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The selection of passages from the Bible is an important part of planning a funeral
ceremony, as we want to turn to God's word for wisdom and comfort in this time of
loss. The Word of God is at the heart of our Christian celebration of faith in this
funeral rite in anticipation of the resurrection of the body.
To make this easier for the family, the Catholic Church has pre-selected a number
of Biblical passages which are appropriate for the occasion of a funeral. Please look
over these passages as part of your funeral preparations, and find those words
which speak to your heart.
Instructions:
1. The first reading is taken from the Old Testament. Each reading also has an
accompanying psalm, and together they form a "package deal".
3. The gospel reading is also taken from the New Testament, and it may be chosen
either by the priest or by the family. This may be discussed by the family with
the priest who will preside the funeral liturgy.
4. The family is invited to designate two persons to read the first two readings, one
reading each. If the psalm is to be read, not sung, then the family may pick a
third person to read it. The psalm may be sung by a cantor, who may lead the
congregation to sing a response.
6. Once you have selected your readings, please let the priest know the reading
numbers, as well as the names of those who will be doing the readings.
Scriptural texts taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
CHOICES FOR THE FIRST READING 1
Reader: I am sure I shall see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living.
(Response.)
Reader: I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.
(Response.)
(Response.)
(Response.)
(Response.)
(Response.)
(Response.)
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
so we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our old self was crucified with him
so that the body of sin might be destroyed,
and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
For whoever has died is freed from sin.
But if we have died with Christ,
we believe that we will also live with him.
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead,
will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you have received a spirit of adoption.
When we cry, "Abba! Father!"
it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ
-- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the children of God;
for the creation was subjected to futility,
not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay
and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation
has been groaning in labour pains until now;
and not only the creation, but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly while we wait for adoption,
the redemption of our bodies.
Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
For since death came through a human being,
the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being;
for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.
But each in his own order:
Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
Then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father,
after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet."
But when it says,
"All things are put in subjection,"
it is plain that this does not include the one
who put all things in subjection under him.
When all things are subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one
who put all things in subjection under him,
so that God may be all in all.
We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus,
and will bring us with you into his presence.
Yes, everything is for your sake,
so that grace, as it extends to more and more people,
may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
So we do not lose heart.
Even though our outer nature is wasting away,
our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us
for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure,
because we look not at what can be seen
but at what cannot be seen;
for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians (5:1, 6-10)
I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it;
the earth and the heaven fled from his presence,
and no place was found for them.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,
and books were opened.
Also another book was opened, the book of life.
And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books.
And the sea gave up the dead that were in it,
Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them,
and all were judged according to what they had done.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire;
and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life
was thrown into the lake of fire.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
Alleluia. Come, you whom my Father has blessed, says the Lord;
inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.
Alleluia.
Jesus went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
Alleluia. Come, you whom my Father has blessed, says the Lord;
inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.
Alleluia.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,
then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
All the nations will be gathered before him,
and he will separate people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
Then the king will say to those at his right hand,
"Come, you that are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
for I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him,
"Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food,
or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you,
or naked and gave you clothing?
And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'
And the king will answer them,
"Truly I tell you,
just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,
you did it to me.'
Alleluia. God loved the world so much he gave us his only Son,
that all who believe in him might have eternal life. Alleluia.
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus,
about seven miles from Jerusalem,
and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing,
Jesus himself came near and went with them,
but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
And he said to them,
"What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?"
They stood still, looking sad.
Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him,
"Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem
who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?"
He asked them, "What things?"
They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
and how our chief priests and leaders
handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.
Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.
Moreover, some women of our group astounded us.
They were at the tomb early this morning,
and when they did not find his body there,
they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who said that he was alive.
Some of those who were with us went to the tomb
and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him."
Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are,
and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!
Was it not necessary that the Messiah
should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?"
Alleluia. Come, you whom my Father has blessed, says the Lord;
inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.
Alleluia.
When Mary, the sister of Lazarus, came where Jesus was and saw him,
she knelt at his feet and said to him,
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping,
he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.
He said, "Where have you laid him?"
They said to him, "Lord, come and see."
Jesus began to weep.
So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
But some of them said,
"Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man
have kept this man from dying?"
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him,
"Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days."
Jesus said to her,
"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus looked upward and said,
"Father, I thank you for having heard me.
I knew that you always hear me,
but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here,
so that they may believe that you sent me."
When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth,
and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Many of the Jews therefore,
who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.