There is nothing more beautiful and more helpful to our loved ones who have died than to entrust their body and soul to Jesus, the Son of God, who created them, who loves them with all his heart, and who alone can bring them into eternal life and reunite their soul to their resurrected body.

Preparing the funeral of a loved one can be stressful and demanding at such an overwhelming time.  To ease and de-stress the preparations, these are some of the things which need to be decided:

  1. Who is the priest who will be celebrating the funeral?  It’s good to meet with him as soon as possible to discuss what will happen in a pastoral way.
  2. Who will the musicians be?  Most parishes can also offer suggestions.
  3. Which hymns evoking Christian hope, God’s love, and the Resurrection, will be sung, or instrumentally played?  At a Requiem Mass, there are hymns for entering and leaving the church, and for Holy Communion, as well as the ‘ordinary’ parts of the Mass (‘Lord have mercy’, ‘Alleluia’, ‘Holy, holy’, and ‘Lamb of God’). 
  4. Who will be giving the ‘words of remembrance’?  These are normally about 3-5 minutes (or one A4 page), giving a few examples of the faith and values of the deceased during their life.
  5. Which Christian symbols will we be placing on the coffin, in any? (This is not obligatory). 
  6. Which bible readings will best reflect the circumstances?    For a Requiem Mass, a first reading, psalm, alleluia verse, and Gospel need to be chosen.  Options for funeral masses for adults include:

Old Testament Readings

  • 1 Job 19:1, 23-27
  • Wisdom 3:1-9 or 3:1-6, 9
  • Wisdom 4:7-15
  • Isaiah 25:6a, 7-9
  • Lamentations 3:17-26
  • Daniel 12:1-3
  • 2 Maccabees 12:43-46

New testament Readings

  • Acts 10:34-43 or 10:34-36, 42-43
  • Romans 5:5-11
  • Romans 5:17-21
  • Romans 6:3-9 or 6:3-4, 8-9
  • Romans 8:14-23
  • Romans 8:31b-35, 37-39
  • Romans 14:7-9, 10b-12
  • 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 24b-28 or 15: 20-23
  • 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
  • 2 Corinthians 4:14-5:1
  • 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-10
  • Philippians 3:20-21
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
  • 2 timothy 2:8-13
  • 1 John 3:1-2
  • 1 John 3:14-16
  • Revelation 14:13
  • Revelation 20:11-21:1
  • Revelation 21:1-5a, 6b-7

Responsorial Psalms

  • Psalm 23
  • Psalm 25
  • Psalm 27
  • Psalm 42 and 43
  • Psalm 63
  • Psalm 103
  • Psalm 116
  • Psalm 122
  • Psalm 130
  • Psalm 143

Alleluia verse and verses before the Gospel

  • Matthew 11:25
  • Matthew 25:34
  • John 3:16
  • John 6:39
  • John 6:40
  • John 6:51a
  • John 11:25-26
  • Philippians 3:20
  • 2 Timothy 2:11b-12a
  • Revelation 1:5a, 6b
  • Revelation 14:13

Gospel Readings

  • Matthew 5:1-12a
  • Matthew 11:25-30
  • Matthew 25:1-13
  • Matthew 25:31-46
  • Mark 15:33-39; 16:1-6 or 15:33-39
  • Luke 7:11-17
  • Luke 12:35-40
  • Luke 23:33, 39-43
  • Luke 23:44-46, 50, 52-53; 24:1-6a or 23:44-46, 50, 52-53
  • Luke 24:13-35 or 24:13-16, 28-35
  • John 5:24-29
  • John 6:37-40
  • John 6:51-58
  • John 11:17-27 or 11:21-27
  • John 11:32-45
  • John 12:23-28 or 12:23-26
  • John 14:1-6
  • John 17:24-26
  • John 19:17-18, 25-30