In Paradisum" is sung or said as the coffin is being borne out of the church.

May the Angels lead thee into Paradise; and the Martyrs receive thee at thy coming and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem. May the choirs of Angels receive thee, and mayest thou with Lazarus once poor, have everlasting rest.

That should cover it, I guess.   ---Terrill
 

Long answer.

The following is the translation and version of the Rite, in use in the Anglican Catholic Church.

                  THE ABSOLUTION OF THE DEAD

¶  Following the Requiem Mass, the priest reassumes the cope, and goes to stand at the foot of the bier, where he says the following prayer:

Enter not into judgment with they servant (handmaiden), O Lord, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified, unless thou grant him remission of all his sins. We therefore beseech thee, let not the sentence of thy judgment press hard upon him, whom the reasonable prayer of thy faithful Christian people commendeth; unto thee: but grant that by the succour of thy grace, he who while living was sealed with the sign of the Holy Trinity, may be counted worthy to escape thine avenging judgment. Who liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen.

¶  This responsory is then sung or said.

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and in my flesh shall I see God my Saviour.

V.  Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eye shall behold, and not another.
R.  And in my flesh shall I see God my Saviour.

¶  Toward the end of the Responsory, the Priest puts incense into the thurible and blesses it. At the end of the Responsory the Priest says,

V.  Lord, have mercy upon us.
R.  Christ, have mercy upon us.
V.  Lord, have mercy upon us.

¶  Then the Priest begins,

Our Father, etc.

¶  While the Lord's Prayer is being said, the Priest goes round the bier, sprinkling it with holy water, thrice on each side; then in like manner he censes it thrice on each side. Then, standing between the bier and the Altar, he says,

V.  And lead us not into temptation.
R.  But deliver us from evil.
V.  From the gate of hell.
R.  Deliver his soul O Lord.
V.  May he rest in peace.
R.  Amen.
V.  O Lord, hear my prayer.
R.  And let my cry come unto thee.
V.  The Lord be with you.
R.  And with thy spirit.

Priest:  Let us pray.

Absolve, O Lord we pray thee, the souls of thy servants from every bond of sin, that though they be dead unto the world, yet they may live unto thee : and that whatsoever sins they may have committed through the frailty of the flesh in their earthly conversation may be done away by the pardon of thy most merciful loving-kindness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Into thy hands, O merciful Saviour, we commend the soul of thy servant now departed from the body. Acknowledge, we beseech thee, a sheep of thine own fold, a lamb of thine own flock, a sinner of thine own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of thy mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the Saints in light. Who livest and reigneth, world without end  Amen.

¶  Then, the body is borne out, the Priest following, then the rest of the ministers. And immediately, the Priest says, or the schola sings, the following anthem:

May the Angels lead thee into Paradise; and the Martyrs receive thee at thy coming and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem. May the choirs of Angels receive thee, and mayest thou with Lazarus once poor, have everlasting rest.
 
 
 
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